WHAT CAN WE DO FOR YOU?
(About | short version | 167 words)
From logos and book design to full websites and visual identities – FL@33 develops flexible solutions that grow with you. Co-founded and directed by Tomi Vollauschek since 2001, our multi-disciplinary studio specialises in visual identity systems, print design, editorial publications, social graphics, campaigns, motion graphics, art direction, packaging, and product development.
___ FL@33’s acclaimed Laurence King titles (Postcard, Made & Sold, The 3D Type Book) – conceived, compiled, written, and designed by studio director Tomi Vollauschek – sit alongside MoMA-exhibited bzzzpeek, Trans-form magazine, Pyramyd’s FL@33 monograph, and stereohype.com design products.
___ Tomi Vollauschek teaches design and runs masterclass workshops, on-site/remote courses, and occasional jury work, including presidencies at ECV France (Lille, Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux), Strate Design Lyon, and MICA Baltimore.
___ He also curates Stereohype competitions and B.I.O. (By Invitation Only) Series (650+ global talents since 2004).
___ Guided by the Power of Three balance between intellect, skill, emotion, we scale with trusted long-time collaborators worldwide. Featured in over 230 international publications (NYT, Creative Review, ...).
Dedicated to exceptional results. What can we create together?
ABOUT US
(longer version | 332 words)
FL@33 specialises in visual identities that evolve flexibly – welcoming one-off projects alongside more complex strategic tone of voice and identity systems, editorial publications, campaigns across print and digital, motion graphics, websites, packaging, and product development. The studio collaborates with medium to large companies, institutions, start-ups, and individuals, adapting its approach to each client’s ambitions and context. Co-founded and directed by Frankfurt-born Austrian Tomi Vollauschek, MA (RCA), with multilingual international networks and over 20 years of practice since 2001.
Power of Three | Guided by the Power of Three balance between intellect, skill, emotion, our renowned projects include MoMA-exhibited bzzzpeek, Trans-form magazine, Pyramyd Editions monograph, ongoing 8min 20sec motion graphics project, and stereohype.com design products.
Authorship under FL@33 imprint |
Tomi Vollauschek conceived, compiled, wrote, and designed Laurence King titles (Postcard, Made & Sold, The 3D Type Book). Postcard translated into French (Pyramyd), German (DuMont), Spanish (Gustavo Gili).
FL@33’s design teaching | FL@33’s Tomi Vollauschek teaches design and runs masterclass workshops, on-site and remote courses, and occasional jury work, including presidencies, at ECV France (Lille, Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux), Strate Design Lyon, and MICA Baltimore – full teaching overview at flat33.com/edu.
Lectures | His lectures span MICA Baltimore, ECV France, Cambridge School of Art (Type Talk), Hochschule Darmstadt (High Noon Special), London (Letterform Live: Fashion, Limelight Night), DMJX Copenhagen (CPH:typo*12), Barcelona (Selected A).
Stereohype: sister company | FL@33’s sister company Stereohype – graphic art label and online boutique (launched 2004). As Creative Director, Tomi Vollauschek curates a growing collection and range of over 1,750 button badges and Graphic Art prints via annual design competitions and his B.I.O. (By Invitation Only) Series (650+ global talents), including over 500 Button Badge Motif Prints, Habitat collaborations, and an UAL LCC / London Design Festival exhibition and catalogue.
Press & media coverage | Featured in over 230 international publications including The New York Times, Creative Review, Computer Arts, Étapes, Page, Grafik, Novum, RGB, plus BBC Radio and NPR (America’s National Public Radio).
Dedicated to exceptional results. What can we create together?
PRESS
Please find articles, profiles and interviews in our Press archive. For a complete list of publications please click here.
PLEASE NOTE
___ FL@33 is written in uppercase only – without spaces before or after the '@'.
___ FL@33 is pronounced like 'flat thirty-three'
___ FL@33 is NOT an email address... 8)
DESIGN STUDIO HISTORY
FL@33 began in London’s Notting Hill – flat number 33, as the name reveals. The studio’s founders met on the Royal College of Art’s postgraduate Communication Art & Design MA, graduating in 2001 to establish FL@33 in the heart of the city.
