In this post I want to summarize all international design lectures. I was able to gain valuable insights into so many different design areas and will definitely take some aspects with me.
Lecture#1 – Andrey Sudarikov: Playdisplay
Andrey Sudarikov is a designer from Russia and founder of ‘Playdisplay’, a studio based in Moscow which mainly focuses on mixed-media-installationen and interactive fairs, events and exhibitions for large business and companies in the Russian and Asian markets.
In his lecture he talks about three projects we voted for and his favorite project he worked on:
- Let your colours take flight
It is a augmented reality installationen for the Changi airport during the Singapore Air Show in 2016. Visitors were able to design and paint their own individual plane simple by using paper and pencil. They colored a printed plane on paper, put it on a table (where the camera scans the drawing) and see how their drawing became reality on a big screen. By transforming the drawing and place the resulting texture on the 3D model of the plane, visitors were able to see their individual creation on a video.
I really like the idea and the simplicity for the visitors. Everyone knows how to use pencils and how to draw. I also liked the aspect of combining analog and digital.
- Interactive trampoline
This project took place at airports, but later on also in shopping malls. By using a real trampolin and placing it in front a big screen, visitors had the opportunity to jump through a virtual airport and collect items. They used HTC Vive belt to track the movement and position of the visitor’s jump and sent them via Bluetooth. Andrey also talked about how important it is to take all factors into account, as right before the opening presentation there were some technical issues and everything stopped because of too many bluetooth signals at the same time.
I really like the gamification aspect and again the combination of analog and digital. It was also interesting to see how the managed the technical issues.
- Stalingrad Exhibition
For the Museum of Memory in Volgograd City, a panoramic projection has been created. By rebuilding Stalingrad before, during and after the war as well as adding audio compositions, visitors could experience an immersive experience. The difficulties were to rebuild everything like it has been and not how people wanted it to look like. He mentions, that they often had to ask the client. Another issue has been the rendering time.
I really like the outcome of this project and how they dealt with the historical and sensitive topic.
- Russian MIG-35 fighter aircraft
At the end Andrey was asked to talk about his favorite project. It was a project he designed and created for the MIG-35 aircraft. The presentation took place outdoor. Therefore the sun light, shadow and a few other aspects had to be considered. I was surprised that the entire project was created and finished in only three weeks! But his dream to design a plane became true and was a full success.
In summary, Andrey advices to have a clear concept and always a good prototype and drawing that can be presented to the customer. He also mentions, that a network is very important; having the right relationships opens up new possibilities. One should also always consider how the team interacts with each other and which the client.
Lecture #2 – Saskia Schmidt: Work Work Balance
Saskia Schmidt spricht in ihrem Vortrag „Work Work Balance“ über ihren persönlichen Weg zur Selbstständigkeit und ihre damit verbundenen Höhen und Tiefen. Ich konnte einige Punkte, die nicht nur explizit auf die Selbstständigkeit hindeuten für mich mitnehmen.
Ein guter Gestalter kennt die Regeln und setzt sie außer Kraft
Dieses Statement begleitete Saskia während ihrer Ausbildung und auch heute noch in ihrer Selbstständigkeit. Ich kann diese Aussage nur unterstreichen und für mich mitnehmen, denn ein Designer sollte stets Dinge hinterfragen, anstatt Kundenangaben mit der Einhaltung von der CI strikt umzusetzen. Zudem ist Saskia der Meinung, dass man Kreativität nicht lernen kann, jedoch in viele Bereiche – vor allem in der Studienzeit – Einblick erlangt und man aus jedem Projekt sein persönliches und eigenes Ding machen kann.
Während ihrer Studienzeit machte sie ein Praktikum bei EnGarde in Graz und sammelte dort ihre ersten – und nach ihren Worten – auch besten Erfahrungen. Sie lernte frei zu denken, frei zu arbeiten, vertiefte sich in bestimmte Designbereiche, lernte ganz neue Projektansätze und das alles ohne Zeitdruck. Für ihr nächstes Praktikum ging sie nach Berlin zu Studio Grau & Wednesday. Trotz mehrer Bewerbungszusagen hörte Saskia auf ihr Bauchgefühl und entschied sich gegen große und namhafte Agenturen, dafür für eine Agentur, die ihr einfach am sympathischen war. Spannend fand ich auch, dass ein Pitch während dieses Praktikums ihre eigentliche Bachelorarbeit wurde. Sie konnte mit diesem Projekt ihre beiden Leidenschaften, Design und Geschichte, verbinden.
