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E
ike König talks about his studio: “It started with the fact that I’ve always collaborated with
different people, oftentimes with students. Sometimes I got the feeling that these were people
who needed a particular space, a playground, to give their abilities the right expression.”
Born in 1968 in Hanau outside of Frankfurt, König picked up a pencil early on. “My father was an
architect. He would draw constantly. My grandfather was a painter and a writer. He challenged me
to follow in this direction.” A friend from König’s school days remembers that he would draw hands
unceasingly. His future was clear to her, even then. This insight puts her years ahead of König, who
saw drawing as merely a hobby. His first love was artistic gymnastics—floor exercises, parallel and
horizontal bars, rings, vault, and the pommel horse.
Having started the gymnastic program at the age of three, he spent the next thirteen years training
for three hours every other day. His unwavering dedication led him to compete at the state level,
netted him numerous awards, but ultimately left him straining to break out. He had trained with the
same group of people from the very beginning and was eager for a change of scenery, for pursuits
that wouldn’t demand so much of his time. When his longtime trainer, a strong father figure, passed
away, König left the sport. “I had never smoked or had a drink or done any of the other things you
go through around that time in life. I just wanted to be a normal teenager. The urgency of youth finally
broke the chains of discipline.”
1991 2000
NOW
67
08
Tired of being a champion athlete, Eike König turned to graphic design,
made his name in the music industry, and opened a studio in Frankfurt
that serves as a playground for himself and his collaborators. Together
they turn out some of the most entertaining design Europe has to offer.
KONIG
EIKE
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