Calendar:

Hi Markus! We have a few questions for you as a futurist and designer:

How does designing in open system influence future designers as they are digital natives compared especially to educators shaped by modernism?

How open do open systems have to be so that no one is excluded?

As FUTURE DESIGN EMBASSIES we have a strong belief in open sharing as well as open education and collaboration in intercultural contexts. Critical examination of how we work and what we put into the world is part of our vision of future design. We’d be very lucky to investigate with you what openness truly means in design practice and studies.

Markus Kreutzer is a Strategic Designer based in Berlin. His work focuses on designing strategic options that support organizations to navigate a complex and rapidly changing world. Usually, he works on issues around navigating uncertainty, discovering opportunities and enabling transformation processes. Markus has a master's degree in Futures Studies and has worked with organizations such as the Stockholm Resilience Centre, moovel lab, Domestic Data Streamers, HfG Schwäbisch Gmünd or the Emerging City Lab Addis Ababa.

As Director of Impact Measurement at IDEO California, USA Larry Corio will speak on measurement theories and approaches that fit for innovative, human-centered design contexts. Together we discuss on key capabilities for future design graduates and identify lead indicators.

At IDEO, Larry Corio leads IDEO and its client partners in better understanding the impact of their design efforts on each other and in the world. He is committed to reimagining the tools and principles that people use to define “successful design,” and is most inspired when supporting diverse and complex organizations to better articulate their vision for the future, the paths they might take to get there, and how they can responsibly and relevantly assess their progress.
Larry began his career as a high school educator in Los Angeles, California, which has inspired his relentless interest in the power of young people, community-driven innovation, and human-centered design. Since then, has worked as a researcher and program evaluator for the Institute of International Education, University of California system, and IDEO’s Learning practice. Larry has authored numerous studies focused on educator preparation programs and community schools, and has facilitated and delivered 10+ conference workshops and talks across the United States and Europe. He holds degrees in Leadership & Policy from Columbia University’s Teachers College, Secondary Education from Loyola Marymount University, and Journalism from Boston College.

Keep you updated on Instagram!

Welcome to the Embassy, Claudia Mareis!
We are delighted to grab a coffee with you and discuss on MATERIAL and SUSTAINABLE CULTURES in design.
Being a design researcher with a focus on material and cultures, we will talk to Prof. Mareis about how our use of material has changed since the 20th century, towards today’s challenges for designers in the 21st century.

Prof. Dr. Claudia Mareis is an expert for Design as well as Cultural History and Theory. Since 2021, she has been Professor of Design and History of Knowledge at the Department of Cultural History and Theory at the Humboldt University of Berlin. Since 2019, she is also co-directing the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity. Image Space Material« at HU Berlin.
Her research interests include history, theory and methodology of design in the 20th century, knowledge cultures in design, experimental design and media practices, cultural history of creativity, design and material politics.
After initial training in Graphic Design, she studied Design, Art and Cultural Studies in Zurich, Berlin and Linz. Research and teaching positions subsequently took her to the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, the University of the Arts Berne, the University of Basel, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge/MA, and the Vilnius Academy of Art, among others.
From 2013 to 2021, she directed the Institute for Experimental Design and Media Cultures (IXDM) as well as the Critical Media Lab at the FHNW Academy of Art and Design in Basel. At IXDM she has built up a pioneering interdisciplinary research group converging Design, Media Arts, Anthropology, Historical Studies, and Technology.
As a member of several leading design research associations in Germany and Switzerland, Claudia Mareis has excellent networks in the field of Design Research. From 2016 to 2020 she was the vice president of the Swiss Design Network (SDN), and from 2008 to 2021 she was a board member of the German Society for Design Theory and Research (DGTF). From 2018 to 2021, she represented the field of Design and Art Research as a member of the National Research Council of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

Keep you updated on Instagram!

Mona Leinung and Markus Rautzenberg will discuss on ETHICS and AESTHETICS with us. We are excited to expand our design perspective in a philosophical way.

Markus Rautzenberg is professor of philosophy at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. Doctorate at the Freie Universität Berlin on the philosophy and media theory of disruption. Research projects on the »non-visual power of images« and the relationship between AI and play. Research interests: Media theory, image theory, aesthetics, epistemology, philosophy of computer games. Recent publications: Image and Game. Media of Uncertainty, Paderborn 2020; Framing Uncertainty. Computer Game Epistemologies, Basingstoke 2020.

Mona Leinung is doing her PhD at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen and works as a research assistant at the Institute for Cultural Studies in Essen. She studied visual communication, art history and philosophy in Berlin, Essen and Bochum. Prior to her doctorate, she was an associate partner at Studio Neue Museen and the agency anschlaege.de. Her research focuses on media aesthetics, digital culture and the philosophy of the arts.

Welcome again Josh Owen from Vignelli Center!
He will speak with us on the aesthetics of Modernism in the 21st century.

Josh Owen is the Vignelli Distinguished Professor of Design and the Director of the Vignelli Center for Design Studies at RIT. Prior to this, Owen directed the Industrial Design Department in which he continues to teach his popular course known as the Metaproject. Owen is also the president of his design studio, Josh Owen LLC. He is the author of the book Lenses for Design and the forthcoming book Design for Study.

Keep you updated on Instagram!

In this COFFEE+DIALOGUE session we will complement our discussion round with a perspective by researcher of art and visual culture Prof. Dr. Birgit Mersmann. Together we will explore the concept of "CULTURAL EXCHANGE".

