Harald Belker

At the age of 24 a fluke encounter with a car magazine changed Harald’s career path from professional tennis player to top automotive designer and launched an obsession with design that has lasted ever since. After graduating from Art Center College of Design in Southern California Harald’s first job was to be a designer at Porsche in Stuttgart, Germany.

Though a phenomenal opportunity Harald soon realized that he belonged in Los Angeles and shifting gears, as it were, he moved to the Advanced Design Studio for Mercedes Benz in Orange County. But all to soon the cold truth of the business world struck home: corporate decision making rules corporate design.

If Harald wanted to make a difference in the world of design, he believed he needed to be independent, and leave the stable design job that for many, including his former self, would have been the pinnacle of achievement. After thinking long and hard about the stark reality of the freelance design world he decided to dream big and take that jump.

Soon after a colleague from Art Center called with an opportunity to design a vehicle for a small movie at Warner Bros. That movie was “Batman and Robin” and eight “Bat” vehicles later, Harald had a new career. Recent movie projects include “Minority Report” where Harald was given the rare opportunity to design and realize a truly futuristic way of transportation - definitely a chance of a lifetime.

Today when Harald reflects upon his winding path to becoming a designer, he is amused by the things that helped along the way: dreaming big, accepting all of life’s twists, always maintaining a level of fun, and finally, waiting for lightening to strike. Furniture is his new passion and we all look forward to see where it will take him.

http://www.db-projects.com/