Marco Ivers

Graduation Date
October 2015

Study Programme
Brand Design B.A.

Title of Thesis
Car Dealership 2020. Using Digital Service Design to Create the Brand Experiences of Future.
(Autohaus 2020. Durch Digital Service Design Markenerlebnisse der Zukunft gestalten.)

Hi Marco, what have you been up to since your graduation from Brand Academy?
I’ve spent most of my time learning new things and applying my theoretical knowledge to real-life practical problems. As of my sixth study term I have been working as Designer with a major Hamburg-based design agency and I’m currently still employed there.

Where do you work now and what are your tasks?
I’m a Senior Designer with MUTABOR and I create and sharpen brand identities, design services and manage design processes.

What’s your greatest challenge at work?
Keeping a current and unbiased view of what is essential while keeping trends and technological developments in mind. In our challenging day-to-day business one must never lose sight of what is beyond one’s own nose.

What do you like about your job?
Finding simple answers to complex problems. We have the opportunity to create a new digital world. Business models, products and services are undergoing radical changes. They are being destroyed and created new at the same time. Successfully aligning consumers and brands with identity-oriented ideas is plainly fascinating.

What are your plans for the future?
I will keep a close eye on relevant developments in our line of business. All major management consultancies have added design and digital agencies to their portfolios in order to offer innovative consultancy services in brand-, service- and business design. As a result, the role of design is changing. It’s taking a much more prominent role in the value chain. Both as a Strategic Designer an das human being I want to become part of that development and use service and business design to help solve challenging questions pertaining to digitalization.

Looking back at Brand Academy, what do you see?
Brand Academy brings design, management and strong characters from both disciplines together. In my current role as Senior Designer with MUTABOR I have been profiting from such interdisciplinary training. It’s helpful in conceptualizing design as something identity-oriented and in steering design processes efficiently.

Do you have any advice for prospect students or first semesters?
The proverb “studies are what you make of them“ sounds cliché, but it’s nevertheless true. The job of a Designer or Design Consultant doesn’t just stop when the lecture is over. Instead, it requires continuous improvement and a personal motivation to question common assumptions.

What do you do when you’re not working?
After work I go sailing, spend time cooking with friends and share a good bottle of wine with them while doing it. It clears my head and makes room for the ideas of tomorrow.