Hi, I'm Sarah
penumbral design is the studio of Sarah Massarczyk, a communication designer based in Aachen, Germany.
I'm an interdisciplinary designer who refuses to pick a lane. I see beauty in basically everything, which conveniently makes picking the perfect image the easy part.
A designer who refuses to pick a lane
I'm Sarah. A communication designer from Düsseldorf, currently based in Aachen, who treats “pick one thing” as a dare. Design, photography, art and music all share the same studio, and they keep borrowing each other's tools.
I finished my B.A. in Communication Design in 2025 and went straight into freelancing as penumbral.design. The name refers to the in-between, where one thing turns into another. That's the spot I like to work in.
My not-so-secret weapon: I see beauty in (almost) everything. It makes choosing the right image, the right type, the right colour feel less like a decision and more like identifying the right theme.
Four disciplines, one studio
Sleeves, identities, type & print.
The right image at the right time
Image-making, costume & the uncanny.
Covers, visuals & sound.
- →Brand & identity systems
- →Print & editorial
- →Websites & digital design
- →Photography & art direction
- →Music & cover art
How I got here
- Based
- Aachen, Germany — works remote
- Languages
- German (native) · English (fluent) · French (basics)
- Availability
- Open for new projects
- Rates
- On request, every project's different
A few preferences
- +Physical Media
- +Oversized headphones
- +The smell of fresh ink
- +Problematic female characters
- +Long romantic walks on the beach
- +Mixed Media
- –“Just make the logo bigger”
- –THE BIG LIGHT
- –Generic themes
- –Stock-photo smiles
- –The feeling of wearing jeans