Design Investigations is a design course at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. It’s for the curious and the critically engaged. It’s for people who want to face the complexities and uncertainties of our world head-on. It’s for the responsible radicals who want to challenge and change the world around them. It’s a place where people come together to design tools, experiences, stories and provocations that help to create a more hopeful and humane future for us all.
“Human Powered Toaster” attempted to power a toaster with human strength. The experiment started with Florian’s interest in learning more about how much electricity we actually use for some of our most mundane, everyday tasks. Florian started by wanting to make it easier to understand what numbers like 100 watts actually mean. This can be
“Fashion Therapy”, is a project that critiques fast fashions and reimagines an alternate relationship with clothing and materiality. In her research Sophie discovered how high energy consumption in mass production, non-transparent supply chains and a throwaway culture, are worsening the problems associated with fast fashion. Digging deeper into her research and doing field visits foregrounded
“Heat Shell“ is a playful experiment to harness human body heat as a source of energy. The human body continually generates about 100 watts of heat. “Heat Shell” is their proposal to harness this wasted warmth for energy independence, especially in cold homes during winter. ‘Heat Shell’ It creates a compact, heat-reflective space that can
“Haut Couture” is a series of modular garments that adapt to weather conditions and enhance the absorption of vitamin D. More than 50% of Austria’s population has a noticeable deficiency of vitamin D. Several factors contribute to this, including limited sun exposure, clothing, and dietary habits. Evie’s project ‘Haut Couture’ explores how changing what we
“The NIMBY Phenomenon” is where individuals who acknowledge renewable projects’ necessity and benefits in the abstract resist them once they enter the development phase, i.e., real and close to home. Looking at the anti-wind turbine discourse, it is, at its core, another one of aesthetics. The underlying cause of this resistance lies in a distortion
“Pawsitive Charge,” a brazen startup that spots a unique opportunity to capitalize on this untapped resource. With their trio of innovative and “playful” gadgets, our furry friends are suddenly more than man’s best friend – they’re our power providers. It’s a twisted tale where love for our dogs meets the thirst for power, blurring the
“Off-tangled” by Lara, Eszter and Gaëtan is a fictional energy harvesting kit worn by urban foragers to convert household solid waste into a useful energy resource. This speculative kit presents a scenario where, through the process of plasma gasification, ordinary waste is transformed into Synthetic Gas, a cleaner energy alternative. The journey, comprising waste collection,
“(EM)POWERING RESILIENCE” aims to tangibly reimagine, design, prototype and build alternate ways in which we can create and use energy. For her semester project, Julia crafted a fully working, ingenuous solar panel using rain barrels, pool heaters, and scrap wood, showcasing her creativity and the potential of everyday items. It is also a reminder that
„Windy Vienna“, is a local proposal of micro wind turbines on Aspernbrücke powered by Vienna’s Danube. These vertical turbines are designed for public participation; people can modify the blades under guided workshops, directly influencing future energy solutions. The system converts rotational energy into electricity, encouraging members of the public to charge their phones. Transparent sections
„Energy in Food Transport“ explores the complexities of food systems and supply chains, revealing the hidden energy costs behind the transport of our daily groceries. Many grocery store fruits and vegetables come from distant countries, even when similar produce grows near Vienna. To promote local over imported choices, Steffi and Lisa’s project “Energy in Food
“99 Cents to Start” is an inspiring proposal in which rentable e-scooters are used as public energy infrastructure. By transforming a privatised system into a tool for positive change, Tim and Tobie’s fully working prototype and accompanying blueprint is a demonstration of not just how we reimagine energy, but more importantly, how we invest in
“Preparing for tomorrow” is a project that uses the everyday concept of a morning routine and its associated products to give an insight into possible futures. Narratives of certain futures have become a major marketing tool. Especially western capitalist future visions present themselves in a desireable way, while only representing a slim part of society.
