Say hello!
Meet the people who work at eyeo, but don’t necessarily work at eyeo. Take a sneak peek at their lives and what it means to be part of a company that allows you to work anywhere in the world. Today, meet Christiane, our art director!
Where in the world do you work?
I work partly in the Cologne office, and partly some 30 kilometers from Cologne in a town called Overath, which is located in what we call the ‘Bergisches Land’. If you haven’t been there yet, you should definitely visit. The town center sports about 5 pharmacies, an equal amount of doctors and restaurants, a handful of shops, a train station, a bowling center, and we even have a fast food restaurant with a golden letter if you’re into that. It’s nice, green and quiet with a direct train link to Cologne and ample possibilities to go for long walks in the countryside.
Tell us a little about your role at eyeo
When I introduced myself in the first team meeting – back when the whole team would still fit into an average sized meeting room – I said my job would be to make ugly things look good. That’s how I like to look at it. Branding is my thing and together with my team, I aim to make eyeo and its products shine.
What does your workday look like?
Get up, take the dog out, make a cup of tea (milk, no sugar), have breakfast, get cracking.
What's so great about eyeo?
Working at eyeo is great for its flexibility. You can work wherever you like and at whatever time of the day you prefer – as long as your job gets done well and you make it to meetings when people need you. While this freedom may be a challenge to some, I think it’s one of the best ideas since sliced bread. Driving your own projects forward is super rewarding once you see them take shape. The team is great, the food is even better, the bosses treat us well and the merchandising is out of this world.
Where is your favorite place to work?
My desk at home and my office at eyeo are equally nice. I prefer my home office desk for its close vicinity to the kitchen (for more tea) and because the dog and cat keep me company.
What do you do when you’re not working?
Well, I bought an old camper van, stripped it, rebuilt the interior from scratch and like to travel around Europe in it whenever I get some time off. Other than that I always find myself another project to work on, be that doing up an old table, building furniture or drawing something that at one time might turn out to be a graphic novel. And if I don’t do any of that I watch football or stroll around with the dog.
You’re travelling for work and can only take a backpack. What do you pack?
A toothbrush and toothpaste. Clothes. My ID card. Wallet. Laptop. Sketchbook and pens. Bunch of chargers. When travelling to England, my keys come in useful. Those of you who have used European plugs without adapters in England might know why 😉
What job would you be terrible at?
I would be a horrible politician because I prefer to be honest over telling people half truths or no truths at all.
What’s one gadget you can’t live without?
It may sound old-fashioned, but that would be a pen and a sketchbook. Drawing is my thing. And even when I don’t have the time for it, the sketchbook and pen always travel with me… just in case I find a quiet moment.
What’s your favourite app?
LiveScore, because football is essential. Proper football that is, the American stuff doesn’t cut it. And no, it is not called soccer.
Why did you join eyeo?
We lived in Austria at the time and were looking to relocate to Germany so I started scanning the job market. I stumbled across the position at eyeo more or less by coincidence because I was looking for non-agency jobs, which are rare for designers. Then I realised ‘oh, they’re the guys behind Adblock Plus’ and decided to give it a shot. Back then I thought I’d probably never hear back from them. You know, millions of users and all, so many people would want to work there. But I did hear back, got the job and the rest, as they say, is history. Meanwhile my position developed from Designer to Art Director, it’s been interesting times and never got boring. Let’s see what the future brings.
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