Studium erfolgreich absolviert und ready für die Berufswelt. Wie Saskia deutlich machte, können Erwartungen nicht immer der Realität entsprechen. Ihr erster Job nach dem Studium entsprach nicht ganz ihren Erwartungen. Ein zentraler Satz, den sie bei den meisten Projekten im Hintergrund hat und jedem nur empfiehlt:
Du kannst nicht auf alles scheißen & dich dann wundern wenn’s stinkt
Was sie damit verdeutlicht ist, dass man etwas ändern soll, wenn es einem die ganze Zeit (negativ) beschäftigt. Den Satz werd ich mir definitiv merken! Sie kündigte ihren Job und dachte, jetzt wäre endlich die Zeit gekommen, sich selbstständig zu machen. Ihr bereits aufgebauten Netzwerk bei EnGarde ermöglichte ihr einen näheren Schritt Richtung Selbstständigkeit. Sie arbeitete mit der Agentur für drei Monate an einem Projekt. Danach kam zufällig und unerwartet ein Anruf von Studio Grau aus Berlin. Sie hielt erneut ihre Selbstständigkeit zurück, um die großartige Chance als Karenzvertretung der Geschäftsführerin zu nutzen. Plötzlich war sie nicht nur mehr als Gestalterin tätig, sondern musste auch Management Aufgaben bewältigen.
Saskia machte sich danach schlussendlich selbstständig. Ihr Netzwerk, welches sie sich bereits in der Zeit in Graz aufgebaut hat, war ihr Fundament für ihre Selbstständigkeit und wie sie sagt: Goldwert. Sie arbeitet heute mit einem breiten Netzwerk an Agenturen zusammen, wobei viele davon eben aus ihrer Praktikumszeit stammen. Zudem erwähnt sie, dass das schönste Netzwerk aus Freunden besteht.
Es war spannend zu hören, dass sie ihre Selbstständigkeit immer wieder „on hold“ setzte, weil sich immer wieder neue Chancen und Möglichkeiten spontan entwickelten. Ich finde es beeindruckend, welche Türen sich für Saskia aufgrund von Praktika geöffnet haben und welche tollen Projekte in Zusammenarbeit mit anderen Designern entstanden sind.
Lecture #3 – Astrid Kury: Why collaborate
Astrid Kury, a cultural scientist and director of Akademie Graz, talks about the importance and benefits of a collective, participatory and interdisciplinary set-up. When she first started to work collaborate, she was strongly convinced to continue in this work setting.
Astrid Kury thinks, working collaborative is a point of view statement. At the beginning of her lecture she asked in which kind of world we want to live in: in an egoistic, competitive and isolated one or in one where we share our ideas and aim to the best outcome together?
To take a step back: Who defines an interdisciplinary team and gets multidisciplinary expertise: scientific research, mediation, clients, arts, audience and design
I want to summarize some benefits and aims if we would work collaborative and when very different ‘brains’ work together:
- get broader aspects and wider perspective
- get a bigger picture
- a broad research
- everything is linked together
- unique ideas with different and new insights
- increases and promote social cohesion
- enables equal open access
- design more precisely
- increase aim for empathy and individual life-experience
- all stakeholders have the possibility to integrate their perspective on the topic – not just in the end when everything is finalized
- mediation and audience development as part of the creation
Of course there are also some challenges of interdisciplinary teams – but mostly there are at the beginning of the project; if you stick to your idea, you definitely get through it:
- Need to get a mutual understanding and to define the common aim and a common ground
- organise and balance a process of equal exchange
- re-define the relation between between producer and viewer
- building trust in an open process where it is not clear how the outcome will be
- accepting joint authorship and share ideas – YOU alone are not the big genius, the success belongs to the group as a whole
- much more communication
Astrid Kury is convinced, that working permanent collective and iterative is much more productive and coherent than creating everything step by step for the final exhibition. She also believes that culture is the best-practice of interdisciplinarity and participation. Participation in the field of art means that non-artist are engaged in the production of art and play an active role in the project. It means to engage the audience and to integrate the knowledge of many. By showing us a some examples of collective exhibition projects she worked on, I strongly believe in the benefits and aims of a collaboration. The iterative process and collaborative work led to an amazing output and strong impact to the society. I also agree with Astrid, that everyone can make a creative contribution by sharing and giving. It’s fascinating how we can take a profit from each other – no matter who we are.