Birgit Mersmann is Professor of Contemporary Art History and Digital Image Cultures at the University of Bonn. Her interdisciplinary research covers image and media theory, visual cultures, modern and contemporary East Asian and Western art, global art and migratory aesthetics, transcultural art history, contemporary documentary photography, and text-image relations. Recent monographs and co-edited books include Okzidentalismen. Projektionen und Reflexionen des Westens in Kunst, Ästhetik und Kultur (with Hauke Ohls, transcript 2023); Über die Grenzen des Bildes. Kulturelle Differenz und transkulturelle Dynamik im globalen Feld der Kunst (transcript 2021); Bildagenten. Historische und zeitgenössische Bildpraxen in globalen Kulturen (with Christiane Kruse, Brill/Fink 2021); Handbook of Art and Global Migration. Theories, Practices, and Challenges (with Burcu Dogramaci, DeGruyter, 2019).

Keep you updated on Instagram!

Christian Schreckenberger will talk with us about open-ended design from two different perspectives - that of a teacher of experimental design and that of an artist.

Prof. Schreckenberger, born in Weinheim, studied at the Düsseldorf Art Academy from 1992 to 1998, including as a master student of Prof. Alfonso Hüppi (painter, graphic artist and sculptor). After graduating with an academy diploma, he received a working scholarship from the Forum for New Art Etaneno, Namibia in 1999. In 2007 he went to Villa Serpentara, Olevano Romano, Italy as artist in residence of the Akademie der Künste Berlin.
Christian Schreckenberger lives and works as a freelance artist in Düsseldorf and exhibits in numerous German and international galleries and museums. Since 2010 he organizes the exhibition space ‘raum für vollendete tatsachen’ in Düsseldorf, which he founded.
Since 2007, Christian Schreckenberger has also been employed as a lecturer: for sculpture in the subject of art at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal, the University of Siegen and the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Saar. He is also a member of the ‚Gesellschaft für künstlerische Gestaltungslehren in der Hochschulausbildung e.V.‘. At the Faculty for Design of the Folkwang University of the Arts, Prof. Schreckenberger is teaching ‘Experimental Design’ for the Bachelor's degree programs Industrial Design, Communication Design and Photography (B.A.).

Today we kick off our second workshop LIGHT + MODULARITY in collaboration with ERCO!

Holm Giessler, inhouse designer at ERCO, will give his presentation

»Design at ERCO – History and Future«

on the modernist philosophy of ERCO and it’s company culture over the past 50 years at the Embassy at Quartier Nord.

»We are a leading international specialist in architectural lighting with LED technology. ERCO was founded in 1934 and has been family-run ever since. With around 550 employees, ERCO is one of the major employers in Lüdenscheid. In addition, there is a network of around 300 employees in the eleven sales subsidiaries in over 60 countries worldwide. Thus, with its characteristic combination of internationality and manageability, ERCO presents itself as a dynamic ‘micro-group’ with the short distances of a medium-sized company.«

Aside from the ERCO presentation we will give information about the project tasks, schedule and workshop information and of course there will be room for discussion.

We are more than happy to announce that Prof. Steffen Siegel is joining us for a COFFEE + DIALOGUE.
As an expert for history of photography, we speak about how the themes that shape society become visible in photographic images.

Steffen Siegel has been teaching as Professor of Theory and History of Photography at Folkwang University of the Arts since 2015. Here he directs the academic master's program Photography Studies and Research and the doctoral program on the theory and history of photography.

Keep you updated on Instagram!

Today Prof. Martin Middelhauve visits us for a COFFEE + DIALOGUE.
As co-founder of IDEM (International Design Education Meeting) he has profound and multi-layered experience in international work contexts. Thus, he is a fantastic guest to discuss CULTURAL EXCHANGE with us. In relation to problems of the 21st century such as racism, antisemitism and dealing with otherness, the concept of cultural exchange that has been established in Western Modernism is reflected.
How do we want to face these problems through and with design research and practice in the future?

Martin Middelhauve is Professor at the University of Applied Science and Arts, Dortmund. He is teaching spatial design, scenography and style studies.

His work includes scenography, corporate design, product and interior design and also music.

Keep you updated on Instagram!

Let's talk about FUTURE DESIGN!
Today we are starting our COFFEE + DIALOGUE sessions with Folkwang Professor for Design Studies Prof. Dr. Cordula Meier. She will discuss with us questions of modernism and aesthetics.
We invite various experts in design research and practice to speak on the topics CULTURAL EXCHANGE, DIALOGUE, OPENNESS, RELEVANCE and SUSTAINABILITY related to our research question "Backtracking Modern Times. Are the ideas of Modernism sufficient to solve 21st Century problems?"
Each of the experts talks about their specific experiences and perspectives on design, education and the importance for the future.

COFFEE + DIALOGUE is held on Wednesdays at our embassy.

Keep you updated on Instagram!

Season Greetings

Drop by for a drip of freshly brewed coffee at our brand new Embassy Office.
Get to know us, get involved, or just say hi.

We are happy to announce the Finale Exhibition of the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen.
Soon it will finally be time again: The Department of Design of the Folkwang University of the Arts invites you to the Folkwang Finale Exhibition.
The graduates' exhibition will be opened on 30.09.2022 in the Sanaa building on the Zollverein World Heritage Site and can be visited until 09.10.2021. In keeping with Finale tradition, graduating projects from the Photography, Communication Design, and Industrial Design departments will be exhibited.
The Department of Design is looking forward to an exciting and, above all, extremely diverse exhibition with many guests in the Quartier Nord at the Zollverein World Heritage Site.
Admission is free.