Gerhard born 1973 in Germany

Gerhard has been the crazy part of WILDDESIGN for quite some years. He came to Shanghai with the task to open and run an office for this German design agency, active in Germany since 1990 with an office in Gelsenkirchen. In 2005, the founder Markus Wild had the idea of opening another one – in Shanghai. Gerhard was just the guy to jump into such an ambitious project. The Shanghai office has grown from zero to twelve employees since the start 2006. Gerhard could be described as a split personality – partly very wild and creative, and partly the German stereotype – strict, organized and business focused. Good thing that WILDDESIGN left space for both.

Back in the days in his hometown Ochsenfurt, Gerhard spent his childhood dissecting every electric appliance in the house – a hobby his parents weren't too pleased about until they realized he always managed to get the product working again. Usually a few screws would be left over, but one

can’t ask for too much. Maybe this marked the beginning of his interest in product design, a career path he pursued after twelve months compulsory military service where he was the only among 4,000 soldiers who was licensed to wear dark sunglasses – claiming his eyes were too sensitive for the bright German sunlight. Gerhard always finds a way to stand out from the crowd. Other outstanding talents he developed during his youth include dancing – we sometimes call him "Gerhard Travolta" – and off-road motor biking. 

After studies at Design University Schwaebish Gmuend and six months work for Splane Design in California with lots of steaks, ice-cream and cruising in his cream colored 1974 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, Gerhard spent two years in Germany doing freelance work for offices such as Zeichen&Wunder, designafairs and Cadera Design. He was even offered partnership in a design firm, but when picturing his future in a small German town he got cold feet and decided to do something new. As he loved designing plastic products and consumer electronics, he figured Japan would be the right destination. Gerhard was the first foreigner ever to work in Panasonic’s design department where he stayed for five intense years. He became international specialist, leading design projects for international cooperation partners. He frequently went to Shanghai to handle Panasonic's design work in the China market and started to like this chaotic and energetic place – quite refreshing after years in the perfectly organized Japanese society. When WILDDESIGN was looking for a pioneer to start up an office in Shanghai, Gerhard was the choice. And the rest you know already.