We explore stance, approaches, and tools that designers need to create meaningful digital products & services.

From research to prototype to design system: you learn the key fundamentals, but above all their practical application in the design process.

Throughout the semester, various guests join us with inspiring impulses and valuable feedback.

Design Process

Gestaltung ist Haltung.

Good design is not just about what we design, but also how and why. Together, we explore and define a culture in which good design can thrive. An engagement with the purpose and processes of critical design practice.

→ Go to chapter

Ecosystem of Modes.

We start with the basics of Interaction Design and observe how patterns like Affordance, Mental Model, Mapping, and Constraints appear in everyday life. We critically reflect on the rapidly growing field of multimodal human-machine interaction.

→ Go to chapter

Hyper-situational.

In a world that is increasingly less deterministic and more probabilistic, we need to break free from rigid structures and make room for the situation. Less control, more resilience. We explore use cases for hyper-situational software design.

→ Go to chapter

Unblackboxing AI.

We all use AI every day. But what actually lies behind this big Black Box? We explore how to make the use of AI tangible and comprehensible. We investigate interaction patterns that extend or challenge the popular chat paradigm.

→ Go to chapter

Each of the four chapters consists of important theoretical foundations, but above all practical examples and exercises (tailored to BA and MA level respectively).

At the end of the semester, there is no large final project — instead, a personal analysis and synthesis of insights and outcomes from the four chapters. → There was a slight pivot here that emerged during the semester: still a personal reflection and synthesis of the chapters, but there actually was a dedicated project in the end that was documented as printed DIN A1 posters, articles and social posts.

UX/UI, User Research, Prototyping, Design Systems, Figma