___ Press has described FL@33 as “multi-lingual, multi-specialised design activists” who use wit and humour to create fresh, imaginative visual communication. From Notting Hill’s simple apartment, the studio moved to Clerkenwell (2005), transforming a stunning property into family home and creative headquarters. The journey continued through Islington (2020 lockdown) before settling in Lyon, France (2023) – after 20+ years in London.
___ FL@33’s international footprint spans commissions and collections across the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, USA, and beyond. The ‘Power of Three’ philosophy – intellect, skill, emotion – first encountered at the RCA, shapes every project.
TALKS | JUDGING PANELS | WORKSHOPS | DESIGN TEACHING
ECV Lille (MA1 Stratégie de Communication online course), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek,
visiting lecturer, remote, ECV France – École de Création Visuelle, Lille, France, 20 October 2025 – 2 March 2026
ECV Lille residency (Tomi's Power of Three masterclass workshop), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek designer in residence, 5-day M1 masterclass workshop, ECV France – École de Création Visuelle, Lille, France, February 2026
ECV Lille (MA2 Culture et Parcours Graphique online course), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek, visiting lecturer: Graphic Culture and Graphic Pathway, remote, ECV France – École de Création Visuelle, Lille, France, 20 October 2025 – 2 March 2026
Strate Design Lyon (year 5 course), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek, visiting lecturer: multi-disciplinary design course in collaboration with Kookmin University Seoul, year 5 students, Strate – École de Design, Lyon, France, 3 October –
5 December 2025
ECV Lille (MA Tutoring Final Year / Graduation Projects), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek, visiting tutor, final year Master degree project, remote, ECV France – École de Création Visuelle, Lille, France, 24 January – 16 May 2025
ECV Bordeaux residency (workshop), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek designer in residence, 4-day masterclass workshops, ECV France – École de Création Visuelle, Bordeaux, France, 22–25 April 2025
ECV Lille residency (Tomi's Power of Three masterclass workshop), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek designer in residence, 5-day masterclass workshop, ECV France – École de Création Visuelle, Lille, France, February 2025
ECV Lille (Culture Graphique online course), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek, visiting lecturer: Graphic Culture / Culture Graphique, remote, ECV France – École de Création Visuelle, Lille, France, 2024/2025
ECV Aix-en-Provence residency (Typography and Editorial Design masterclass workshop), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek designer in residence, 4-day masterclass workshop, ECV France – Creative Schools & Community, Aix-en-Provence, France, 28–31 October 2024
ECV Aix-en-Provence (jury panel presidency), Graduation Ceremony Speech, FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek as president of the international Master Design Jury for Diplomas 2023/2024 at ECV France – École de Création Visuelle, Aix-en-Provence, France, 23 February 2024
ECV Lille residency (workshop), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek designer in residence, 5-day masterclass workshop, ECV France – École de Création Visuelle, Lille, France, 15–19 January 2024
ECV Lille (Visual Identity online course), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek, visiting lecturer: Visual Identity, remote, ECV France – École de Création Visuelle, Lille, France, 2023/2024
ECV Aix-en-Provence (jury panel presidency), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek was honoured to be the president and panelist of the international Master Design Jury for Diplomas 2023/2024 at ECV France – Creative Schools & Community, Aix-en-Provence, France, 26–27 June 2023
ECV Aix-en-Provence residency (workshop), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek designer in residence, 4-day masterclass workshop, ECV France – Creative Schools & Community, Aix-en-Provence, France, 2–5 May 2023
Type Talk at Cambridge College of Art, talk by FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek with Q&A, A.R.U. Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK, 13 March 2023