“Shaping memory” is an upcycled fashion collection made from discarded nylon stockings. After the light bulb, nylon tights are the second best-known case of “planned obsolescence”. This is a policy whereby companies deliberately limit the useful life of products by shortening their lifespan. Since nylon stockings are mainly made from petroleum, they have to be
This is “Slow down with EASE”, the semester project by Florian Sapp, Dagmar Hujibers, Maja Eugenie Meland and Nicole Schadensteiner which we are very excited to share with you. In our very efficiency driven society, doing something meaningless is often immediately seen as a waste of time. Even if you do it as a leisure
“Membran“ is a public space intervention that questions how the urban is constructed. It searches for possibilities of grassroots re-construction and invites playful interaction. The construction industry is responsible for almost a third of world’s waste. “Membran” re-purposes what is otherwise thrown away. It transforms damaged tarpaulins into nets. Nets that are reimagining dead corners
“Exploring E-Waste” Is a project focused on salvaging and working with obsolete consumer and household electronics, aimed at gaining an understanding of their characteristics and impact on our surroundings. “Exploring E-Waste” is a set in a fictional world where a breakdown of supply chains has resulted in a severe shortage of electronics on the market,
The diploma project “Lucida” by Can Denzer is a film that shows a surreal view of a world that emerges from a conversation between John Berger and an AI. Lucida speaks for both AI image “reproduction” tools like Dall-e or Stable diffusion, which have been “trained” on millions of images, including the Painting of Tradition
„Fear of Mistakes“ by Eszter Zwickl is a process-focused project which endeavours to understand and overcome the fear of mistakes. While she was trying take the first steps to learn the skill of wood working, she faced several different emotions. To be able to understand those feelings she created a method to note and measure
‘Haltung’ is a deeply thoughtful and beautifully executed pre-diploma project by Denise Schindele. The project is an investigation of the relationship between outer posture and inner attitude. She looked at these two aspects separately to see if they are separable at all. „I documented two processes that took place over a period of 7 weeks.
Humanless Nature is an exploration of imagining a world, long long time ago, and speculating on alternate evolutionary histories. Concentrating on mutualism as one aspect of evolution, as one possible mode of existence in an environment where there were no predators for a very long time. . In conversation with paleontologists, we created a unique
‘Am I Gaboniontum?’ is a project responding to our semester brief ‘Jelly Worlds’, where we @design_investigations partnered with Vienna’s Natural History Museum (@nhmwien) to imagine and speculate deep time and alternate evolutionary histories. The brief emerged from NHM’s desire to explore stories around the recently discovered Gabon fossils that suggest multicellular life existed 2 billion
For a week in mid-November of 2021 Mia Kim led a hands-on making workshop at Design Investigations. Inspired by Korean informal, transient food stands — Pojangmacha — she designed a contemporary version that the students of Design Investigations built collaboratively within 3 days! It was very impressive how the students came together! . The workshop
Where do you work now, what do you do? What is the nature of your work? I am a Visual Interaction Designer working in San Francisco for the design consultant agency IDEO. IDEO is famous for their human-centered design approach and design thinking methods. My task as a Visual Interaction Designer is finding new ways
Artificial intelligence plays an increasingly important role in our everyday lives. Instead of fear and rejection, I wanted to find out how far artificial intelligences – which are usable here and now via the internet – can be used as a tool in a design process. It soon became clear that productive collaboration would require
Contemporary knowledge is faceted, iridescent and omnipresent. It inhabits a fluid shared space, containing and diffracting countless truths of different weight. The way knowledge is steered constitutes our world, what is a fact and a reality. . Deep Dive is a documentary project telling a story of several deep sea species inhabiting the depth of
Gender fluidity has been part of nature for centuries. Using a collection of Instagram filters, we invite you to embody different gender fluid animals, and explore the plurality of narratives found in nature. The Gardens of Xeno states that the terms ‘natural’ and ‘pure’ have been misused for too long. . Check out thegardensofxeno on
“Political Atmosphere” amplifies the invisible connections between flight turbulence, climate change and war. . Even though several research papers observe a strong correlation between climate change and conflict, scientists are still unable to explain the underlying mechanisms. As the complexity of this relationship is impossible to quantify, the installation captures this understanding in a more
‘Interspecies Play’ is a project which entertains multiple ideas on further developing a playful relationship between urban animals and humans, without humans always steering the ship. . Can we have multispecies playgrounds in cities? Wild animals are adapting to the environmental destruction by migrating to cities. Inspired by this, the project ‘Interspecies Play’ explores the
For the 2019-2020 Winter Semester, we converted our Studio into a Farm. We are tackling the brief ‘Hungry Ghosts’ and to understand all aspects of food production, we are using various different techniques: from permaculture to acquaponics to grow food in the studio. We also have mushrooms and mealworms, and even chicken!
