This article is excerpted from the very first Eye on Design magazine. Themed “Invisible,” issue number 1 covers stories that reveal the code, data, and grids lurking behind our designed interfaces, and explore intangible subjects like mental health, identity, and representation.
Marianna Paszkowska, font engineer at FontShop by Monotype about my work
“I’ve been at Monotype for just over a year, so I’m still quite a fresh addition to the team, but I’ve been visiting Thomas, our masseur, since the beginning. When I joined the company, and heard there was the possibility of getting a massage, I got excited that a healthy and balanced lifestyle is part of the working culture here.
“As soon as I joined, my colleagues said, ‘You have to go to Thomas, he’s amazing.’ And he is. He uses the best organic oils, and he’s started making his own. He is also creative; he reads the body very well and does something different every time you go and see him. I’ve gone through several heartbreaks since I’ve lived in Berlin, and we can always talk about those things: he’s an amazing person to open up to. Maybe it’s just me but I have a sneaky feeling that from all the years he’s worked with us he knows more about the company than anyone else.
“It’s wonderful to have that sort of break in the working day. We have a massage room in the office, and that’s where Thomas prepares the oils and hot stones and all the necessaries. He also helps guide us on things like the best positions to sit in. When you’re a font engineer, you spend a lot of time at your desk and you’re not always aware of how you sit. It’s very important to me when he advises me about what exercises to do after work, or motivates me to practice yoga; I have a tendency to slouch.
“Thomas believes we should take care of not only our bodies, but also our minds and spirits. On another occasion, he said he had a gift for me and asked me to choose from three bottles of scent. The one I chose, he said, was perfect if I was going on a date the next night, which I was. He was like a Shaman. I don’t usually believe in those things, but he has my trust: I sprayed the mist. It worked.
“Thomas works in half-hour sessions, and you have to sign up on a list. You pay, but it’s much cheaper than a normal massage. It happens during office time, but we have flexible hours.
“My work is quite technical, and it’s easier to focus when your back isn’t hurting. I’ve always had problems with my back, and the tips Thomas gives me really help me to adjust my position. I like to go to him if I have a challenging week, especially when I am giving a talk, as I get crazy stressed out every time. It calms me down and helps me collect my thoughts.”
Thomas Zetzmann, masseur at Monotype’s Berlin office
“I’ve worked with Monotype for almost 20 years, but I’ve been doing massage for almost 30 years now. I was swimming and there was someone on my team who was working at Monotype and said they were looking for a masseur; they just wanted to offer something good for their employees. Obviously the firms also know that after a massage people have more energy, and so they work better.
“The best thing about massage is that it balances your body. If you need energy, it gives you energy; if you need to be calm, it calms you. It works on every level—massage always gives you what you need.
“People tell me a lot of things; I think because during a massage you’re very close to a person in a physical way, you also get close in a psychological way. I know a lot of things about my clients that I imagine even their lawyers or wives don’t know. I come from a background as an Ayurveda therapist (a system of alternative medicine with Indian historical roots), so that informs my ability to look at a person and know what they need. For instance, during a massage some people need to be pushed, others need to relax, so I try to take from them what’s too much and give them what they need.
“With Ayurvedic medicine you learn to treat different body types: some people always have cold hands, so they need warmth; others always have heat, so you have to work more with cold.
“Designers don’t really have a particular body type, but I have noticed they very often have the same sense of style. You see the way they dress, and you know they’re creative or have something to do with the arts. You can feel it. Of course, they wear a lot of black. And you notice at conferences they’ll have the same style of bag and things. Their hairstyles are often similar—something a little bit different, but nothing too crazy.
“Now I’m at a level where I’m never really surprised by what people tell me. Some people tell you things and others don’t, and that’s also to do with body type—I can get a good idea of someone’s personality by looking at their body. Some people hold things in, so I have to make them comfortable enough to relax. If I feel there’s tension I say, ‘this is your time off, it’s my responsibility, you can let things go now.’ Sometimes I have to repeat that every five minutes during the massage: Maybe after two minutes I feel the tension come back and sense that their mind is working, that they’re thinking about the last task they were working on. So I have to help them feel like they can let go.”