# House of van Schneider

> Personal site and design studio of Tobias van Schneider — designer, founder and creative director in New York City. HOVS builds and runs its own products (mymind, Semplice, Carbonmade, DESK) and has branded NASA/JPL space missions (Mars 2020, Europa Clipper).

## Key facts

- Tobias van Schneider: born in Germany, raised in Austria, lives and works in New York City; self-taught designer; former art director & lead product designer at Spotify.
- House of van Schneider (HOVS): design praxis est. 2000; founder & creative director Tobias van Schneider; contact business@vanschneider.com.
- Products co-founded: mymind (https://mymind.com), Semplice (https://www.semplice.com), Carbonmade (https://carbonmade.com). Writing: DESK magazine & weekly newsletter (30,000+ readers).
- NASA work: Mars 2020 mission logo (July 2020), Europa Clipper mission identity (October 2024).

## Pages

- [Tobias van Schneider — Creative Direction](https://vanschneider.com/): I create, therefore I am. I'm Tobias van Schneider a designer born in Germany, raised in Austria & currently living and working in New York City.
- [Design Artifacts](https://vanschneider.com/artifacts): More work from the HOVS design archive, including experiments.
- [mymind design artifacts](https://vanschneider.com/mymind-artifacts): Design work from the mymind® design archive, including experiments.
- [Books](https://vanschneider.com/books): My personal reading recommendations to you with love from me.
- [Quotes](https://vanschneider.com/quotes): Some of my favorite quotes that make me reflect & think.
- [Mixtapes](https://vanschneider.com/mixtapes): Creating a mixtape for someone is a form of love language.
- [Essential tools & services](https://vanschneider.com/essentials): Some of my favorite products (links may include affiliate links).
- [Photo Archive](https://vanschneider.com/photos): Random memories as seen through the lens of my camera.
- [The Praxis](https://vanschneider.com/praxis): Tobias van Schneider is a multi-disciplinary maker of useful, curious and beautiful things.
- [My Weekly Newsletter](https://vanschneider.com/signup): A personal weekly newsletter from Tobias van Schneider about design, creativity and the things I'm working on and thinking about.
- [The Escape Machine](https://vanschneider.com/escapemachine): A custom BMW R100R motorcycle built and designed by HOVS & ONEYEDEER — The finished motorcycle represents more than just a custom build – it's a philosophical statement about breaking traditional boundaries in automotive design.
- [NASA Mars 2020 Mission — Logo & Identity](https://vanschneider.com/mars2020): A symbol capturing the energy and legacy of space travel, while celebrating the engineers who worked tirelessly on this mission.
- [NASA Europa Clipper Mission — Logo & Identity](https://vanschneider.com/europaclipper): A symbol capturing the energy and legacy of space travel, while celebrating the engineers who worked tirelessly on this mission.
- [Three Rooms](https://vanschneider.com/threerooms): A journey through the astral plane.

## Frequently asked

- **Who is Tobias van Schneider?** Tobias van Schneider is a designer, founder and creative director. He runs House of van Schneider (HOVS), a boutique creative studio in New York City. Born in Germany and raised in Austria, he taught himself design at 16, later served as art director and lead product designer at Spotify in New York, and has since co-founded several products used by millions of creatives.
- **What is House of van Schneider (HOVS)?** HOVS is a design praxis established in 2000 that builds and runs its own independent products and occasionally works with partners on brand identity and product design. Its own products include mymind, Semplice, Carbonmade and DESK.
- **What has HOVS designed for NASA?** NASA/JPL asked HOVS to brand two missions to space: the logo for the Mars 2020 mission (the Perseverance rover launch, July 2020) and the identity for the Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter's moon Europa (October 2024), which the spacecraft carries on its side.
- **Which products did Tobias van Schneider co-found?** mymind, an AI-enhanced private extension for your mind; Semplice, a portfolio system used by leading designers since 2014; and Carbonmade, which has helped more than two million people launch an online portfolio since 2005. He is also the creator of DESK, an online magazine and weekly newsletter about design and creativity.
- **What is the DESK newsletter?** DESK is Tobias van Schneider's weekly newsletter on design, creativity and productivity, read by more than 30,000 people. It has been published since 2016 and is free to join at vanschneider.com/signup; the essays live at vanschneider.com/blog.
- **What is Three Rooms?** Three Rooms is an online art exhibition by House of van Schneider and the artist Jesperish: three explorable rooms, each a single 40,000 by 23,000 pixel artwork you can zoom into, at vanschneider.com/threerooms.
- **Where is HOVS based and how can I work with the studio?** HOVS is based in New York City. For collaborations and commissions, write to business@vanschneider.com.

## Writing

- [DESK Magazine — essays](https://vanschneider.com/blog/): articles on design, creativity and building products (RSS: https://vanschneider.com/blog/rss/)
- [Weekly newsletter](https://vanschneider.com/signup): join the DESK newsletter

## Optional

- [Sitemap](https://vanschneider.com/sitemap.xml)
- [Blog sitemap](https://vanschneider.com/blog/sitemap.xml)