Tuesday, 1:38pm
12 January 2010

Berlin snapshots: eBoy

berlin snapshots
john ridpath
Graphic design
Posters
Visual culture

‘I could work anywhere. But I love Berlin as a place, and still feel at home’

Pixel art/design studio eBoy are next up in our series of ‘Berlin snapshots’ - see Eye 74.

In their own words: ‘We create re-usable pixel objects and take them to build complex and extensible artwork. And we make toys.’ Eye spoke to eBoy’s resident Berliner, Svend Smital.

Top: eBoy’s ‘Pixorama’ of Berlin.

Below: Visa Card.

Visa Card

Eye: What is eBoy’s background?
Svend Smital: eBoy is three people. Two work in Vancouver – I stayed in Berlin. So it’s a virtual office. We all studied graphic design in Berlin and Essen, then worked for some other companies doing graphic design, posters and brochures. Then we started working together on free projects for clients, and things slowly started to grow. Eboy was founded about twelve years ago.

Eye: When did you first come to Berlin?
Svend Smital: We’ve pretty much always been here! I was born in Berlin, Stefan [Sauerteig], too. Kai [Vermehr] was born in South America but came back to Germany as a child: we all met during our studies here.

iPhone

Above: Berlin iPhone skin.

Below: London taxi design for T-Mobile.

London Taxi

Eye: Why do you like working there?
Svend Smital: I like the city, but that’s about it! I could work anywhere – I’m not dependent on any place. Stefan and Kai decided to move to Vancouver – for no other reason but wanting to be somewhere else. But I love Berlin as a place, and still feel at home here.

Trainers

Above: Gola trainers design.

Below: eBoy’s advertising for Coca-Cola in Dublin, Ireland.

Coca Cola Dublin

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