I have always catered an interest for the interaction between human and object, which led to my fascination with technology and high fidelity prototyping. Nowadays my interests extend into the field of social, critical and transformative design.
July 2019
LUMI
Every person owns a few objects that they love and care for. It might be a favourite mug, inherited jewellery or the trusty old car. Often this bond becomes apparent in the displayed behaviour towards these objects; they will often be treated with special care, will get named or even viewed as having a distinct personality.
But why do we form such a deep bond with some objects and not with others?
In recent years highly complex technologies have taken up residence in our daily lives. Considering how deeply human communication relays on our emotions and feelings, it is of utmost importance to take them into consideration when developing effective human-machine interactions.
This topic has been analysed and implemented in the standing lamp Lumi. She is an exemplary household object that interacts with its users on an emotional basis.
Through a true depth camera it recognises humans and their movements and can interpret those gestures. Five degrees of freedom through a highly engineered pulley system and precise electrical components allow Lumi to move fluidly and organically.
She develops her own character, depending on positive or negative interactions she will be friendly and curious or even defensive and scared. She turns into a part of the household similar to a pet. She is a symbol for how our future with robots may someday look, without offering any evaluation on this complex topic. It is up to the user to decide how this future we are fast moving towards makes them feel.
ARTIKULIERT
August 2017
One workshop room at the Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal sets itself apart from all the others by one distinctive feature: sketches and etchings on the wooden tables. ARTikuliert immortalises these everyday artworks in a catalogue, which includes interviews with the artists thoughts and motivations behind those sketches. Flexible veneer pages within the physical copy of the catalogue turn it into an interactive artwork in which readers can add their own personal touches and become part of ARTikuliert.
FLUGBURSCHE
June 2018
Through the ever evolving digital networks and overall globalisation worldwide communication has become a give. However, through this new challenges are manifesting, often resulting in digital and analog forms of protest.
Originally, protests organised themselves in local communities. One advantage of these physical demonstrations is being able to reach out to a wide demographic is reached within the region.
Nowadays, protests are increasingly taking place in virtual space. They can spread infectiously on digital networks and can organise themselves more effectively.
However, they lack some crucial reach outside of their own social bubble.
Flugbursche is an object that combines the advantages of both digital and analog protests. In the shape of a mobile backpack, it prints and distributes messages posted on the digital network “Twitter”. Helium balloons become carriers of these virtual messages.
This system was implemented through self developed mechanics and electronics, that automatically fill the balloons, print the messages and attach them afterwards. The messages are sourced digitally on the platform twitter through the correlating hashtag. The hashtag itself can be chosen spontaneously by the wearer, to correlate with the protest (eg. #fridayforfuture or #blacklivesmatter).
The balloons are constructed so that they will drop down within a short amount of time. Having landed, the local residents have access to the printed digital messages from all around the world. Through this, the digital community and outreach is implemented into a real life interventions.
SWAY
February 2020
“Why should I change my behaviour, if no one else does?”
We are forever trying to pass on the responsibility for climate change to others.
But how do we want to improve our future, that is becoming more and more threatened, if we aren’t working putting a recurring effort into it ourselves?
The installation Sway, criticises this lack of personal responsibility for progressing climate issues, displaying the ocean levels, which are rising a record amount each year.
Water vessels with ascending amounts of water symbolise these ocean levels and are threatened to be pushed over and broken by the heavy pendulum. Water will spread throughout the exhibition, which is not only unsightly, but also threatens to destroy other exhibits and disturbs the visitors doing their tour of the exhibition.However, the pendulum can easily be stopped by a calming its cord. Whether this action is performed depends entirely on the visitors during the exhibition. There is no direct incentive to do so, except for the intrinsic desire to reduce the occurring damage.
This way Sway can be viewed as a social experiment as well as a symbol of climate change.
What level of destruction is necessary that we intervene?
Photo by Max Fuchs
Photo by Max Fuchs
Composing an exhibition, utilising the given space to its maximum potential, developing a coherent cooperate design for any digital and analog use during an event are what enthrals me about the field of event management and design.
But also the logistics, the communication, the problem solving and keeping everything in check throughout the event. It´s usually utter exhaustion, but I could not imagine anything more rewarding than a successful event.
Photos by David Neblung
Photo by Karla Schröder
21 JAHRE WERKSCHAU
July 2017
The first exhibition that I had the privilege of taking a leading role in. Commemorating the 21st anniversary of the design faculty at the Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal, a three day festival with life music, workshops and presentations was organised. Furthermore, the design students exhibited their work of the semester. I took responsibility in the curation of the exhibition, planning the setup, graphics and overall design, as well as the internal and external communication. The event was praised highly by visitors and university management. Working as part of a highly motivated, creative team of peers was incredibly rewarding and shaped my interest in eventmanagement and design deeply.
WERKSCHAU
Feburary 2018
After showing my skill and interest within at the 21 Jahre Werkschau, I was asked to tutor the course the following semesters and I am still grateful for this chance to improve my event management and design skills.
