Grundlagen der Gestaltung
My thesis explores the design pedagogy at the Ulm School of Design (HfG) in comparison to the teaching approach at the Offenbach School of Design (HfG). The fundamental aim of the teaching at the HfG Ulm was for students to learn how to develop their individual creativity together with their design skills. The HfG Ulm had its pedagogical roots in the Bauhaus. The Bauhaus approach later developed into a more modern Ulm style, which is still regarded as trend-setting today, and the HfG Offenbach takes it cue from that. The starting point for my work was the discussions between Max Bill and Otl Aicher, and Tomás Maldonado and Hans Gugelot in the 1950s about the design teaching concepts at the HfG Ulm.
These discussions gave rise to the Ulm Model, which concentrated on interdisciplinary interconnections and the design processes for problem-solving. Designers should translate their own formal language into a design in such a way that it can be understood by those looking at it. In my view, this design foundation is very important for designers so that are able to find their own design language.
E-Cloud Home
My design work focuses on free access to sustainable energy supply in private households, while taking into account different kinds of housing. The question I posed was whether solar systems could be a solution. Further, should this not be the case, what alternatives to solar systems could contribute to a sustainable energy supply. What if we could all produce, store and consume energy while also being able to exchange, donate, or sell this energy? On the basis of these questions, I developed E-Cloud Home, a cloud-based energy storage system with an accompanying app and a modular radiator that can be operated via the internet of things. With this digital technology based platform, users can freely decide whether they want to buy, sell, exchange, or donate energy. In fact, blockchain technology makes it possible to send money without an intermediary when using E-Cloud Home.
