Sven Robin Drescher (“Open Source, Freeware, Right-to-Repair” explores how open design principles can shape the future of product design. His thesis examines strategies such as open-source documentation, decentralized manufacturing, repairability, and standardized components, arguing for products that are longer-lasting, more accessible, and compatible with circular economy principles.

Franca Hoßfeld (“Pain Meets Design”) investigates how design influences the experience of pain in medical settings. Drawing on research in neuroscience, environmental psychology and design, she demonstrates how materials, colors, forms, and spatial design can reduce anxiety, foster trust and improve the overall patient experience.

Safia Amamanda Jahn Eichin (“Read the Room: Curating as a Form of Knowledge”) examines exhibition design as a cultural practice that shapes public understanding. Her thesis argues that accessibility depends not only on physical access but also on how exhibitions communicate meaning through language, spatial organization and curatorial decisions.

Alexey Kosin (“Power Competence” / “Machtkompetenz”) analyzes power as a fundamental condition of design practice. He argues that designers do not merely create products but actively structure human behavior, communication, and social systems, highlighting the growing responsibility of designers in an increasingly digital society.

Candelaria Maspero Fitzpatrick (“Visible and Invisible Information”) compares three government food-labeling systems from Sweden, Chile, and Germany. Her research investigates how graphic design can either inform or mislead consumers, revealing how public information competes with commercial packaging in shaping purchasing decisions.

Yun Song (“Data Visualization and Spatial Interfaces in the Age of Information Overload”) explores how interfaces can better match human perception and cognition. His thesis proposes spatial approaches to data visualization that distribute information across depth, movement and peripheral vision, enabling users to navigate complex information more intuitively.

Thesese (and further) projects reflect the breadth of contemporary design research within the teaching field of Design Theory at HfG Offenbach. By addressing pressing societal challenges through critical inquiry , the graduates demonstrate the transformative potential of design in shaping our futures.

Denn was in der offiziellen Kommunikation oft technokratisch als „Rahmenbedingungen des Hochschulpakts“ beschrieben wird, sind in der Realität massive finanzielle Einschränkungen. Diese wirken nicht abstrakt, sondern greifen tief in die Substanz der Hochschulen ein: in Personalstrukturen, (technische) Infrastruktur, in Lehrangebote, in Forschungsfreiheit und in die alltägliche Arbeitsfähigkeit der Verwaltung.

Gerade eine Institution wie die Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach ist davon in besonderer Weise betroffen. Als künstlerisch-gestalterische Hochschule lebt sie von (mitunter auch kleineren) Betreuungsverhältnissen, projektbasierter Lehre, experimentellen Räumen und einer intensiven Verzahnung von Forschung, Praxis und gesellschaftlicher Reflexion. Wenn finanzielle Mittel gekürzt oder real nicht an die steigenden Kosten angepasst werden, bedeutet das konkret: weniger Lehrkapazitäten, unsichere Vertragslagen für Lehrbeauftragte, überlastete Verwaltung und eine schleichende Erosion genau jener Freiräume, die kreative und kritische Arbeit überhaupt erst ermöglichen.

Für Studierende heißt das nicht nur abstrakt „schlechtere Bedingungen“. Es bedeutet weniger individuelle Betreuung, überfüllte Seminare, eingeschränkten Zugang zu Werkstätten, geringere Projektmittel und ein Studium, das zunehmend unter Druck gerät, effizienter statt experimenteller zu sein. Gerade in Feldern wie dem Design und der Kunst ist das fatal, weil “Innovation” (was auch immer man darunter verstehen möge), nicht aus Verdichtung entsteht, sondern aus Zeit, Raum und Fehlerfreundlichkeit.

Für Lehrende und wissenschaftlich-künstlerische Mitarbeitende bedeutet die Situation eine zunehmende Prekarisierung. Befristungen, hohe Lehrbelastung und administrative Zusatzaufgaben verschärfen sich, während gleichzeitig der Anspruch bestehen bleibt, eine Hochschule als „Labor für die Gestaltung der Gesellschaft“ zu betreiben. Dieser Anspruch kollidiert mit einer Finanzierungspolitik, die strukturell eher auf Konsolidierung als auf Entwicklung ausgerichtet ist.

Auch gesamtgesellschaftlich sind die Folgen erheblich. Hochschulen sind nicht nur Ausbildungsstätten, sondern Orte der kritischen Reflexion, der kulturellen Produktion und der sozialen Innovation. Wenn diese Orte ausgedünnt werden, verliert die Gesellschaft langfristig mehr als nur Studienplätze oder Forschungsprojekte: Sie verliert Räume, in denen alternative Zukünfte gedacht und erprobt werden können. Gerade in Zeiten gesellschaftlicher Polarisierung und komplexer Krisen ist das eine riskante Entwicklung.

Die Unterzeichnung der Zielvereinbarungen durch die hessischen Hochschulen und den hessischen Wissenschaftsminister Timon Gremmels steht damit exemplarisch für ein strukturelles Dilemma: Politisch wird Steuerung und Planung betont, faktisch aber werden die Handlungsspielräume der Hochschulen enger statt weiter.

Was also tun?

Die Verantwortung liegt nicht allein bei der Politik, sondern verteilt sich auf mehrere Ebenen. Erstens muss politisch klarer benannt werden, welche realen Konsequenzen Unterfinanzierung hat – nicht in Verwaltungsprosa, sondern in konkreten Auswirkungen auf Studium, Lehre und Forschung. Zweitens sind Hochschulen selbst gefordert, diese Entwicklungen nicht nur intern zu verwalten, sondern öffentlich zu machen und gemeinsam mit anderen Institutionen politisch sichtbar zu werden. Und drittens sind auch wir als Gesellschaft gefragt: Studierende, Alumni, Mitarbeitende und Bürger:innen müssen stärker darauf bestehen, dass Hochschulen nicht als Kostenfaktor, sondern als demokratische Infrastruktur verstanden werden.

Denn letztlich gilt: Eine Gesellschaft, die ihre Hochschulen nur verwaltet, aber nicht ausreichend trägt, spart nicht in die Zukunft – sie kürzt sie sich selbst weg.

