Home - Design studio Ruum 414 (2024)

Martin embraces challenges and believes that every goal is achievable with determination. He is open to tackling complex tasks and finding innovative solutions. Whether it's creating 16 different flyers for one event or finishing a full Ironman race in a day (both true facts!), Martin's energy knows no bounds.

In addition to his studies in painting, he holds a BA in graphic design from the Estonian Academy of Arts. His journey took him to Paris for a while, where he honed his creative skills. Martin's diverse career includes DJing, hosting TV and radio shows (including MTV Baltics), and working as an Art Director at Vatson Wunderman agency.

After returning from a year in Australia, he joined forces with Valter to establish Ruum 414, where he's the 'bubblegum pink' to Valter's 'jet black.' Outside of work, Martin enjoys quality time with his wife and kids, hunting for new music, and engaging in lively debates on a wide range of topics.

As a designer, Martin believes that imagination knows no bounds, and each project is a unique opportunity. He strives to find a fresh perspective while adhering to design principles and craftsmanship.

Valter is a graphic design enthusiast who also has a passion for wheels, primarily two-wheeled modes of transportation. He has been involved in extreme sports on bicycles since a young age. After experiencing quite a few tumbles and breaking just about everything a person can in their body, he transitioned to motorcycle riding, with a preference for off-road adventures.

His mechanical inclination and love for tinkering have given him a deep understanding of how things come together, teaching him valuable life lessons that reflect in his approach to design.

Valter embraces challenges and views them not as obstacles but as opportunities to grow. He acquired his first toolset during his studies at Tartu Art School and the Estonian Academy of Arts. Over the years, he honed his skills as a freelance designer and later as an Art Director/Designer at the Der Tank advertising agency. Finally, he teamed up with Martin to establish Ruum 414, bringing his experience and creative vision to the studio.

Design, for Valter, resembles a complex motor with numerous components that must be assembled correctly, lubricated generously, and worked on with dedication. He thrives on systematic design, investing time in research and building a strong foundation for addressing each project. Valter believes in the audience's ability to comprehend symbols, identify systems and patterns, making it a point to create solutions that engage viewers in intriguing ways.

In an imagined graduation speech, Mary Schmich wrote: “/---/ The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.”

So, Helen must be interesting. At 22, while studying furniture design and restoration, she envisioned herself opening a gallery for young artists, a venture that lasted approximately 2.5 years. Her path led her through various roles—selling clothes, decorating shop windows, managing a team in a German call center, tending an organic vegetable garden, and launching her own sustainable lifestyle webshop. Helen even delved into organizing data at a law firm.

Through these diverse experiences, she uncovered her unique superpower—composition.

This affinity for organization applies to various aspects of her life, from meticulously arranging numbers in Excel sheets to organizing goods in a shop and even categorizing her bookshelf by topic, series, and color.

In her meandering journey, Helen found her way to contributing to the daily operations in our office, making it more sustainable, keeping our plants (mostly) alive, crafting lengthy texts for our site, and, most passionately, arranging words and images in books, flyers, calendars, and more.

As a devoted reader of sci-fi literature, Helen secretly harbors dreams of typesetting a literary magazine or crafting novels set in galaxies far, far away.

During workdays, you might catch her beneath her desk, sharing a moment with Oola, our resident canine companion.