Co-Founder Christian Freissler shares his thoughts on the importance of balance.

There is a German word for taking the hurry out of life; it’s called “Entschleunigung”. A word with an important meaning. One that has guided many of my career decisions to date, including the initial spark to co-found a creative agency a decade ago. But not just any old agency—one that allows me and those around me to slow down from time to time, making room for the important things in life. You can only be at your best professionally when you’re also grounded in other passions.

At Evolve, we wanted to create a place where our team takes time for their interests, families, and personal wellbeing. We typically don’t work late and we don’t work weekends. We take a moment to slow down and look around every now and then. We call it “the surf check”—a moment to drop what you’re doing, make a coffee and chat, or take a walk with a teammate. Sometimes we even make it out to the coast to check the actual waves and get our feet wet.

The place we chose to live and start our agency is called Pacific Wonderland for a reason. Quality of life is pretty good in the upper left corner—away from the busy pulse of other innovation hubs in the US. On Monday mornings I love to listen to the studio chatter about the adventures people got into over the weekend. Because we’ve learned to fuel our passions and take time to explore what’s around us, we’re able to do our best work.

I’m immensely proud of what our small but mighty team has achieved while operating under this belief. To back it up, we became a certified B Corp in 2022 and formalized our commitment to the wellbeing of our people, sustainability, and equitable design. But beyond the certifications, I’m proud that everyone in our studio takes the time to slow down, check the surf, and look around—to not miss the important things in life.

Cheers to the next 10! 

Christian

Check out Christian’s letter with sound and color on Instagram here.