‘Renunciation Rebellion’ is a project presenting a performance piece which displays an accedence ritual for a fictional religion based on anti-consumerism. . Sigmund Freud advocated the thesis that man is always subject to his innermost drives and incapable of any permanent rational action. His nephew Edward Bernays was fascinated by this thesis and constructed communication
Our alumni Alexandra Fruhstorfer shares her thoughts about studying at Design Investigations and how the experience prepared her to face a complex and uncertain world with confidence.
To start of the 2018-2019 Winter Semester, we split the class in two teams and build two identical boats out of wood, fabric and a bit of varnish. After every students planned the boat in CAD, the cross sections where cut out with the jigsaw in order to be connected by wooden slats. After the
For the winter semester 2019 at Design Investigations, we are using the lens of FOOD, to explore, investigate, prototype and propose new, alternate, even radical ways in which we will mitigate, and adapt to the rapidly unfolding climate crisis.
‘Saltwater crescendo’ is a project responding to our semester brief ‘Jelly Worlds’, where we, Design Investigations, partnered with Vienna’s Natural History Museum to imagine and speculate deep time and alternate evolutionary histories. The brief emerged from NHM’s desire to explore stories around the recently discovered Gabon fossils that suggest multicellular life existed 2 billion years
Congratulations to our students Lucy Li and Stephanie Kneissl for winning the Stadtarbeit Prize at the Vienna Design Week for their project ‘Alsergrund on Display’. Building on the studio democracy brief ‘Active Citizenry’, Lucy and Stephanie spent the summer creating the tools for their new citizen museum.
‘Much wants more’ is a project responding to our semester brief ‘Jelly Worlds’, where we, Design Investigations, partnered with Vienna’s Natural History Museum to imagine and speculate deep time and alternate evolutionary histories. The brief emerged from NHM’s desire to explore stories around the recently discovered Gabon fossils that suggest multicellular life existed 2 billion
Recently, the Dutch National Newspaper, De Volkskrant, published a long interview with our Professor Anab Jain about speculative design, colonial histories and long term futures, technological visions and critical thinking in their weekend edition.
“If the world is in all its beings, this means that every being is capable of radically transforming the world.” – Emanule Coccia . ‘Smells of deep time’ is a project responding to our semester brief ‘Jelly Worlds’, where we, Design Investigations, partnered with Vienna’s Natural History Museum to imagine and speculate deep time and
We are thrilled to launch our new book, ‘AFTER ABUNDANCE: A SPECULATION ON CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE ALPS’, published by Birhauser Books. Edited by our Professor Anab Jain and curator Thomas Geisler, ‘After Abundance’ is the culmination of our project originally presented as Austria’s official entry to the London Design Biennale 2018.
‘But the Shadow Remains’ is a project responding to our semester brief ‘Jelly Worlds’, where we, Design Investigations, partnered with Vienna’s Natural History Museum to imagine and speculate deep time and alternate evolutionary histories. The brief emerged from NHM’s desire to explore stories around the recently discovered Gabon fossils that suggest multicellular life existed 2
Our graduate Ege Kökel was invited to the Global Grad Show as part of Dubai Design Week this year! She showed her project DODO IN THE ROOM that investigates the de-extinction of animals.
