Name: Michael Heck
Job title: Application Technician and Trainer
Location: Elixhausen
Country: Austria
Who is Michael Heck?
I’ve been working as an Application Technician and Trainer for AkzoNobel Deco in Elixhausen since January 2010. I help customers and colleagues with technical questions they may have about the use of our products. I’m also responsible for helping our clients to learn about our products and product innovations in the Training Centre. My region is western Austria - the states of Salzburg, Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Carinthia.
I’m married, we have a 7-year-old-daughter and we live in the city of Salzburg. I'm a passionate motorcyclist, I love motor biking and I like to spend my free time with my family and friends.
What does color mean to you at work?
Color is something which has been an essential part of my life for the past 35 years. By training as a painter and varnisher, I turned my passion into a career. Color consultancy was always really important in my life, communicating and influencing moods and feelings through color; moving away from black and white and exploring the sheer variety of color, brightening up everyday life and making it more vibrant, simply by using color.
…and outside of work?
Color has been with me for my entire life really. My father had a painting and decorating business where I learned about color from an early age.
Color gives me a lift, it gives me energy. For example, by designing my ‘quiet areas’ in shades of blue and green, I’ve tried to create additional sources of energy for relaxation and unwinding.
On the other hand, I could also imagine a beautiful rich red in the office, to generate more power and energy fields in my professional life, to build up more tension and to push me forward.
What is your all-time favorite color and why?
My favorite color for almost as long as I can remember has been blue. I can’t say why exactly. Blue fascinated me even as a child. But in general I like color around me, I grew up with it and it plays an important and decisive role in my life.
If you could choose one color that most closely matches your personality, what would it be and why?
A color that best represents me? That would definitely have to be green. It’s a color which mirrors my striving for peace and balance, for humanity and the need for harmony. Green is my energy source.