"Ein Pakt gegen die Hochschulen – Bildung auf dem Rückzug"
https://www.designforschung.org/2025/07/09/kritik-am-hochschulpakt (www.designfroschung.org, 9. Juli 2025)

The book was conceived by Fanti Baum and edited in collaboration with Heike Schuppelius. Its visual and typographic realization was developed by Bruno Jacoby (typography) and Lukas Marstaller (communication design), both of whom played a central role in shaping the book’s distinctive spatial and narrative rhythm.

Featured artists include Meral Albrecht, Fanti Baum, Luis Benz, Paul Dorgerloh, Simon Gilmer, Jana Jähnig, Lina Jebram, Fotis Korosiadis, Josefine Kraemer, Emma Mamerow, Henry Matenaer, Heike Schuppelius, Nadine Wagner, and Olivia Wisker. Complementing these works is an essay on Georges Perec by Marc Ries, alongside a concluding text by Fanti Baum that frames the publication’s conceptual intentions.

How can we engage critically with these advancements? What actions can we take to counteract these trends? We will delve into these questions in conversation with Antonio Somaini, curator of the exhibition The World Through AI, Júlia Nueno Guitart of Forensic Architecture and Medico International. We will discuss which investigative, counter-forensic or artistic methods and practices can subvert the new AI-driven regime of truth, and debate whether and how machine learning can also offer opportunities to engage in humanitarian counter-investigations and epistemic resistance.

With Antonio Somaini (Sorbonne Nouvelle), Júlia Nueno Guitart/ Forensic Architecture (Goldsmith), and Medico International.

As part of the event series Visual Truth Regimes organized by Laliv Melamed (Goethe University Frankfurt), Felix Trautmann (HBK Braunschweig / Institute for Social Research), and Franziska Wildt (Institute for Social Research).

23.06.2026, 18:30
2og:dondorf (former Dondorf Druckerei)
Frankfurt, Germany

Participants collectively explored the HfG grounds, observing and documenting the diverse organisms inhabiting the site. Using magnifying glasses, binoculars, and microscopes, we traced micro-habitats, material interactions, and ecological patterns spanning plants, insects, birds, and spontaneous vegetation. The campus emerged as a dynamic ecosystem—one shaped not only by human design, but equally by non-human agencies continuously negotiating space and resources.

After the outdoor exploration, the collected observations were brought back into the studio environment for documentation and analytical processing. Images, samples, and notes were organized, compared, and interpreted, allowing relationships between different life forms and built infrastructures to become more legible. This transition from field observation to analytical reflection emphasized the entanglement of artistic, scientific, and design-based modes of inquiry.

More-than-human Perspectives

In a concluding discussion, participants reflected on the complex interdependencies between human and non-human organisms and the constructed environments they share. Key questions included how different species inhabit and transform artificial spaces, and how design practices might respond to these multispecies entanglements. The conversation drew on frameworks such as more-than-human thinking and multispecies perspectives, as developed by scholars such as Donna Haraway and Anna Lowenhaupt-Tsing.

The workshop, is embedded in the broader research and teaching project “Sympoietic Design – Designing Coexistence” (SoSe 2026) led by Prof. Dr. Tom Bieling, situating the field trip within an ongoing exploration of design as a practice of co-creation across human and non-human systems.

Photos: Green.Office & S. Wieland

Wieland, Susanne (2026): Pavement Cracks as Gateways to More-than-Human Urban Communities. In Bieling, T., Jonas, W., Loschiavo Santos, M. C. (Eds.), Community (&) Design: Material, Spatial, And Social Encounters, S. 220–221. Mimesis International.

“Confused, Feeble, Romantic, (Profusely) Decorated: Ornament as Feminist Practice” is a two-day international symposium that explores ornament as a critical tool in artistic practice and visual design. Throughout the event, participants will discuss how ornament can function as an aesthetic strategy in art and design, and examine its renewed relevance within contemporary visual culture.

On 18 and 19 June 2026, invited guests and students will come together to consider ornament not merely as decoration, but as a mode of material reflection and a potential framework for non-hierarchical, relational structures. By engaging with historical, cultural, and artistic contexts, the symposium investigates how ornament can operate as a form of “visual alphabet” — one that shapes new languages and supports feminist and democratic approaches to art and design.

Visal Design: Aaron Auel, Clara Henrich, Nathanja Fetzner, Vincent Brod.

All events will take place in either German or English (CEST) at the Linke Kapelle, HfG Offenbach (Schloßstraße 31, 63065 Offenbach am Main), and will not be livestreamed. The programme is open to the public and free of charge. No registration is required. Larger groups are kindly asked to register in advance via email.

Programme

18. Juni
    10:00 Opening
    10:15 Nadira Husain
    12:00 Jule Tabea Martin & Francesco Colli im Gespräch
    14:30 Tim Ingold (online)
    16:45 Dayna Casey
    ab 18:15 Evening Programme, HfG Radio

19. Juni
    10:00 Rietlanden Women’s Office
    11:45 Anna-Mariia Kucherenko
    14:15 Fanny Brandauer
    16:00 Kevin Bray
    17:45 luxxuryproblems
    ab 19:15 Abendprogramm mit HfG Radio

An event organized by HfG Offenbach in collaboration with WDC World Design Capital RheinMain 2026. The symposium is initiated by Tatjana Stürmer (Research Associate) and is researched, planned, and realized together with the students: Adrian Baczyk, Levent Efe, Paula Heinrich, Delfina Winter, Luis Hirschberg, Djamila Wick, Leonie Englert, Sogol Hassani, Aaron Auel, Chelsea Hartmann, Nathanja Fetzner, Vincent Brod, Nathaniél Hübel, Marcellina Milz, Taisiia Lokteva, Clara Henrich, Mia Lauhoff, Greta Maldener, Marta Yankovska, Mathilda Unseld, Svetlana Kolobova, Anne Devlin, Noëmi Ihrig, Anjali Gautam, Simon Geis, Noel Seo, and Elias Brader. Exhibition and event scenography: Delfina Winter and Leonie Englert.