‘Other Worlds’ is a project responding to our semester brief ‘Jelly Worlds’, where we, Design Investigations, partnered with Vienna’s Natural History Museum to imagine and speculate deep time and alternate evolutionary histories. The brief emerged from NHM’s desire to explore stories around the recently discovered Gabon fossils that suggest multicellular life existed 2 billion years
Today we welcomed back our former professor Fiona Raby to deliver a guest lecture. She gave a talk in which she outlined her critical practice by showing four projects by her studio Dunne & Raby. The care that goes into the design of their objects and spaces was important for the students to see, and
The project ‘Multispecies Worlds Forager’ asks if human anthropocentric views of the world can shift into acknowledging and valuing the interdependent relationships of all living beings, along with the well-being of each species and individual. . The ‘multispecies worlds forager’ is a fictional tool trying to expand and force one’s mind to contemplate life and
We are taking part in this years Vienna Design Week at festival headquarters (details below). Come visit us and check out our interactive projects! Here is the context and bracket under which the projects were developed: FUTURES OF DEMOCRACY? The shared political reality of democracy as we we know it in the Western world is
‘The Foundling’s Tale’ is a project responding to our semester brief ‘Jelly Worlds’, where we, Design Investigations, partnered with Vienna’s Natural History Museum to imagine and speculate deep time and alternate evolutionary histories. The brief emerged from NHM’s desire to explore stories around the recently discovered Gabon fossils that suggest multicellular life existed 2 billion
We are proud to see the positive responses to the After Abundance Exhibition in international and national media. Extensive coverage included, amongst others, the New York Times, Kurier and an appearance in the Zeit im Bild, while Metropolis Magazine and Abitare Magazine featured us in their Top Ten picks for the London Design Biennale. Follow
‘Waldeinsamkeit’ is a German term describing the feeling of connectedness with a forest and the comfort and spiritual fulfilment of being alone in the forest. . Looking at the current statistics of soil sealing in Austria the project asks the question what would happen if we kept these numbers up. How would people in an
We are thrilled to announce that Design Investigations is representing Austria at the London Design Biennale 2018! Our installation ‘After Abundance’ at the Biennale will be open to the public from the 4th to 23rd September at Somerset House in London. We hope you can come by and see our work.
We love to hear news from our recent graduates and learn more about how they are developing their practice. Here are some recent highlights.
‘Spectator to Co-Creator’ is a project with multiple interventions in public space which temporarily claim and redefine it, and by that, aims to guide people to gaining a new perspective on the space. By opening up a dialogue through the performances, observers can transform from distant spectators to co-creators of their immediate surroundings. . The
We were honoured to be invited to present a curated show of our projects at the prestigious MAK Museum, for the Vienna Biennale 2017. For this show, we presented a series of projects that emerged from a year long investigation titled ‘DESIGN FOR AGENCY’.
Stillness, emptiness, silence. . Without the space in between things, the things itself wouldn’t be perceivable. The gaze in the nothing allows us to look at ourselves. . With this project Denise decided to help herself by the practice of doing nothing and observing the present moment. . “I am a person who needs a
Sometimes you don’t need to build scenographies or invent fictions, sometimes it’s enough to stand still and look at where you are. Listen to some thoughts of somebody who is not around anymore or listen to the sounds that are inscribed into those spaces.
With the project ‘Vienna Empathy Spaces’ a collection of poems in the form of audio tracks was created. The topic the poems evolve around is social anxiety. The tracks are often linked to a specific public space in Vienna since these are places that can cause us to feel socially anxious or overwhelmed. . The
The female hormonal cycle with its rises and falls is at odds with the linear ideals of our society. This projects aims to challenge the general negative attitude and ignorance towards the female cycle and wider implications – psychologically and physiologically. . Through a theatrical dance performance the balance of the two main hormones oestrogen
Project New Seed is an interactive exploration game set in 2085 Europe. . The premise of the world revolves around a scenario, where humanity failed at tackling climate change. Not the climate caused the downfall and eventual collapse of our society, but disputes among ourselves and a lack of solidarity. 40 years after the collapse,
Human advancement and technological development came at an ecological cost and rendered the earth inhabitable for humanity. In order to survive, humans organised a mass migration to another habitable planet with a promising future. Those who resisted leaving came to an agreement with the AI left in charge to rewild the Earth. They were allowed
Mission Palax is a choose-your-own-adventure story that invites users to explore the ethical dimensions of space travel. Can they take on responsibility for a topic which humanity will be confronted with in the upcoming years? Is it morally acceptable to conquer foreign ecosystems for humans’ benefits? . The chance that extraterrestrial life does not exist
Year 2076. Most of the world is at war, making it unsafe to leave the island, the last safe place on earth. Inhabitants maintain unity and peace within the land by contributing great parts of their earnings to the government. A small price to pay in order to be able to live in harmony. .
