I draw and write about what inspires me most: urban environments. Cities have a twisted fate, standing for social promises just as they embody civilization’s biggest threats. This paradox keeps growing throughout the process we call our human, technical, social, whatnot evolution. The best way for me to savor today’s urban existence is to record it, putting words and pictures together. Multifaceted as urban life itself are the outcomes of my projects, connecting illustrations, graphic design and journalistic writing, comics and academic research likewise.

There is a German saying for people who do a lot of things in parallel: to dance on multiple weddings, auf mehreren Hochzeiten tanzen. This is how my workflow often feels like. However, there is a glue to those parallel “dancing steps” I perform in different communication areas. Visual storytelling is the key to compelling narrations, it has become a driving force since my architectural studies. Translating research and personal observations into comic strips helped me to understand human interactions and to compare cultural patterns in distant places. Mixing entertaining graphics into journalistic research allows me to depict even conflicting perspectives, be it around the corner in Marzahn-NordWest at the periphery of Berlin or in distant places like Mexico City.

Images provide immediate understanding, sequences of images are even smarter, putting the reader’s mind in motion. Comic panels point out actions and meanings, the story itself happens in our minds as we see and connect them. Used as a tool for documentation and analysis, sequential narration helps to unveil everyday life patterns and hidden realities that could easily pass unnoticed with heavier media equipment. To take mental notes and some quick, casual snapshots is what I need to approach urban realities from Brazil to Mexico, Russia to Japan. I want my experiences to resonate in coming encounters, thoughts and projects. Here on this blog is where I’m going to share them with you.