Programm

Donnerstag 18.06.2026

Ankommen: 09:30 Uhr
Begrüßung: 10:00 Uhr

10:30–12:30 Uhr Panel 1 – Care und Demokratie: Demokratie braucht Sorge – Sorge braucht Demokratie

Vortrag von Dr. Johanna Leinius (wissenschaftliche Geschäftsführung Cornelia Goethe Centrum) und Lyrik von Iris Welker-Sturm (wortstellerin), moderiert von Dr. Sarah Mühlbacher (Goethe Universität Frankfurt), Austausch und Gespräche mit dem Publikum.

12:30–14:00 Uhr Mittagspause

Kurzführung durch die Ausstellung in der Alten Schmelze

14:00–16:00 Uhr Panel 2 – Care in non-caring environments

Vorträge von Dr. Céline Barry, Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Zentrum für Interdisziplinäre Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung Technische Universität Berlin und Mitgliedern des Center for Contemporary Arts Afghanistan in Exile (CCAA), moderiert von Prof. em. Dr. Helma Lutz (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt)

16:30 Uhr

Apéro mit Kurzvortrag von Gabriele Juvan zur Sammlung k*innen

Freitag, 19.06.2026

Ankommen: 09:30 Uhr
Begrüßung: 09:50 Uhr

10:00–12:00 Uhr Panel 3 – Becoming Parents: Elternschaft zwischen Realität und Sozialen Medien

Vortrag von Viktoria Rösch, Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Kompetenzzentrum Soziale Interventionsforschung (KomSI) an der Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences und Buchvorstellung „Becoming Parents“ von Janine Bächle (Fotografin und Künstlerin), moderiert von Sophia Schorr (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt)

12:00–13:30 Uhr Mittagspause

Kurzführung durch die Ausstellung in der Alten Schmelze

13:30–15:30 Uhr Panel 4 – Fürsorge als künstlerische Praxis

Vortrag von Dr. Jessica Ullrich, Vertretungsprofessorin für Kunstwissenschaft und Ästhetik an der Kunstakademie Münster zu „Make Kin not Babies“. Interspezies-Fürsorge als künstlerische Praxis“ sowie Einblicke in die Arbeit des Archivs Frau und Musik durch Jelena Rothermel, Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin und Koordinatorin des Archiv Frau und Musik, moderiert von Prof. Dr. Frederike Middelhoff (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt)

15:45 Uhr (ca. 30 Min.) Resonanzraum der Fürsorge / Interaktive Geigen-Performance mit Laura Zarina

Veranstalter:in:
GEDOK
In Kooperation mit:
Cornelia Goethe Centrum
Archiv Frau & Musik
Tickets gibt es unter https://eveeno.com/103588609

Studierende erhalten nach Vorlage ihres Studierendenausweises freien Eintritt

Always and forever ist Teil der World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026 und begleitet ebenfalls das 100-jährige Gründungsjubiläum der GEDOK durch Ida Dehmel 1926.

Ermöglicht wird die Veranstaltung durch die Unterstützung der Landesstiftung Miteinander in Hessen, dem Kulturamt Frankfurt am Main, dem Cornelia Goethe Centrum für Geschlechterforschung, dem Archiv Frau und Musik sowie der WDC 2026.

This session will feature in-progress research presentations by Ajai Hothi (Critical ans Historical Studies), Cathy Gale (MA Graphic Design) and Daniel Charny (3D Graphic Design) offering an opportunity to engage with emerging ideas, methods, and questions currently shaping design research.

Photo: Alice Twemlow (cropped)

The Design Research Assembly is a Design Research Platform initiative that brings together researchers from the School of Design and beyond to share aspects of their research projects and practices. The aim is to create an open and supportive environment where participants can discuss work at any stage of development, from early explorations to more established investigations.

The informal assembly format is designed to foster conversation, curiosity and exchange across disciplines and levels of experience. It provides a space for researchers to test ideas, receive constructive feedback, discover new perspectives, and connect with potential collaborators.

By bringing together a diverse range of approaches, topics, and understandings of design, the Assembly encourages a vibrant research culture that values experimentation, dialogue and collective learning. Anyone is invited who wants to share their work, meet new collaborators, or simply be inspired by the breadth of contemporary design research.

Building on theories of rationalization (Weber 1905), the excesses of efficiency as part of neoliberal design economies, and critical perspectives on acceleration and productivity (Rosa 2005, 2015; Han 2015), the project explores whether inefficiency itself can be understood as a form of efficiency—not in terms of increased productivity, but as an enabler of meaning, openness, freedom, and reflection. Socio-cultural theories (Bataille 1991; Illich 1973) provide counter-models to dominant logics of utility and exploitation, which are here examined as design-relevant frameworks. Inefficiency is thus reframed less as disruption and more as a resource beyond regimes of utility.

Based on this theoretical engagement with concepts of in-/efficiency and the critically reflected (post-)efficiency society, a series of design-research positions were developed. Their aim was not only to engage with theory discursively, but to test, concretize, and make it experientially tangible through critical-speculative and applied practice-based research. In this sense, design operates as a mediating instance between theory and practice.

Brick, Samuel Schön

One example is the project “(Not Just) Another Brick in the Wall” by Samuel Schön. It starts from the observation that the smartphone has shifted from a tool of connection to an artifact of social isolation. Through constant use, social media feeds, and notification-driven systems, it continuously captures our attention. Mechanisms borrowed from the gambling industry reinforce addictive patterns of engagement and contribute to a state of permanent sensory overload. Social media simulates closeness while often producing emotional distance and distraction. In reference to Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall,” this generates the image of an invisible wall in which every interaction—like, swipe, or notification—becomes another brick in a structure of social alienation. The project translates this critique into a design intervention that encourages more conscious engagement with digital devices.

In the project “HUG” by Roman Jakowlew, a hybrid object combines a cushion and sleep mask to enable both a physical and symbolic form of withdrawal. The object acts as a counter-design to the logic of permanent availability, creating a protected space for retreat, recovery, and productive non-productivity. It is based on the idea that rest is not achieved through efficiency gains, but through deliberately allowed inefficiency. A gentle, even pressure on the forehead and skull has a calming effect and supports mental and physical relaxation through acupressure-like stimulation. At the same time, it signals non-availability to the outside while creating an insulated inner space free from external stimuli. HUG. functions as a quiet companion in everyday life, enabling intentional interruptions—during travel, between meetings, or in moments where no personal retreat space is available.