The students were confronted with the challenge of creating an engaging exhibition in the deep of winter. A unique feature implemented was a guerrilla marketing campaign, in which printed tape enveloped the streets of the city. A distinctive orange color was chosen and could be seen throughout the city before and during the exhibition.
KAOS X ROOTS
May 2018
KAOS (Kreative Arbeitsgemeinschaft Oberschöneweide) is a coworkingspce and eventlocation in Berlin. While working there I was tasked with creating and supporting numerous large and small scale events, both for private and cooperate customers. A highlight was the fifth anniversary party of KAOS, branded under the name “roots”.
Within a dedicated team of around twenty coworkers we designed and set up a eight meter high tree constructed out of reclaimed wood in the middle of the main dance floor and the theme was repeated throughout the whole location. The event attracted around a thousand guests over the duration of eighteen hours.
Photo by Linda Hanses
Photo by Linda Hanses
Photo by Linda Hanses
Photo by Linda Hanses
Photo by Max Fuchs
Photo by Max Fuchs
February 2020
NOWHAUS
The exhibition “Nowhaus” was created to present final results of a project with the same name, which was conducted with partner colleges in Halle and Dessau.
Planned as a moving exhibition, the overall challenge was to make is as modular and transportable as possible, while being sturdy enough for several large scale installations.
In a team of three master students, we created a system out of coated cardboard and distinctly coloured tension belts. The color scheme was a direct anaglogy to the overall topic of the installation, the Bauhaus.
Photo by Antonius Glufke
Photo by Antonius Glufke
Photo by Antonius Glufke
Photo by Antonius Glufke
FENSTERSCHAU
June 2020
Creating an immersive exhibition during a pandemic was an obvious challenge, as was tutoring and planning almost exclusively online.
The students and I came up with a coherent and beautiful concept, utilising the window space of our student space in the city centre of Magdeburg. Three large windows were equipped with long-lasting exhibition frames which allowed each project to be presented uniquely and to be viewed solely from the outside. Exhibits were rotated on a weekly basis for several weeks, keeping pedestrians engaged long term.
WERKSCHAU
April 2021
Hoping for a favourable turn of the pandemic, a full exhibition was organised. Unfortunately, it was not possible to have an opening or closing event, though the exhibition was accessible to a limited amount of visitors and through a 360° Website. The design of the exhibition was based around bold elements as well as a vivid pink color. All distributed posters were scribbled on by hand by design students. Additionally, a modular system out of steel frames was developed and assembled, to be used in the upcoming years.
Photo by Antonius Glufke
AUF DIE PLÄTZE
WERKSCHAU
July 2021
Due to administrative decisions, the students had a very short time to organise the bi-yearly exhibition. Looking for a more simplistic design, the students developed a coherent exhibition based on the pre-existing materials.
Out of personal motivation, a fellow student and I took it upon ourselves to organise the program and party supporting the exhibition. Thanks to a cultural sponsorship from the city of Magdeburg it was possible to create a two day event with workshops, talks and several DJs outdoors.
REPRESENT.OPENAIR
October 2021
With almost a dozen acts and hundreds of guests, the famously large and green campus of the Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal transformed into a meeting space for new and returning students. Organisation included a strong social media presence, regional marketing as well as the entire graphic design and logistics. Being one of only two designers in the lead team, I had the chance to independently create an identity and social media presence for the event.
WERKSCHAU
February 2022
As the winter semester always poses challenges due to the weather and darkness, the students came up with a concept for an exhibition that was particularly inviting at night. Black light and highlighted elements allowed the guests to explore the exhibits and discover details about the objects.
WERKSCHAU
July 2022
The students of the summer semester 2022 created an exhibition based on the idea of a thread leading throughout the exhibition. A particular highlight was the conduction of a large finnissage on the universities campus and multiple events and workshops throughout the ten day exhibition period.
WORKSHOP SERIES
August 2022
The approach of participatory design has been utilised in design processes for decades. As its values are inherently ecological and socially benefiting, it has gained considerable popularity in contemporary formats. However, the variety and broadness of published resources pose particular challenges for designers wishing to implement it successfully. The key objective of my master thesis was to analyse and summarise commonly occurring obstacles and advantages of participatory design and develop viable strategies of applying it in a multitude of different projects.
The case study, a series of workshops on the subject of urban air pollution, engaged local citizens in the city of Magdeburg to evaluate effective engagement strategies. In collaboration with the research project “cleanBREATHE”, the current disposition of local citizens towards the subject was investigated and methods to raise awareness applied.
The outcomes of the participatory design workshop series led to a reflection of the design approach, its core values, and application methods for designers on a variety of projects.
By working on with a multitude of different creatives and by teaching at the University I am consistently being surrounded by a diverse group of creative individuals and often have the opportunity to try out new things. Not only does it help develop and uphold skills, it helps broaden the horizons which gives an advantage future projects.
BOOKBINDING
Ongoing
Being very picky about what I wanted in my personal notebooks to be like, I started learning bookbinding myself. Since then I have experimented with techniques, styles and materials. It is an incredibly helpful skill as a creative, knowing how different materials behave is an invaluable experience.