The Facility for Digital Education (FaDE) is a visual novel based on a possible future, when artificial intelligence is fully integrated in teaching and education. . Join your new classmates Alex and Fiona, who will introduce you to the pilot project FaDE, the new classroom, the TE AI CHER and your other classmates. Find out
“Mourning Moon” is a poignant narrative following a funeral on the moon. This project tells the story of the last Earth humans on the Moon. Meant to be temporary, their stay on the moon becomes final. The circumstances that led up to this point divide the people on the moon and they go their separate
Through his Theory of Forms, Plato described the mind and the body are two entities that belong to separate categories of existence. He defined the mind as immaterial and as the essence of that which is physical, and the body as a category of the latter, as it is composed of matter and bound by
Orenda’s journey is a world-building project that explores the human-nature connection. It proposes switching perspective and looking at it through the eyes of Nature. In the form of a graphic novel, we explore different ways of living, in and with nature or apart from her, different ideas about social and gender norms, as well as
KI_tchen is an experiment into content creation with Artificial Intelligence using current day technology. What would happen if we embraced AI in todays world? To what extend is this even viable? Would it be more efficient? . The web-based project aims to reveal the different ways in which humans can implement AI today, from simpler text
What happens, if two species that have never interacted before are now going to encounter due to anthropocentrically changed climatic circumstances? . The project “First Encounters” tells the stories of species that meet for the very first time, due to climate-change induced range shifts. The installation visualizes possible consequences that travel through local and global
“Nature Guardian” is an activistic performance that questions anthropocentric worldviews and how to use our body in this increasing self-centred world to serve other living organisms? . The human body is covered in biodegradable fabrics which are interwoven with plant-seeds. When exposed to natural conditions like precipitation or other forms of humidity the materials transform,
Today’s world feels increasingly hectic leaving us with less time for introspection and for mentally caring about ourselves. This leads to a sense of disconnection and loss of our true selves. . To address this deficit EUPNEA was created — an interactive installation that is meant to help people find a deeper connection to themselves
The norms, expectations and ideas put upon us by society and also ourselves build up like a heavy shell around us. As we take steps in our personal growth, the shell no longer suffices. Who we are and who we want to be become different things, splitting ourselves internally. The discrepancy inside builds up and
The nearly constant use of social media increases the amount of attention regarding one’s aesthetic appearance. Along with this comes a very comparing and self critical view of the outward appearances especially among young people. . The project “Re-Owning your Skin” addresses this problem with a series of garments. Through the use of optical illusions
Crises always affect people’s worries and needs, making them more susceptible to comforting claims, conspiracy theories and hoax products. Scientology´s E-Meter, energized water, placebo pills and DVDs with 60 minutes of a healing gaze are just a few examples showing how creative some “inventors” become to earn the extra dollar. As with many products that
Dismantling the deceptively pristine image of the high-tech industry ‘The Cleanroom Paradox’ unveils the systemic suppression of information on occupational and toxic hazards at semiconductor production sites. A gradually disintegrating, screen-printed photograph of former Samsung factory worker Jin and a video documenting its creation are being superimposed with her and other industry experts’ stories of
Poor payment, a high degree of manual and emotional labor and a lack of respect from customers and employers designate many work environments in the retail sector. For most employees this results in work-related stress and its health consequences. . The “Stress Suit” was created with the goal to inspire more care for workers and
Existing modes of consciousness have failed to find answers and people are living in a constant state of disconnect – from nature and other humans. How can artificial intelligence solve these problems for you? . AIME is the first AI enabled wellness device that presents you with the opportunity to deeply explore and expand your
