Florian Schommer is an art director and designer working within branding, illustration, editorial design, packaging and contemporary art. Dividing his time between personal projects and collaborating with international clients like Pepsi, Nike, Penguin, Sony Music, Columbia Records and The Guardian, Florian now lives and works in Berlin. 

Growing up in the skate and punk scene of the ‘90s, he later attended art college in Düsseldorf while constantly touring the world with a variety of bands. Doing design work for bands during his studies gave him a reason to show his work and make a name for himself. Florian shares how a break-through project for Jägermeister lead to him dropping out of grad school in Hamburg to pursue a full-time career as a freelance creative. 

He’s basically had a professional career before his career as an illustrator. Playing in touring bands back in the day has taught him how to navigate an independent creative business today. Art directing record covers and having a booking agent are very similar to working with an illustration agency. 

On this week’s episode, Florian also discusses the importance of talking about prices. Because somehow we were all tricked into believing that talking about money is rude. If you’re unsure about how to price a project, don’t be afraid to reach out to your colleagues. Talk to your peers and don’t let clients rip you off. 

Now go ahead and listen to this super inspiring conversation with Florian and tell all your illustration friends about it. We’re trying to build a community here! 

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SHOW NOTES: 

• Album art for “Joy Is The Only Treat” by Client
• Some Form (3D studio in Berlin-Kreuzberg)
• Kjosk (Florian’s old studio in Hamburg)

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FOLLOW FLORIAN: 

Instagram: @florian.schommer
Behance: be.net/schommer
Website: florianschommer.com

HIRE FLORIAN: [email protected]

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Hosted by Vicky Cichoń and Dave Leutert.
Music by Amanda Deff.