HUG, Roman Jakowlew

Project Team: Devin Can, Jonas Giese, Roman Jakowlew, Emil Navid Kirchgessner, Anna Kurfiß, Lotte Landgraf, Jan Schneider, Samuel Schön, Aranza Velasco Sanchez.

Project Lead: Prof. Dr. Tom Bieling
Assistance: Susanne Wieland

Bataille, Georges (1991) Die Aufhebung der Ökonomie [orig. La part maudite]. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.

Han, Byung-Chul (2015) Müdigkeitsgesellschaft. Berlin: Matthes & Seitz.

Illich, Ivan (1973) Tools for Conviviality. London: Calder & Boyars.

Illich, I. (2014) Selbstbegrenzung. Eine politische Kritik der Technik. München: C.H. Beck.

Kim, Sojeong (2026): Reflexives UX-Design im Zeitalter der Beschleunigung: Eine Untersuchung zu Slow Technology und Intentionaler Reibung. Diplomarbeit, HfG Offenbach. Supervision: Prof. Dr. Tom Bieling

Rosa, Hartmut (2005) Beschleunigung – Die Veränderung der Zeitstrukturen in der Moderne. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.

Rosa, Hartmut (2016) Beschleunigung und Entfremdung: Entwurf einer kritischen Theorie spätmoderner Zeitlichkeit. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.

Weber, Max (1905): Die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.

This perspective informed the development of an interactive prototype by Sherman Wright, developed as part of the seminar “Gegenentwürfe – Politiken des Designs” (Prof. Dr. Tom Bieling) at HfG Offenbach during the Summer Semester 2026. The project draws inspiration from Noemi Biasetton’s book SUPERSTORM (Biasseton 2024), which examines the profound transformations shaping contemporary societies and questions how we might understand and navigate an increasingly turbulent future.

At the center of SUPERSTORM lies the argument that current global challenges should not be understood as isolated crises. Climate change, artificial intelligence, economic restructuring, demographic shifts, geopolitical instability and social transformation are not separate phenomena unfolding independently. Rather, Biasetton argues that they interact, overlap, and reinforce one another, creating complex feedback loops that accelerate change and amplify uncertainty. The “superstorm” described in the book is therefore not a single event but a condition: a convergence of multiple systemic disruptions occurring simultaneously.

Wright’s interactive prototype translates this core thesis into an exploratory digital experience. Instead of presenting a fixed narrative, the prototype encourages participants to investigate relationships, dependencies, and cascading effects, making the systemic nature of contemporary challenges more visible and accessible.

As a form of design research, the project explores how interaction design can contribute to understanding complexity. As a form of science communication, it demonstrates how abstract concepts and large-scale societal dynamics can be translated into experiences that are intuitive, engaging, and open to interpretation. The prototype does not aim to simplify complexity into clear-cut answers; rather, it seeks to create a space in which complexity itself becomes a subject of reflection.

The project will be showcased at three exhibitions throughout the year.

Biasetton, Noemi (2024): Superstorm: Design and Politics in the Age of Information. Eindhoven: Onomatopee.

Contemporary urban environments are increasingly characterized by ecological fragmentation, high levels of surface sealing, and a reduction of accessible green space. Simultaneously, many urban residents experience a growing disconnection from processes of cultivation, seasonal transformation, and ecological care. In this context, experimental forms of urban greening have emerged that seek not only to improve biodiversity but also to renegotiate the relationship between inhabitants and the urban environment. The Zwischenraumgärten contribute to these debates by focusing on spaces that are commonly overlooked within urban planning and everyday perception. Rather than addressing large-scale infrastructural transformation, the project investigates the latent ecological and social capacities of residual spaces through modest and reversible interventions.

The term “Zwischenraum” refers to intermediate or in-between spaces that often remain functionally undefined and ecologically inactive. Such spaces may exist alongside circulation routes, adjacent to urban furniture, or within transitional campus environments. Precisely because they escape formal categorization, these areas provide opportunities for experimental forms of occupation and reinterpretation. The Zwischenraumgärten intervene within these contexts through planted containers that create temporary vegetative islands integrated into the existing urban fabric. The selected vegetation is adapted to local environmental conditions and specifically designed to support insect populations, thereby contributing to urban biodiversity on a micro-ecological scale. As the plants grow and change throughout the summer semester, the installations become dynamic environments that continuously transform in response to climatic conditions, biological processes and human interaction.

The project is currently implemented at several locations on the Offenbach campus, including Schlossplatz near the Ludo-Mayer fountain and areas adjacent to seating and bicycle infrastructure, as well as at the Höchst campus courtyard near the entrance. These placements are significant insofar as they emphasize transitional and circulation-oriented environments rather than conventional recreational green spaces. Through their presence in everyday pathways and institutional surroundings, the installations interrupt habitual spatial routines and introduce ecological processes into areas typically associated with functional urban infrastructure.

A central aspect of the project concerns the relationship between ecological activation and public participation. The Zwischenraumgärten are not conceived as conventional community gardens requiring organized collective labor. Instead, they encourage low-threshold forms of engagement that include observation, attentiveness, and occasional acts of care. Visitors are invited to notice changes in the vegetation, observe insect activity, and reflect on how the installations alter the atmosphere and perception of the surrounding environment. Through QR-code-based feedback mechanisms, the project additionally gathers qualitative responses concerning visibility, spatial effect, and emotional reception. Participants are encouraged to consider whether the gardens appear inviting, disruptive, aesthetically pleasing, or irritating, thereby framing the intervention not only as an ecological installation but also as an inquiry into urban perception and public sensibility.

The emphasis on observation as a mode of participation is particularly significant within contemporary discussions on participatory design and urban ecology. Rather than equating participation exclusively with active co-production, the project acknowledges forms of perceptual engagement and situational awareness as meaningful contributions to ecological culture. This approach expands the understanding of urban stewardship by recognizing that ecological sensitivity may emerge through subtle and everyday encounters with living systems. Even simple acts such as watering plants during periods of heat and drought become forms of shared responsibility that temporarily connect individuals to broader ecological processes.

