Stefan Fähler is an art director, illustrator and videast with a work focus on the music and film industries. During his agency years, he created visual campaigns for clients such as Easy Jet and MTV. You might also have seen his work on the posters or album covers of Ariel Pink, Mykki Blanco, Mogwai, or Damo Suzuki… or more recently for the Berlin queer music festival Yo! Sissy happening on the last weekend of July featuring Karin Park, Le1f, Ballet School, Hannah Holland and loads of talented people.
We spoke to Stefan about how he got to where he is and what makes him tick.
How do you usually get started on a job?
Every client has and gets an individual approach. Sometimes I can do whatever I want, sometimes they have specific ideas that I consider. Mostly I work impulsively and fast.
What is your main goal when creating a campaign?
Since most of my work can be seen on the streets and in clubs, a mixture of both visual result and promotional impact is what I aim for.
What do you like to work with in terms of colours, patterns, media…?
I tend to work more with analog elements, watercolours, markers, acrylic paint. Depending on each job and the desired look, the tools vary.
What other recent projects are you happy about?
I recently worked for Siouxsie and the Banshees' cover artwork and t-shirt design together with my friend Philip Marshall, it was a lot of fun since their music accompanies me since my teenage years. "The Salt of the Earth" is a documentary about Sebastião Salgado by Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders, I did the title design, it was a beautiful project to work on. My ongoing work for the party series Gegen Berlin - which was exhibited at Dalston Superstore in London earlier this year - is always a lot of fun too since they fully trust me and give me complete freedom every time. Another thing that made me really proud was when I saw some people reusing my gig poster design for Death Grips, making DIY patches or tattoos out of it.
And there will be some nice releases and projects coming up that include my work but I won't spoil it by now ;)
More about Stefan on www.stefanfaehler.com and more about Yo! Sissy on www.facebook.com/yosissyberlin