Young Upstarts: f2 CREATIVE DIGITAL ARTS

Sebastian Nöll and David Kötterheinrich

Sebastian and David, let's start off by asking about your roots. Where did you first meet?

Sebastian: David and I attended the same school and both ended up in an informatics project group. It didn't take long until we found out that we shared a strong interest in designing things. David had already created little flicks with a 3D-program and we used to swap ideas about that all the time. As part of the project group we also looked after the school's official website. This is where we really started to get into web design.

How old were you at that point?

David: I attended the project group in my fifth grade. Sebastian is two years younger than me and followed later. So we were about 11 or 12 years old.

What was your next step?

Sebastian: It all started with teachers approaching us because they'd heard about our web design skills. One of the teachers wanted to set up a website for his club and asked us to do it. Somehow that spread the word and more and more jobs followed. So, we were able to make some decent pocket money at a very young age. It was only natural to take it to the next level at some point.

So you started your own business...

David: We were both convinced that if you want to do this, you have to throw yourself into it — no compromises. Fortunately we were able to use some vacant rooms in Sebastian's house as our office.

Did some people think you were crazy to jump into the agency business at age 20?

Sebastian: Right when we started, some people were a bit skeptical. But my parents have always been very supportive. They discovered my talents very early and always knew what I did and was able to do.

Who were your first customers?

Sebastian: Our first customer was a dancing school, Tanzschule Weiss, in Offenbach. They've been around for half a century and even David and I took our dancing lessons there. At one point we checked their website and discovered that some things didn't look too good. We contacted the owner, presented her a with few proposals and offered our services. She liked what we did and we got to work.

On your f2 CREATIVE blog, there's a little paragraph on selling your “Ferrari” on eBay. Although you're obviously joking about your old Nissan Micra, how important is financial success to you?

Sebastian: First off, we're doing this because we really love to. We think about our work as something very rewarding — taking photos, designing things, and seeing what you created at the end of the process. If what we do turns out to be financially successful and if we can earn a few euros on the side at a very young age, that's perfect. Why not? But it's not our primary target. We're very passionate about our business, offering a service that we create — from the very first idea up to the finished product. We designed two CDs for the music label Alles Real Records. Now, they're available in stores. Sounds simple, but those are the little things that make you feel proud.

How do you keep up your motivation without a boss?

Sebastian: There's a nice aspect of being your own boss: By the end of each month, you're able to see the fruits of your labor. This is enough to keep up the energy. If we both slept in every day, we wouldn't be able to do what we do.

Do you have a division of responsibilities?

David: If we're working on a website we always develop a first draft together. That determines the structure of the site, the colors and the general direction. The rest depends on how much we're occupied with other projects. Regarding our skills, we're both very similar.

Sebastian: We're always keeping each other in check. One of us starts off with a first draft and the other one criticizes certain parts of it. Then we make the adjustments and look at it again. We only finalize something if we both approve of it. Being able to take criticism is key.

What part of your work is the most inspiring?

David: There are no boundaries between different types of projects. Whether it's print or web, the creative process is always the same, only with different instruments. You start with an idea, a design or an illustration and then turn it into a flyer, a website or something else.

At such a young age, do you have a hard time being taken seriously by some customers?

David: That's right, especially in the beginning. But once we put our cards on the table and tell them who we’ve worked for and what we've done, most people realize that they’d underestimated us.

Sebastian: When we meet new customers we're always well prepared. We usually bring first drafts to a meeting to show how it could look in the end. It makes things concrete. In the end, we have to compensate for our young age with competence!

Sebastian and David, thank you very much for this interview.


Related Websites

http://www.f2creative.net