first designs

A selection of Stephan Valter’s first design steps.

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FIRST SHOES

“When I moved out of my parents’ house at age 18, I made myself a pair of shoes, a symbol for my independence. I bought 3mm thick cow leather, made a cardboard mockup, cut and assembled them without sewing. Despite being very comfortable and fitting like gloves, I wore them only once in public.”

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FIRST PORTRAITS

“My very first job was as a social worker on the intensive care floor of a nursing home for women, where I drew portraits of each of them. Frau Fuchs was in advanced stages of dementia, and I drew Frau Hirth on my nightshift right after her death, a bandage holding her lower jaw in place.”

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FIRST BUSINESS CARDS

“While working in London, I took the business cards that sex workers and others stuck into the iconic red phone booths, and turned them into my own business cards by sticking my info on it. ‘Maid to Serve’ didn't seem too far off from my own profession.”

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My first font design

first font

“My first font was influenced by an early obsession with Jugendstil.”

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FIRST FURNITURE

“For my first apartment I built furniture and interior design objects, like a lamp shade and a canopy. Among them is this folding table, made from semi-circular pieces of beech wood, each hinged to the wall. A pulley system with a weight allowed the table to be folded to the wall.”

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