Wolfgang Gast: Dilom-Designer, Communication Designer
Dilom-Designer, Communication Designer
by Elizabeth Lavis
|28 Nov 2025
Wolfgang Gast, official Dilom-Designer and unofficial Communication Designer, is driven by curiosity, openness, and understanding, both in his personal and professional lives. “I reflect on these concepts for myself, and incorporate them into my work,” he says.
Curiosity and the desire to be creative certainly fueled Gast’s professional journey, but grit played a significant role too. “I had the desire to become a graphic designer from an early age, and I persistently pursued it until I reached my goal,” he says. “Painting and drawing have always been my passion, and I wanted to work in a creative profession. Graphic designing came closest to my ideas, and later, during my studies, I discovered how exciting it is to mold concepts and ideas into a visual language.”
Gast studied communication design in Cologne and Düsseldorf vocational schools, where he learned the tricks of the trade from agencies and veteran designers. “Cologne was, and still is, an inexhaustible source of inspiration for joie de vivre and culture,” he says. Gast draws inspiration from his roots, and also bookshops and libraries. “In Maastricht in the Netherlands, there is the ‘Dominican Bookshop’, a former medieval church converted into a bookshop. I like this special atmosphere of spacious, historic church architecture, which is now filled with the liveliness of interested visitors. Diving into the current range of books and discovering new literature in this environment is both exciting and stimulating.”
"kursgestoeber / VHS-Magazine", Wolfgang Gast
According to Gast, the core value of design is to solve a problem or get to the heart of an issue that has been precisely defined beforehand. “Design always pursues a goal,” he says. “It is achieved, the design is a success.” As such, each design needs to be a delicate dance of strategy and creativity. “In my opinion, one cannot exist without the other,” Gast says. “My technique to work with them together is to ask constructive questions until the target requirements are met. In doing so, I often realize that the quality of a design work, measured against its objectives, can be increased enormously.”
Gast establishes trust and rapport with his clients by understanding the root of their problem and ultimate motivations, and works with them heavily at the beginning of the campaign. “The client is very closely involved in the positioning and target-setting phase,” he says. “They are less involved in the implementation phase, as there is often a lack of understanding and necessary expertise.” He also clears up any misunderstandings in the process by asking questions and listening. “The client is not always right just because they are my client,” Gast says. “If the client relationship is based on equality and mutual respect, I can advise them that their idea won’t work. At the same time, I try to understand their motivations so that I can offer them solutions if necessary. The trick here is to ask the right questions.”
Moving forward, Gast would like to continue building his knowledge, expanding his network, and taking on some more freelance work. “I strive for more creative tasks that involve long-term and consultative cooperation between client and designer,” he says.
Submit your work for Indigo Design Award competition
