Who we are

The Faces behind the design.

What is SALZ? Better to ask first who is SALZ? In which case, we’d describe ourselves as a diverse and multitalented group who have a mission, an anything-is-possible attitude, and a healthy dose of Austrian “Gemütlichkeit”.

Beate Hansis

beate@salz.company

‘Colours and materials are like best friends for design. They support it without being obtrusive.’

Beate has a degree for industrial design from the FH Joanneum in Graz, Austria. For eight years she worked at designaffairs in Munich as a product designer. Creating sensible designs that spark joy with users is essential to her. Beate’s focus and passion are defining a brand through the perfect CMF.

Fashion - Illustration - CMF

Marc Ischepp

marc@salz.company

‘A restart is a good beginning’

Marc is a multidisciplinary designer switching between transportation and product design. He first worked at Audi, and then at KISKA where he led many of the motorcycle designs for KTM. In the last few years, Marc has worked independently in Graz, Austria for clients like Rimac Automobili and Greyp Bikes. In 2020, he decided to join forces with Martin to found SALZ.

Transportation Design - Concept Design - CAD

George El Khoury

george@salz.company

‘Design is a language that speaks to the heart, mind, and soul.’

George has been a graphic and digital designer for over 20 years. He enjoys creative problem solving with a focus on digital innovation. After leading a digital unit at Saatchi&Saatchi Mena, he moved to Austria to lead design and UX teams in various agencies and worked with international brands like Adidas, BMW, Swarovksi and Procter & Gamble. George is a father of 3 kids and 2 dogs. Enjoys nature, sports and chess.

Communication and Branding - User Experience - User Interface

Martin Schnitzer

martin@salz.company

‘Things of quality have no fear of time’

Martin grew up in Graz, Austria and studied industrial design at the FH Joanneum. From 2005 to 2018, he lived in San Francisco and worked at fuseproject, IDEO, IDEO.org, and as an independent designer. During this time, Martin designed high-tech products, medical equipment and low-cost products for the Indian and African markets. His favourite projects are innovative, human-centric, and socially and ecologically sustainable. In 2020, he decided to join forces with Marc to found SALZ.

Research - Design Strategy - Concept Development

Klaud Wasiak

klaud@salz.company

‘'The best part about design is connecting the unseen dots.'’

Klaud is a multidisciplinary designer dedicated to creating exceptional brand experiences. He studied Industrial Design in Toronto and has a Master’s of Transportation Design from the Umeå Institute of Design. Starting out at Volkswagen and Ferrari, it was at KISKA he realized an aptitude for cross-discipline design. Before joining SALZ, he honed his strategic design skills at Philips and Rimac Automobili start-up Project 3 Mobility.

Product - Mobility - Brand Experience

Heinrich Zaunschirm

heinrich@salz.company

‘Design is a messy process leading to a clean result.’

Heinrich completed his bachelor's degree in Industrial Design at FH Joanneum Graz and is currently in the master program for Advanced Product Design at Umea Institute of Design. He joined the SALZ team as an intern in spring of 2023. He particularly likes the holistic, hands-on design approach in this multi-talented team. Both at work and in his free time, Heinrich enjoys experimenting with materials and various prototyping methods as well as parametric design. He is also a hobby photographer and nature lover.

Product Design, Prototyping, Visualization

Craft

We never stop learning

Every concept starts with a pencil sketch. On the other hand, product development is getting more complex, so we are constantly adding new tools and are curious about finding the newest technologies that will help us express designs faster and more effectively.

Craft

Our 'business casual' is more casual than business.

When it comes to creating, we believe in comfort. You won’t find us in a high-gloss environment surrounded by slick office furniture. We prefer a 140m² apartment, which we transformed to fit our needs. It’s nice, because a lot of the time it feels more like we are at home rather than at work.

Craft

Prototyping

To better understand the product and its user experience, we create prototypes that allow us to get a better overview, more transparent and clear, and deviate away from assumptions. Understand, observe, learn and optimise as early as possible is our key value.

Craft

Creating is a walk of life.

Getting creative inside and outside the office helps us sustain our passion. Every skill and technology we add to our toolbelt enhances the solutions we apply to your work.