The material and infrastructural design of the installations further reflects the project’s experimental and pragmatic orientation. Integrated water reservoirs with overflow systems enable sustained hydration over extended periods while minimizing maintenance requirements. Visitors are encouraged to water the plants directly at the soil level and to avoid cutting, removing, or discarding plant material. Notably, faded flowers and decaying plant structures are intentionally preserved because of their ecological relevance for insects and microfauna. In this regard, the project challenges dominant aesthetic conventions of urban maintenance that often prioritize visual order and cleanliness over ecological complexity and multispecies coexistence.

From a design-theoretical perspective, the Zwischenraumgärten may be understood as a form of spatial prototyping that investigates how small-scale interventions can reshape social and ecological relationships within the city. The project does not seek to produce permanent solutions or idealized urban landscapes. Instead, its temporary and experimental character allows it to function as an open-ended research apparatus that generates questions concerning care, accessibility, visibility, and environmental perception. Its significance lies less in measurable ecological output than in its capacity to alter the symbolic and experiential dimensions of urban space. By rendering ecological processes visible within overlooked environments, the project destabilizes conventional distinctions between designed urban infrastructure and living ecological systems.

The Zwischenraumgärten therefore contribute to broader discourses surrounding urban sustainability, participatory spatial practice, and ecological design research. They demonstrate how even minimal interventions can foster new forms of environmental engagement and collective awareness within highly regulated urban contexts. In doing so, the project suggests that ecological transformation in cities need not depend exclusively on large-scale planning initiatives but may also emerge through small, adaptive, and participatory acts of spatial activation. Funded through the Green Office Fund 2025, the project ultimately proposes a model of urban greening that foregrounds experimentation, accessibility, and ecological attentiveness as essential components of contemporary urban culture.

This project was funded by the Green Office Fund 2025.
More information and updates will be available here soon.

Die Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG) Offenbach ist eine Kunsthochschule des Landes Hessen in der eine zeitgenössische und zukunftsorientierte Lehre praktiziert wird, die durch einen vielfältigen Austausch zwischen den freien, den angewandten und den theoretischen Fachgebieten gekennzeichnet ist. Die HfG Offenbach hat zwei Fachbereiche – Kunst und Design – mit ca. 800 Studierenden und ca. 170 Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeitern und besitzt das Promotionsrecht.

Im Fachbereich Design ist ab 1.7.2026 bis zum Projektende am 31.12.2028 die Stelle Teamassistenz w/m/d (bis E8 TV-H, 24 Stunden/Woche) zu besetzen.

Der Stelleninhaber / die Stelleninhaberin wird Aufgaben im Managementprojekt der BMBF-geförderten Innovationscommunity »Transformation by Design: Die zukunftsfähige Stadt gestalten« an der Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach a.M. übernehmen. Die Innovationscommunity initiiert nachhaltige, inklusive Projekte, die das unternehmerische, soziale und kulturelle Potenzial Offenbachs für eine gemeinsame Zukunftsperspektive zusammenbringen. Ausgehend von der Hochschule für Gestaltung, der Stadt Offenbach, der IHK Offenbach a.M. und des Vereins VAIR e.V. entwickelt die Community Transfer- und Innovationsprozesse in den Bereichen »Nachhaltige Gestaltung der Stadt«, »Gesellschaftlicher Zusammenhalt« und »Innovationsfähigkeit«.

Weitere Informationen: www.bmbf.de/datipilot und https://sl1nk.com/uuehcd5

Die Aufgaben

1. Kommunikation

Unterstützung beim Aufbau und bei der Umsetzung von Social-Media-Aktivitäten
Pflege und Aktualisierung der Webseite
Erstellung von Content für digitale Kanäle
Fotografieren und Filmen einfacher Inhalte
Erstellung einfacher Grafiken und Layouts
Einfache Bildbearbeitung und Bildaufbereitung
Unterstützung beim Einholen und Dokumentieren von Bildrechten

2. Mitarbeit an Publikationen

Unterstützung bei Recherchen
Zuarbeit bei der Zusammenstellung von Text-, Bild- und Informationsmaterial
Unterstützung beim Einholen und Nachhalten von Bildrechten
Unterstützung bei redaktionellen und organisatorischen Arbeitsschritten

3. Unterstützung bei Veranstaltungen

Mithilfe bei der Vorbereitung, Durchführung und Nachbereitung von Events
Unterstützung bei organisatorischen Abläufen vor Ort
Dokumentation von Veranstaltungen durch Fotos oder kurze Videos

4. Unterstützung bei administrativen Aufgaben

Allgemeine organisatorische und administrative Zuarbeit
Pflege von Listen, Ablagen und Übersichten
Termin- und Materialkoordination
Kommunikation mit internen und externen Beteiligten auf Arbeitsebene

Profil

Abgeschlossene Berufsausbildung oder vergleichbare Qualifikation, idealerweise in den Bereichen Verwaltung, Büromanagement, Medien/ Kommunikation und Veranstaltungen.
Erwünscht: Sicherer Umgang mit gängigen Textverarbeitungsprogrammen; Grundkenntnisse in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator und InDesign; Verständnis für Bildformate, Dateiaufbereitung und einfache Layoutanforderungen; Grundkenntnisse im Umgang mit CMS wünschenswert, Erfahrung in der Erstellung von Inhalten für Webseite und Social-Media (Instagram), strukturierte Arbeitsweise, Teamfähigkeit, Serviceorientierung, interkulturelle Kommunikationsfähigkeit.

Für diese Stelle bietet die Hochschule die Gelegenheit, sich mit neuesten Entwicklungen in den Bereichen Transfer- und Innovationprozesse, Stadtentwicklung sowie transdisziplinäre Forschung in einem interdisziplinären Team zu beschäftigen, das unentgeltliche Landes Ticket Hessen nach Maßgabe des derzeit gültigen Tarifvertrages TV-H, flexible familienfreundliche Arbeitszeiten im Rahmen der Vertrauensarbeitszeit, mobiles Arbeiten.

