Jascha Gerhardt

Biography

Education

I studied Information Design at Stuttgart Media University. During this time, I dived into various disciplines including programming, usability engineering, UX design, 3d art, concept art and graphic design. This multidisciplinary approach to art and design has since become a cornerstone for the way I work.

Professional Experience

Since then, I have worked as a Lead Concept Artist for games for over three years. I have also gained experience as a freelance Illustrator for clients such as Kone and Deutsche Bahn. On the side, I have worked as a live caricaturist at various events.
Currently, I am working as a designer for Virtual and Augmented Reality projects at Lightshape. In this role, I am in charge of designing AR/VR applications holistically, working on both UX and UI design as well as doing Concept Art for the virtual environments.

Drawing as Knowing

A centerpiece of my approach to art and design has been the observation of the natural world as well as the manmade environment. Drawing for me is a way to analyze and understand the world around me as well as to conceive of new ideas for imaginative or future realities.

Building Communities

Building communities centered around drawing has been a passion of mine for many years now. My goal is to foster communities where people can authentically encounter others who share their passion. As part of this mission, I have opened up a monthly drawing meetup in Stuttgart, called Drink & Draw.

The Role of Teaching

Over the past several years, I have started to teach drawing to people from a wide range of disciplines. My focus lies on conveying drawing as a tool to sharpen both the analytical and imaginative faculties. It has become my mission to make the skill of drawing accessible to everyone and to strengthen the role of drawing as an essential ability for any creative individual.