Registration ends on 12.10.2026 at 23:59.

Modest things are at issue here, things that are not usually taken seriously, at least not in historical terms. But as little as in painting, the size of the object matters in history. Even in a coffee spoon the sun is reflected. Sigfried Giedion's thoughts about the design of everyday objects will open up the research concerning our immediate surrounding, things we grasp, cherish as personal items, look at and use in daily situations.
We will explore the design origins and ideologies, materials, the different production processes, ecological aspects, recycling, costs, brands, marketing and advertisement aspects.

The seminar will create knowledge how to do in-depth historical, theoretical, and biographical research, including a vast spectrum of approaches and disciplines. The students will be engaged in case study presentations and discussions, looking at the various interrelations between design and society linked to particular cultural topographies, marketing strategies and financial backgrounds, questioning taken-for-granted categories of identity, heritage and cultural transmission by drawing new connections between design, architecture, urban studies, ecology, economy and social sciences. Industrial product design developments will lose their aesthetic innocence when getting closer to it as the contemporary viewer gains a critical consciousness exploring the very different backgrounds and stories. Further goals of this seminar are the introduction to interdisciplinary discourses, research methodologies and aspects of institutional critique. What’s the impact of mass production, digitalization and robotics for the future of humanity, our society and our environment ?

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