Die Eingruppierung erfolgt je nach vorliegender Qualifikation max. bis Entgeltgruppe 8 TV-H.
Die Position ist befristet bis 31.12.2028 (Projektende).

Die Hochschule wertschätzt Vielfalt und begrüßen daher alle Bewerbungen – unabhängig von Geschlecht, Nationalität, ethnischer und sozialer Herkunft, Religion/Weltanschauung, Behinderung, Alter sowie sexueller Orientierung und Identität. Menschen mit Behinderungen im Sinne des § 2 Abs. 2 SGB IX werden bei gleicher Qualifikation bevorzugt berücksichtigt.

Die HfG Offenbach strebt eine Erhöhung des Anteils der Frauen in Verwaltung, Forschung und Lehre an und bittet deshalb qualifizierte Frauen nachdrücklich, sich zu bewerben.

This raises important questions for researchers, practitioners, and institutions alike: How can practice-based and practice-led research be further developed? What opportunities and challenges do doctoral candidates encounter when working at the intersection of academic inquiry, design practice, and artistic production? And what kinds of institutional structures are needed to support these forms of research in the future?

To address these questions and foster exchange among emerging and established researchers, the Department of Design at the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences will host a dedicated day for prospective doctoral candidates and current PhD researchers in design and the arts on 11 June 2026.

The event aims to create a platform for dialogue, networking, and critical reflection on the current state of doctoral education in design and the arts. Participants are warmly invited to join the discussions, share experiences, and contribute to a broader conversation about the future of doctoral research in creative disciplines.

Whether you are considering a doctorate, currently pursuing one, or are simply interested in the evolving landscape of research in design and the arts, this event offers a valuable opportunity to engage with peers and experts from across the field.

The organizers — Kirsten Wagner, Edith Kollath, Sarah Fyrguth (HfG Offenbach), and Jana Sehnert — look forward to welcoming participants and fostering inspiring conversations about the future of doctoral research in design and art.

Registration is not required. All interested participants are welcome to attend.

The day will feature a diverse programme of presentations, discussions, and networking opportunities, including:

Keynote Lecture
“Knowledge Politics in the Arts” by Marie Hoop

University Presentations
Insights into different models of practice-based and practice-led doctoral research.

Networking Initiative: design:promoviert
An opportunity to connect with researchers, doctoral candidates, and institutions engaged in design research.

Panel Discussion
A conversation on the current state, challenges, and future perspectives of doctoral education in design and the arts.

Research Project Insights
Presentations by doctoral candidates showcasing ongoing research projects from the fields of design and art.

11 June 2026
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
at Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences – Department of Design
Venue: Room R401

Speakers (alphabetical order)
Anna Dill
Christine Rafflenbeul
Dr. Kathrin Gollwitzer-Oh
Dr. Marie Hoop
Dr. Martin Reinhart
Dr. Sara Hillnhütter
Dr. Simon Meienberg
Harriet von Froreich
Jana Sehnert
Philipp Cartier
Prof. Dr. Anant Patel
Sarah Fyrguth

Involved Institutions/Universities (alphabetical order)
Die Angewandte Wien
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
design:promoviert
HfG Offenbach
HfK Bremen
HFBK Hamburg
HSBI (Hochschule Bielefeld)
KISD (Köln International School of Design)
Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
Universität Leiden

Born in 1963 in the Netherlands, Hella Jongerius studied at the Design Academy Eindhoven, an institution widely recognized for fostering experimental and conceptual approaches to design. After graduating, she established Jongeriuslab in Rotterdam in 1993, marking the beginning of a career characterized by interdisciplinary exploration across textiles, ceramics, furniture, lighting, and spatial design. From the outset, Jongerius questioned the conventional hierarchy between handmade and industrially produced objects. Rather than privileging one over the other, her work investigates how the expressive qualities of craft can coexist with the efficiencies of industrial manufacturing. This inquiry has remained central throughout her career and has informed collaborations with internationally recognized companies such as Maharam, KLM, Camper, and Vitra. These partnerships demonstrate how her experimental methods can be translated into large-scale production while preserving individuality and material authenticity.

Whispering Things represents the first major retrospective to present the full breadth of Jongerius’s oeuvre, ranging from early student experiments to recent projects developed in collaboration with industry partners. A significant portion of the exhibition draws on the archive of Jongeriuslab, which has been under the stewardship of the Vitra Design Museum since 2024. By presenting sketches, prototypes, material tests, and finished products alongside one another, the exhibition foregrounds design as an iterative process rather than a linear progression toward a final object. This curatorial approach encourages viewers to consider the experimental nature of design practice and highlights the importance of failure, revision, and sustained inquiry.

One of the central themes emerging from the exhibition is Jongerius’s engagement with materiality. Her work demonstrates a sustained interest in the tactile and visual properties of materials, particularly ceramics and textiles. Surfaces are often intentionally irregular, revealing traces of manual intervention even within industrial contexts. This deliberate incorporation of variation challenges the modernist ideal of uniformity that historically dominated industrial production. Instead, Jongerius proposes an alternative aesthetic that values imperfection as a marker of authenticity and human presence. Such an approach aligns with broader contemporary debates on sustainability and longevity, emphasizing the emotional durability of objects as a counterpoint to disposable consumer culture.

Color constitutes another defining element of Jongerius’s practice, and the exhibition dedicates significant attention to her research into chromatic systems. Rather than treating color as a decorative afterthought, Jongerius approaches it as a structural and communicative component of design. Her layered color palettes often result from extensive experimentation with dyes, pigments, and weaving techniques. Through subtle shifts in tone and texture, she explores how color influences perception, spatial experience, and emotional response. In this context, color becomes a medium through which objects acquire identity and narrative depth.

The title Whispering Things encapsulates the exhibition’s underlying premise: objects possess the capacity to communicate through their material presence, construction, and use. The exhibition runs until September 9.

Hella Jongerius: Whispering Things © Vitra Design Museum Graphic Design: Joost Grootens based on the work Falling Vases Paintings by Hella Jongerius.

