2nd. semester
Design development

The module involves working out and implementing a solution for a task, idea or functional principle of relative simplicity, either individu-ally chosen or set. This involves the definition of formal parameters, the development and critical evaluation of alternative paths to a solution, and the making of rationally arguable decisions. The result is presented and discussed in a colloquium.
The study is conceived as a minor project that will accompany the degree program, providing continuous opportunity for additional work on developing ideas or putting the content of theoretical seminars into practice. It will not be subjected to the rigorous criteria of a draft design, as it comprises only the final phase – formal concept and execution – of a complete draft. It is expected that the complexity of the study will grow in the course of the degree program. Topics are agreed individually.

The goals of the study are:

• evaluation and realization of students’ individual ideas
• identification of form-determining parameters
• development and evaluation of alternative solutions
• objective reasoning of decisions
• development of drafting competencies
• training in manual model-building

Module Director
Prof. Gisela Kleinlein

The transformation of ideas into tangible form is an essential part of design. This module takes basic design principles a step further, to the conscious formation of a product’s aesthetic functions – a formal development incorporating a wide spectrum of aspects, but at the same time based on manual design skills.
Grundlagenvermittlung in der Generierung, Wahrnehmung und Kommunikation von Industriedesign mit dem Schwerpunkt der ästhetischen Funktionen eines Produktes.

A basic module in the generation, perception and communication of industrial design focusing on judgment, description, development and presentation, embodied in a practical application.

Lehrveranstaltungen

• Form development
• Presentation techniques
• Typography and layout for industrial design

Module Director
Prof. Matthias Schönherr

This module is concerned with

• various techniques of perception
• development of criteria for the evaluation of completed projects
• investigation and treatment of interior spaces, surfaces and structures in accordance with set topics
• broadening the knowledge of materials and manual techniques

Students learn in this module

• to apply basic model-building techniques in practice
• manual techniques appropriate to a wide variety of materials
• about different materials
• a formal design vocabulary
• to understand perception as the precondition for self-determined action.

Courses

• Exemplary designs
• Further development of fundamentals of design and materials technology

Module Director
Prof. Gisela Kleinlein

The industrial designer is necessarily concerned with the engineering aspects of the task, and the goal of the technical modules is to instill the competencies that will enable effective communication to take place between designers and engineers. This requires knowledge of the fundamentals of materials science, production and manufacturing engineering, and technical mechanics, so that engineering aspects of the project are taken into account from its preliminary stages.

Thus equipped, designers will work together with engineers on the interface between the product and its user at all levels of perception.

This is the multidimensional field of ergonomics, which is concerned with the functionality of systems and products for the user and its impact on design. Ergonomics looks, too, at the needs of the human user and the qualities that underlie them: physicality, sensory percep-tion, skills and abilities, and the inner qualities of motivation, character and expectations.

In the section on elasticity and strength theory, the module covers questions of materials safety, material stress, choice of materials and guarding against material failure.

Courses

• Fundamentals of ergonomics for product design 2
• Technical mechanics for designers - elasticity and strength theory

Module Director
Prof. Andreas Kalweit

Philosophy of design: Design philosophy focuses on the ideas and values of various schools of thought, the recognition of systemic contexts, and reflection on these matters.

Courses

• Philosophy of design

Module Director
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