I have been living in Berlin for about a year now. I'm only just starting to get settled, as I quickly discovered that unknown designers who don't speak German do not get paid very much in this city, and I needed to sort out an income for myself. However, I also discovered that unknown graphic designers who don't speak German do get paid, so I spent a few months learning graphic design, and now that's what I do for cash!

I was pretty lucky when I arrived though, and practically had work thrown at me. In the first few months I designed a feature-length horror film, an opera and a play in this city, as well as doing some work back home in Ireland. The film is due to be released early next year, but now with credit and the desire to invest drying up, who knows when it will come out?

There was no shortage of work for me, but like I said, it wasn't paid very well (if at all), and soon my savings were gone, and I had to figure out what to do next. There is no doubt that Berlin is one of the world's hubs for creativity, but you still have to survive somehow or other. I had to stop all theatre and creative work, and turn all my attention towards finding any kind of paid work I could. I contacted hundreds of bars and cafes, most of them ignored me, some responded only to turn me down, and others would offer me a trial shift (you work a shift for free, and then they decide if you have a job or not). I always fell down on the same point: my German wasn't good enough for a working environment. I became quite desperate, and in a moment of hunger sent out an email to everyone I knew in Berlin saying that I could design anything anyone wanted! And that's when I was asked to design posters.

Of course designing posters is not the same as designing sets, but they're not worlds apart, either. I believe it's true that the principles of design are the same for anything: all you have to do is pay attention to colour, space, shape and line, look at how things fit together, and make sure the final thing does what it was originally supposed to do. When you've got those basic things down, then you can expand and be more creative.

If anyone thinks I'm wrong about this, please get in touch, because the only experience I have is my own, and it would be nice to hear someone else's perspective.

I am planning to get my theatre work back on track early next year, as well as a few unrelated sculpture and sound design projects. If you come to Berlin and would like to meet up, or if you have a project you think I might be able to help you out with, then please get in touch. It's always nice to meet new people.

Work

What The Butler Saw, Dress Rehearsal
The Harvest Chamber 7
The Harvest Chamber (May) 2
What The Butler Saw