Why Of All Things is a service that aims to assist with answering complex questions based on divination techniques and methods of Artificial Intelligence research. . Contrary to popular belief, both divination and A.I. can be viewed as Information technology, helping externalize thoughts and approaching complex topics from new angles. Several traditions of fortune telling
The Audiomat is an AI-driven radio that autonomously broadcasts its own algorithmically generated music, news and stories. . Audiomat offers our listeners three unique channels which can be switched by using the simple dial on the radio. Dial into the Breaking News Channel for the latest news, generated by cross-checking and verifying numerous authentic sources,
As humans, we are constantly striving to become better. However, we also need encouragement, support and guidance in our individual journeys towards self-improvement. But how do we choose what is best for us, when we are bombarded by thousands of poorly qualified self-improvement coaches selling their wares in a busy market?. . Rather than relying
SoftWear is the world’s first AI generated digital fashion collection that you can wear as a series of instagram filters. Our unique collection is generated by a bespoke AI, who researches latest trends in the fashion industry from millions of reliable data sources. It then creates hybridised fashion by blending global trends with the marvels
‘Pillow Talk – Technology for Awkward Questions’ are four devices to encourage conversations about Sex Education. We are very bad at talking about sex. Technology and sex are already incredibly connected, we rather google our most intimate private questions and concerns than talk to family and friends. Sex education is important because it is fundamentally
“The Farmers Odyssey” is a shadow play about obstacles Austrian farmers have to face in our current food cycle. The protagonist is a regular carrot farmer, who wakes up in a dream as that vegetable himself. On the odyssey of the carrot to the supermarket, the farmer encounters creatures, each representing one of the problems
Although it would have environmental advantages, many people find the thought of eating insects repulsive. To move insect food in a familiar environment, the cliche-heavy show-cooking experience ‘La Nourriture du Futur’ was invented. The chef creates a show for the customers and prepares seven different meals – all containing insects – on a custom-made cooking
This project showcases a ritualistic tasting experience of potent botanical and fungal toxins and seeks to confront our own mortality with the powers of nature. Asking why we strive for immortality and reminding us that nothing will last forever, the ritual marks a moment of reflection in one´s life and explores new ecological more-than-human relationships.
In the Winter Semester of 2018, Semester Students explored their relationship to electric energy and what it takes to get electrons moving themselves. Each team out of six in total came up with their very own technique of manufacturing three Windmill blades that fit onto an electric Generator. Among these techniques we find; Lasercutting, Wood-Bening,
We are under constant surveillance – every step we take online produces data which gets accumulated and analyzed by algorithms for profit or is used to manipulate our behaviour, opinions and consumption online. THE ALGORITHMIC PEEPSHOW is a collection of router like objects that allows us to take a private glance back at these inferred
Technological progress has given us tools to become more and more efficient, ensuring that no time is wasted. So now, we use every moment we get between important tasks and appointments to read an e-mail, glance at the news, rate a purchase, like a photo. The installation ‘Offscreen Virtues’ celebrates the absence of duty. It
Wilderness Tools powered by humans eliminate, counter and reduce anthropogenic influences like the lack of predators or the loss of insects to preserve wilderness and extend it’s capacities.
What is the agenda behind social media? What can our roles as users be? Three machines that confuse the algorithm and break the filter bubble.
OWN (Our Wireless Network) is an open source system to build an independent network infrastructure.
As social media became the logbook of people’s lives, we’ve entered an era of immense sharing. Though the straight-forward dangers of sharing is seemingly recognised; lately, we’re evidently on a road heading into a world of lives directly affected by social media. The experience provided by “Sociometric.me” aims at raising awareness on the subject by providing an individual risk analysis of the user’s Facebook profile.