Germany has long been one of the international hubs for far-right fashion. Today, this segment is characterized by a range of self-designations such as “German Nordic Brands,” “Northern European textile labels,” “Viking lifestyle,” or clothing for “conservatives and patriots.” While brands, products, and online stores based in small towns and rural areas continue to expand, far-right influencers on social media are simultaneously producing and circulating new stylistic codes and visual identities. The establishment of explicitly far-right fashion labels is a growing trend.

This development raises pressing questions: How do far-right fashion systems produce and circulate power, cultural violence, aggression, and hate? What kinds of political and economic networks emerge within this field? And how are aesthetics mobilized to normalize or amplify extremist ideologies? The lecture addresses these issues by presenting current research findings from the FWF-funded project “Fashion and the Far Right” at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

Elke Gaugele is an empirical cultural scholar and professor of Fashion and Styles / Design in Context at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Her research and publications develop a postcolonial and intersectional feminist approach to fashion studies. This perspective examines the interconnections between aesthetics, ethics, global and social justice, and politics. She currently leads the research project “Fashion and the Far Right: The New Complexity in Style,” funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) (2023–2026).

The guest lecture (in german) is par of the lecture series “fashion is …”.

Prof. Dr. Elke Gaugele: Fashion und Faschismus
Monday 8.Juni 2026, 16:30 Uhr
Isenburger Schloss, 1. OG (Lehrgebiet Mode)

Rituals like the Corpus Christi procession are not only expressions of belief; they are also frameworks of collective memory. Their strength lies in repetition. The fact that they recur in nearly identical forms year after year creates a sense of continuity that transcends individual lifetimes. In a world where change is often the dominant experience, such stability can feel grounding.

Fixed forms – whether in religious rituals, social customs or even everyday routines – serve as cognitive and emotional anchors. They reduce complexity by providing recognizable patterns of action. Participants do not need to reinterpret meaning from scratch each time; instead, meaning is embedded in the structure itself. But these forms are not static. Over centuries, even the most traditional processions have adapted to changing urban environments, social expectations and cultural sensitivities. What appears timeless is often the result of continuous subtle transformation.

The tension between continuity and change raises a broader question: how much structure does a society need in order to remain coherent? Too little form can lead to fragmentation and disorientation. Too much form, on the other hand, risks rigidity and exclusion.

This dilemma is not limited to religious practice. It extends to architecture, design, social institutions and even digital life. In many ways, we are constantly negotiating between fixed structures and flexible adaptation.

Ritual follws function? Function follows Ritual?

The famous design principle “Form follows Function” (Sullivan, 1896) often associated with modern architecture, expresses this negotiation in a condensed way. It suggests that the shape of things should emerge from their purpose. Yet in contemporary culture, the relationship between form and function has become more complex. Forms can develop their own meaning, independent of their original function, and sometimes even reshape that function in return.

In a fast-moving world shaped by constant connectivity and rapid innovation, structured forms may not be disappearing – they may simply be changing their appearance. Digital routines, from daily notifications to algorithmically curated feeds, are also forms of repetition. They structure attention and behavior, often more subtly than traditional rituals.

Seen in this light, the question is not whether we still need forms and routines, but which forms we allow to shape us. Rituals like Corpus Christi processions make this visible in a physical, shared space. They remind us that meaning is not only communicated through content, but also through structure, rhythm, and repetition.

Probably, the enduring relevance of fixed forms lies in their ability to hold together continuity and change. They stabilize experience without freezing it. They allow societies to remember, while still evolving. This ongoing balance between structure and openness (cf. Kreutzer, 2022) is also at the heart of current debates in design theory.

Against this background, today’s radio program on HR1 turns precisely to these questions. In a special broadcast, the station explores the relevance of form in contemporary culture. Among the guests is Tom Bieling, who joins moderator Klaus Hofmeister to discuss whether the principle “Form follows Function” still holds true in today’s complex cultural and technological landscape.

To continue this (short) conversation in different contexts and formats promises to extend the reflection beyond ritual and tradition into the broader field of design – asking, in essence, how much form we still need, and what kind of functions we expect it to serve.

https://www.ardsounds.de/episode/urn:ard:episode:8f96838cde037d73/

Kreutzer, Markus (2022): Visions of Openness – The Diverse Perspectives on Openness for Designing Open Systems. In: DESIGNABILITIES Design Research Journal, (09) 2022. https://tinyurl.com/29ywp5bv ISSN 2511-6274

Sullivan, L.H. (1896): The tall office building artistically considered. Lippincott’s Magazine, 57, pp. 403–409.

Interview Link (starts at min 23.): https://www.ardsounds.de/episode/urn:ard:episode:8f96838cde037d73/

Das politische Plakat entstand in einer Zeit, in der Massenmedien noch begrenzt waren und öffentliche Sichtbarkeit eine zentrale Voraussetzung politischer Teilhabe darstellte. Wahlplakate sollten informieren, überzeugen und Orientierung bieten. Häufig standen politische Programme, gesellschaftliche Ziele oder weltanschauliche Positionen im Mittelpunkt. Im Laufe des 20. Jahrhunderts veränderten sich jedoch die Kommunikationsformen der Politik grundlegend. Mit der Professionalisierung politischer Kampagnen, dem Aufstieg der Werbung und dem wachsenden Einfluss visueller Medien rückten zunehmend die Verdichtung von Botschaften und die Inszenierung von Personen in den Vordergrund.

An die Stelle ausführlicher politischer Argumentationen traten prägnante Slogans, die Aufmerksamkeit erzeugen und Wiedererkennung schaffen sollten. Zugleich wandelte sich die Darstellung politischer Akteur:innen: Wo einst die Partei und ihr Programm repräsentiert wurden, rückte immer stärker das einzelne, um Wähler:innenstimmen werbende Individuum ins Zentrum. Das Wahlplakat wurde damit nicht nur zum Informationsträger, sondern auch zur Bühne politischer Selbstdarstellung.

