Martin Rettenbacher

As Group Design Director, Martin drives the agency’s design principles, methodologies, and processes. While already an established designer, he joined AREA 17 in 2008 to study under Arnaud Mercier. His key engagements include Apple, Canal+, Paris Photo, Pentagram, and Twill.

As Martin honed his design craft, he became instrumental in developing and advocating AREA 17’s design techniques. Through his passion for Swiss modernist design, where aesthetics derive from functionality, he continually asserts the idea that every pixel on screen must serve a purpose. His clear, clean, systematic design approach displays perfect composition and great restraint, balancing beauty, simplicity, and functionality.

After graduating from the Austrian University of Applied Sciences in Media Technology, Martin started his professional career in Vienna, working for clients such as Coca-Cola, Bank Austria, BOKU-University, and The City of Vienna. Later, he moved to Paris to become an art director at Grey Global Group and led projects for Citroen, Nokia, SNCF, and EDF.

Martin is of Austrian-Dutch origins and speaks German, Dutch, English, and French. He was born in Bregenz, Austria, a small town between the beautiful shores of Lake Constance and below the massive northern edge of the Alps. Martin now lives in Paris with his wife and two sons.