Design Topics in Germany

What do Thonet chairs, Braun appliances or new designer fashions from Berlin reveal about Germans’ view of the world? Is there a specifically German type of design, and if so, what distinguishes it? Joana Breidenbach, an ethnologist and cultural studies expert, in an interview with Goethe.de More ...

For a university project, Berlin design students were permitted to toss all basic principles overboard. More ...

Whether it is a question of conventional forms and techniques being combined in new ways or advanced production technologies and intelligent materials being used – there are lots of new things to discover in the world of German product design. Close scrutiny is required, however, as this is a long-drawn-out process which is taking place quietly. A review of the year 2011 so far. More ...

Products in East Germany, the GDR, were designed to be functionally aesthetic – and durable. In an interview with Günter Höhne, Iris Braun discovers whether such a thing as “socialist design” ever in fact existed. More ...

Not everyone in Germany has these items in their home, yet virtually everyone is familiar with them – these milestones of German design. More ...

An estimated 100,000 Western font types are currently in use – with new ones added everyday. Today’s graphic designers are exploring applied typography past and present, with playful and serious intent, to put the message across.  More ...

The transition from a degree course to their first independent work as a designer is the focus of projects at universities such as the University of the Arts (UdK) in Berlin and Giebichenstein Castle in Halle. More ...

“The best exhibition design is one that you don’t notice”, says HG Merz, and he should know. Many of the museum and exhibition concepts that he has created from his office have been awarded prizes. More ...

A look at the winners of the Design Prize for the Federal Republic of Germany 2010 shows which themes will be occupying entrepreneurs and designers in the decade ahead. More ...

Three woman designers move to a district of Berlin for a year complete with their office, they work there, and afterwards they bring out a glossy magazine dealing with themes relating to this district. More ...

Two festivals mark the start of Germany’s autumn of design – both trendsetting and trend-seeking in their different ways. At the Illustrative, illustration leaves its comfort zone behind, while in Leipzig the Designers’ Open seeks to show how young talent is continuing the old artisan traditions of this central-German region.  More ...

Furniture design from Germany? The question still puts expressions of great perplexity on the faces of the international design community. German cars – of course, technically superior design of consumer goods and machinery – goes without saying, but furniture design?  More ...

For sheer love of typography, the Berlin “Museum of Letters, Characters and Typefaces” association collects the letters from old neon signs, marquees and the like. Parts of the collection are now on display in its showroom, but plans to expand are in the pipeline.  More ...

The name Thonet has become synonymous with design classics of lasting value. 150 years ago Michael Thonet’s innovative production methods revolutionised the furniture craft.  More ...

An Interview with Max Borka, Curator of the Avant-Garde Showcase Exhibition, Nullpunkt. Nieuwe German Gestaltung in Herford’s MARTa Museum.  More ...

“Recycling Design” and “Sustainable Design” are the Buzz in the Design Industry these Days.  More ...

The last fifteen years have seen a step change in the quality of automotive design in Germany. More ...

Ornamentation is on its Way from House Façades to Reconquering Interiors. More ...

Some manufacturers have plucked up the courage to translate their idiosyncratic characteristics into a contemporary context. And even avant-garde design is discovering the charm of a traditional world of objects. More ...

Many products that incorporate special requirements for senior citizens have become established on the market as “Universal Design” or “Design for all”.  More ...

Halle (Saale) has a long history of good designers equipped with both business sense and flair – as students from Burg Giebichenstein have recently demonstrated to the inhabitants of their own city, and the rest of Germany.  More ...

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