Janeckes Vortrag zeichnet diese Entwicklung anhand ausgewählter Beispiele nach und ordnet sie in größere kultur- und mediengeschichtliche Zusammenhänge ein. Dabei wird deutlich, dass sich am Wahlplakat weit mehr ablesen lässt als die Gestaltungstrends seiner Zeit. Es spiegelt Veränderungen politischer Kommunikation, gesellschaftlicher Erwartungen und demokratischer Öffentlichkeit wider. Die Frage, wie Politik sichtbar gemacht wird und welche Rolle Gestaltung dabei spielt, führt unmittelbar zu grundsätzlichen Überlegungen über das Politische selbst.

Vortrag von Prof. Dr. Christian Janecke im Rahmen der World Design Capital (WDC)
3. Juni 2026, 10:30 Uhr
Museum Angewandte Kunst
Frankfurt

Der Vortrag bewegt sich an der Schnittstelle von ökofeministischen, neu-materialistischen sowie post- und dekolonialen Medientheorien und verbindet diese theoretischen Perspektiven mit künstlerischen Praktiken, die sich dem Kompost als Denkfigur und Erfahrungsraum annähern. Dabei wird Kompost als eine Form des „Mit-Werdens“ verstanden, die technokratische und extraktivistische Ressourcenlogiken unterläuft und stattdessen Prozesse des Verflechtens, der Transformation und des gegenseitigen Hervorbringens in den Mittelpunkt rückt.

Anhand ausgewählter künstlerischer Positionen zeigt Kronberger, wie Kompostierung nicht nur als ökologische Praxis, sondern auch als ästhetische und epistemische Methode lesbar wird. Besonders im Fokus stehen dabei Formen tiefensensorischer Wahrnehmung: das Erleben von Materialität, Zerfall und Transformation als körperlich-ästhetische Erfahrung, die neue Formen des Denkens und Fühlens ermöglicht.

In dieser Perspektive wird Kompost zu einem Medium, durch das sich eine bio-egalitäre Ethik der Sorge abzeichnet – eine Ethik, die menschliches Leben und Sterben nicht isoliert betrachtet, sondern als unauflöslich in mehr-als-menschliche Kreisläufe der Erde eingebettet versteht. So wird das Verhältnis von Mensch, Umwelt und Materialität nicht als Trennung, sondern als kontinuierliche Verflechtung erfahrbar gemacht.

Der Gastvortrag findet am 01.06.2026 umd 14:00 Uhr im Rahmen des Seminars „Sympoietic Design – Koexistenz entwerfen“ (Prof. Dr. Tom Bieling & Susanne Wieland) an der HfG Offenbach statt.

Im Zentrum stehen Fragen nach Stimme, Atmosphäre und Teilhabe. Wie verändert gemeinsames Singen die Wahrnehmung eines Ortes? Welche Formen von Begegnung und Gemeinschaft können durch kollektives Hören und Klingen entstehen? Der Weidenpavillon wird dabei nicht nur zum Veranstaltungsort, sondern selbst zum aktiven Teil des Settings – als gewachsene, offene Struktur zwischen Architektur, Landschaft und sozialem Experiment.

Die Veranstaltung ist bewusst niedrigschwellig angelegt. Musikalische Vorkenntnisse oder performative Ansprüche spielen keine Rolle; vielmehr geht es um das gemeinsame Erleben von Klang, Körperlichkeit und öffentlichem Raum. Das offene Format versteht sich als Einladung zur Teilnahme und zum Mitgestalten.

Der Weidenpavillon entstand im Rahmen von WDC 2026 und wurde von Greta Maldener, Johann Rambow sowie dem Kollektiv „Hada – Werkstatt für Gemeinwohl“ realisiert. Die erst Ende April fertiggestellte Struktur bildet mit ihrer lebendigen Weidenarchitektur einen besonderen Resonanzraum für die Veranstaltung – zu einem Zeitpunkt, an dem bereits die ersten Knospen austreiben und Wachstum unmittelbar sichtbar wird.

Die Veranstaltung findet im Rahmen der Offenbacher Kunstansichten statt. Die Teilnahme ist kostenlos und offen für alle – unabhängig von Alter, Erfahrung oder musikalischem Hintergrund. Das Projekt “Singen als Soziale Praxis” wird als freies Vorhaben bei Prof. Peter Eckart und Prof. Dr. Tom Bieling an der HfG Offenbach bearbeitet.

The focus of the research lies on spontaneous urban ecosystems and ruderal vegetation developing in sidewalk cracks, wall crevices, and other interstitial urban spaces (Wieland 2026). Through long-term observation, empirical case studies, and design-based interventions, the project explores how ecological processes of appropriation and transformation emerge, and what implications these have for future design practices. Methodologically, the work combines approaches from design research, urban ecology, and anthropology, drawing in particular on discourses of more-than-human design and multispecies coexistence.

On the 3rd of June, Wieland conducts a Fieldtrip/Workshop and invites students (or others who are interested), to perceive the HfG campus as a living environment. Together, participate will dedicate themselves to observing the living beings that use and shape the campus alongside us. From plants and insects to spontaneous vegetation, as well as birds and mammals, the group will investigate who and what lives in, on, and around the site. Using magnifying glasses, microscopes, and binoculars, the fieldtrip will document and analyze traces, habitats, and relationships between different living beings and human-made infrastructure.

The focus will be on observation, exchange, and discussion: Which life forms share this space? How do they make use of the artificial environment? How can artistic and design practices respond to urban ecological actors? In doing so, reference will be made to discourses such as “more-than-human” and “multispecies thinking,” as shaped by thinkers such as Donna Haraway and Anna Tsing.

The workshop is understood as an open approach to questions of biodiversity, ecological entanglement, and their significance for artistic and design practice. The workshop is funded by the green.office.fonds.

“Fields of Coexistence”
Workshop and Fieldtrip

3rd June 2026, 2–5 pm
Main Building, Room 312
Registration via Susanne Wieland: wieland(at)hfg-offenbach.de

The Workshop is limited to 8 participants.

Wieland, Susanne (2026): Pavement Cracks as Gateways to More-than-Human Urban Communities. In Bieling, T., Jonas, W., Loschiavo Santos, M. C. (Eds.), Community (&) Design: Material, Spatial, And Social Encounters, S. 220–221. Mimesis International.