ECV Lille residency (workshop), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek designer in residence, 5-day masterclass workshop, ECV France – Creative Schools & Community, Lille, France, 14–18 November 2022
Stereohype’s annual Button Badge Design Competition (STBBDC), Judging, London, UK, 2004–ongoing (hiatus since 2023 but hopefully to be continued in 2026)
ECV Lille (online workshop), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek, 4-day online version of his masterclass workshop at ECV France – Creative Schools & Community, Lille, France, 8–11
March 2021
ECV Aix-en-Provence (jury panel), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek, judging diploma project presentations as part of international jury panel, Master class of Graphic Design / Mastère Design Graphique, ECV France – Creative Schools & Community, Aix-en-Provence, France, 7–9 September 2020
ECV Bordeaux residency (workshops and lecture), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek designer in residence, 5-day workshops and evening lecture, ECV France – Creative Schools & Community, Bordeaux, France, 24–28 February 2020
ECV Lille residency (workshop), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek designer in residence, 5-day masterclass workshop and evening lecture, ECV France – Creative Schools & Community, Lille, France, 27–31 January 2020
ECV Lille residency (workshop and lecture), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek designer in residence, 5-day masterclass workshop and evening lecture, ECV France – Creative Schools & Community, Lille, France, 28 January – 1 February 2019
ECV Bordeaux residency (workshops),
FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek designer in residence, 5-day workshops, ECV France – Creative Schools & Community, Bordeaux, France, 12–16 February 2018
ECV Bordeaux residency (workshops and lecture), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek designer in residence, 5-day masterclass workshops and evening lecture, ECV France – Creative Schools & Community, Bordeaux, France, 27 February –
3 March 2017
Limelight Night: Crossing Disciplines, hosted by House of Illustration, included a talk by FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek, London, UK, 27 January 2017
ECV Lille (jury panel), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek, Judging as part of international jury panel, Master class of Graphic Design / Mastère Design Graphique, ECV France – Creative Schools & Community, Lille, France, 27–28 June 2016
ECV Lille residency (workshop and lecture), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek designer in residence, 4-day workshop and evening lecture, ECV France – Creative Schools & Community, Lille, France,
12–15 April 2016
Letterform Live: Fashion, hosted by Grafik and Monotype, talk by FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek, London, UK, 24 February 2016
High Noon Special (lecture), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek at his pre–RCA college, Hochschule Darmstadt (h_da), Fachbereich Gestaltung (formerly FH Darmstadt), University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Design, Darmstadt, Germany, 22 May 2013
MICA residency (lecture and workshop), FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek designer in residence, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), 3-day workshop and evening lecture, Baltimore, MD, USA, 9–14 March 2013
CPH:typo*12 (lecture), lecture by FL@33's Tomi Vollauschek, Danmarks Medie- og Journalisthøjskole / Danish School of Media and Journalism, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2012
Selected A – Graphic Design from Europe, Index Book, Judging, Barcelona, Spain, 2010
Selected A – conference (lecture), FL@33 talk, Barcelona, Spain, 2010
D&AD, Category: Illustration, Judging, London,
UK, 2006
Gangart Awards, (online) Judging, Sidney, Australia, 2005
YCN Design & Communication Awards, Judging, London, UK, 2004
FITC – Future. Innovation. Technology. Creativity. formerly known as FlashInTheCan,
(online) Judging, Toronto, Canada, 2004
PAST AND CURRENT CLIENTS INCLUDE
1961 Film Production, Paris, France – London, UK
Alsop Architects | Valencia Biennale, London, UK
– Valencia, Spain