Lecture #4 – Florian Doppel-Prix: Is It Art Or Can We Toss It?
In his lecture, Florian shows us several examples in the the fields of media art, interactive design and exhibition installations. I love the combination of analog and digital to create something interactive. He describes his working working process really clear, from the beginning to the final result, and also gives some technical explanations. He also mentions that it is about content, not technology; computer don’t make it easier. The budget should always be considered and is crucial. Florian also points out the importance of prototyping and testing. Another thing is his 40/40/20 % rule: 40% technological knowledge, 40% basic knowledge (Hausverstand) and 20% luck.
Lecture #5 – Burcin Cem Arabacioglu: Sustainability From Interior Design Perspective
In his lecture, Burcin Cem Arabacioglu talks about the importance of sustainability in the relation of architecture, interior design and infrastructure. He is convinced that every small step towards sustainability has an impact on the world and everyone – not only experts – should try to understand the impact and influence of our homes, interior, material and our way of living.
Lecture #6 – Sylwia Ulicka: Questioning Our Material Culture
Sylwia is a researcher, designer and professor, who is interested in design and sustainability. More likely, how design can contribute to the creation of more sustainable ways as well as shapes and change our behavior. As we all know, design and sustainability are both wide and complex topics. Human and citizens desire to achieve sustainable development already a long time ago. Sylwia mentions that sustainability should consider those three aspects: Ecological, Social and Economical. Sadly, we are still struggling to balance this aspects.
Sylwia shows three projects of her students which concentrate on discursive and speculative design and not only invoke a discussion but also a new point of view.They are radical, critical and speculative.
- “Hugo” is a hugging pillow with arms, which faces the problem of social isolation
- “Casa de Campana” is a house/tent built from the produced waste by political campaigns
- “Counter Spray” that hurts women before they use it, as a a law in Mexiko says, that women are only allowed to defend themselves if they are attacked and hurt.
To sum it up: ‘In the end, our designs are expressions and testimonials of our worldview, of how we think about the world and what we value in it’. I agree with Sylwia that we, as the new generation of designers, should take the power of protest and provocations to motivate the society of rethinking its behavior.
The lecture from Sylwia reminded me of our course ‘UxD1’ with Stefanie Egger, where we also focused on one SDG. We defined the problem, did a lot of research and created a possible solution. My group and I focussed on the SDG#2 Zero Hunger. It was shocking to see that worldwide ⅓ of all food produced is lost or goes to waste, while at the same the world hunger is rising.
Lecture #7 – Ursula Tischner: Better Future: By Design Or By Disaster?
‘We’re trashing the planet, we’re trashing the people and we’re not even having fun.’ – I think this pretty good sums up the focus of the lecture by Ursula. It was shocking to see, that only 1% of the ‘stuff’ that we design is still in use six month after production. This fact points out that we are a very wasteful society. Ursula questions, if humanity will be able to design a better future. Her goal is to create more radical sustainable solutions on a long-period of time.
She also talks about wicked problems and potential solutions, which we discussed also in the course ‘UxD1’ with Stefanie Egger.
Lecture #8 – Anastaija & Martin Lesjak: Space / Light / Sound Creating Atmospheres (INNOCAD 13&9 Design)
Anastasija and Martin Lsjak sprechen über das Architekturbüro INNOCAD und das Produktdesign Studio 13&9. Es ist spannend und inspirierend zu sehen, welche außergewöhnlichen Projekte und Arbeiten entstehen können, wenn man als eine transdisziplinäre Gemeinschaft mit unterschiedlichen Disziplinen fungiert.
Lecture #9 – Wolfgang Schlag: History, Development and Social Relevance Of Public Radio
Wolfgang talks about the radio as a media and its history. He points out the role of the radio as an important form of communication, especially for political aspects. It was interesting to hear, that he believes the radio will stay alive a long time even though there is the area of the internet. Especially in times where a lot of fake new appear, it is important to have a trustworthy source and voice in the radio.