Altran, Paris, France
Arts Affaires, Paris, France
A.R.U. Anglia Ruskin University |
Cambridge College of Art | Type Talks, UK
BBC | BBC Events, London, UK
BlackBook magazine, New York, USA
Computer Arts | Future Publishing, Bath, UK
Creative Review | Centaur Publishing, London
DDB | AOL, Paris, France
Danmarks Medie- og Journalisthøjskole | Danish School of Media and Journalism | CPH:typo*12, Copenhagen, Denmark
DuMont Buchverlag, Köln, Germany
École Normale de Musique, Paris, France
ECV Lille | ECV France, Lille, France
ECV Aix-en-Provence | ECV France, Aix-en-Provence, France
ECV Bordeaux | ECV France, Bordeaux, France
Editorial Gustavo Gili, Barcelona, Spain
Emap | Media & Marketing (MM), London, UK
Equity – The Board Game, Fostering Responsible Finance, London / Los Angeles / Turin / Hong Kong / Paris / Berlin / Lyon, online hybrid
Friends of the Earth, London, UK
Groupe Galeries Lafayette | Les Quatre Lunes,
Paris, France
Génépi Immobilier, Paris, France
Greater Paris Investment Agency | Paris-Ile de France Capitale Economique, Paris, France
Habitat, London, UK | Paris, France
Index Book | Selected, Barcelona, Spain
Kids Love Photography, Berlin, Germany – Paris, France
Laurence King Publishing, London, UK
Location 68, Newcastle, UK
Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) | Baltimore, MD, USA
Matelsom, Paris, France
Meubles.com, Paris, France
MMM Festival | Musiques des Montagnes du
Monde, Anzère, Switzerland
MTV Networks | VH1 European, London, UK
Noos (later Numericable), Paris, France
Novum – World of Graphic Design, München,
Germany
Penrhyn Books, Chester, UK
Prestel Verlag | Verlagsgruppe Random House, München, Germany – London, UK – New York, USA
Pyramyd Editions, Paris, France
RotoVision | GraficEurope conference, East
Sussex, UK
Royal College of Art | MA Curating Contemporary Art, London, UK
Saatchi Gallery Store, London, UK
Sacla, Asti, Italy
Samaritaine | Agence V, Paris, France
Soul Boy | Miragushi Tennis, London, UK
Southbank Centre | Royal Festival Hall,
London, UK
Stereohype.com, London, UK
Strate École de Design, Lyon, France
The Conran Shop, London, UK
The Creator Studio | Torraspapel, Barcelona,
Spain
The Tuning Company, Paris, France
Toi Com Moi, Paris, France
Toy2R, Hong Kong
University of Gloucestershire | UoG Illustration, Gloucestershire, UK
Van Vessem – London, UK
Waldruche de Montremy | Champagne | Coat Of Arms, Paris, France
Weeks & Cowling, Leeds, UK
Young Vic | Vesturport | Barbican, Bite,
London, UK
Zotoprod | Elaine Harris Productions, Paris, France
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
British Library, London, UK
Bibliothèque National des Livres Rares,
Paris, France
Bibliothèque National, Paris, France
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek (DNB), Leipzig, Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Germany
Biblioteca Nacional de España, Madrid, Spain
Royal College of Art library, London, UK
Bibliothek der Hochschule Darmstadt, Fachbereich Gestaltung (University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Design) formerly known as Fachhochschule (FH Darmstadt), Germany
Arno Schwarz collection, private, Germany
Bibliothèque de Strate École de Design (Campus Lyon), France
AWARDS, NOMINATIONS AND PRIZES
After having won (and paid for) quite a few awards in the early years of FL@33 we decided in 2004 not to enter any of our projects anymore. Award schemes are usually simply too time-consuming and expensive for small studios. We find it quite frankly much more rewarding to be invited to run workshops, give talks, collaborate and invest time and money in the support of new talents via our Stereohype platform, FL@33 books, exhibitions and other activities and focus on new commissioned and self-initiated projects instead.
___ For more recent achievements please visit our Selected projects, Press archive, Exhibitions etc. and Design Teaching sections, here at flat33.com. Thank you.
Step (Inside Design) magazine, Ones to watch, nominated to be included in Field Guide to Emerging Design Talent, USA, 2005
Emerging Designers, nominated to take part at exhibition during the GraficEurope conference in Berlin, Germany, 2004
Design-a-Qee Expo UK 2004, FL@33 skin design for 2" Mr Papillon Kit Cat Qee, 1 of 20 winners chosen (from just over a thousand entries) to be produced in 2005.
Construction New Media Award, Design Indaba, Gold for bzzzpeek.com, category: Online / Functional, 2004
ADC NY – Art Directors Club New York – Annual, Distinctive Merit Award, category: Interactive Media, Work: bzzzpeek.com, 2003
Prix Ars Electronica, Honorary Mention, category: Net Vision/Net Excellence, work: bzzzpeek.com, Linz, Austria, 2003
Website of the day / week / month / year Since its launch in 2002 bzzzpeek.com has been chosen to be website of the day / week / month / year in hundreds of publications, website portals, link lists and blogs.
Creative Review, The Annual, category: Influential Works – November, Graphic Design / Illustration, work: Pencil Sculpture Illustration Series
I.D. – International Design, Annual Review, Design Distinction, category: Graphic Design, work: Trans-form magazine, Trans-it, trans-port.org, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2002
MDA – Magazine Design Awards, Finalist (Shortlist of 6), Category: Best Use of Illustration, work: Trans-form magazine, London, UK, 2002
D&AD – British Design and Art Direction – Annual, two Selections for Inclusion, category 1: Magazine Design – Editorial Design, category 2: Illustration (series), work: Trans-form magazine, London,
UK, 2002
:Output 4, Verlag Hermann Schmidt, International Yearbook – Awarded Works of Graphic Design Students, work: CD-Rom FL@33 #1, Mainz, Germany, 2001
International Noos Multimedia Competition, organised by Noos (now Numericable), First Prize, work 1: AAT – Animated, Acoustic Typefaces, work 2: Singing Pasta or Eat And Be Eaten, Paris, France, 2001
WH Smith Portfolio Award (for RCA students), First Prize, scholarship, London, UK, 2001
DAAD, German Academic Exchange Service, full scholarship, 2000–2001 (RCA, London), Cologne, Germany, 2000
CO-FOUNDER'S SHORT (ACADEMIC) BIOGRAPHY
Tomi Vollauschek MA (RCA)
Co-founding CEO / Creative Director
born in Frankfurt/Main, Germany
Nationality: Austrian
1999–2001 MA postgraduate studies, Master of Arts, Royal College of Art, London, UK, Communication Art and Design
1994–1998 Diploma / Graphic Design Degree (BA) at Hochschule Darmstadt, Fachbereich Gestaltung (University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Design) formerly known as Fachhochschule (FH Darmstadt), Germany, Dipl.-Kommunikationsdesigner (FH)
1996–1997 Camberwell College Of Arts, London, UK, one semester / two terms
1989–1991 Fachoberschule für Gestaltung, Offenbach, Germany
TESTIMONIAL 1
"What appeals to me about FL@33 is their totally original imagination, their quirky sense of curiosity which they manage to express in the most elegant and eloquent ways. Their projects are infused with a highly individual humor that comes from ironic and precise observation. The world is definitely a better place for the work of Agathe and Tomi."
Aidan Walker, Media 10
(extract from Step – Inside Design)
TESTIMONIAL 2
"Tomi Vollauschek (...) of FL@33 beautifully designed the books, creating its website and advertisments, all to a standard I could barely have dreamt of. Tomi's contribution in particular has been enormous, his input going far beyond design and printing matters. Perhaps I may be forgiven if I sing the praises of left-justified text, lots of white space to relax and please the eye, readily accessible footnotes, beautifully clear maps, and a superb arrangement of photographs."
David Leedham, Penrhyn Books
(extract from The Bitter Sea preface, TBS 1, p.27)
TESTIMONIAL 3
"FL@33 is a multi-disciplinary design studio based in London, powered by the creative spark between two European designers with heaps of energy, a case full of fantastic ideas and the kind of leading-edge design skills rival companies would kill for."
Dom Hall, Computer Arts
(extract from Adobe Insider)
TESTIMONIAL 4
"Es gibt Designstudios, die haben einfach das gewisse Etwas. Bei dem in London beheimateten Studio FL@33 trifft das auf jeden Fall zu, denn die Arbeiten des französisch-österreichischen Teams (...) zeichnen sich durch ihre innovative Bildsprache und einen besonderen Humor aus."
Novum – World of Graphic Design
(FL@33 monograph, Buchtipp)
