Vision

‘Designers trained in the arts are capable of capturing fleeting moments and structures that others find ephemeral, imaginative, and unstable for serious research. They are also trained in reframing ideas rather than solving known problems. Above all, they are trained to imagine problems and opportunities to see whether something is necessary or not’

 

(…) it’s their skills which are specific, when they seriously deal with the same topic as the religious, the scientists and civic society. Because we are so deprived with moves, abilities, forms and feelings, in all the sense of aesthetics, art is important because of artists’ skills and how they can be used in collaboration with scientists and civic society’’

 

The design discipline is increasingly seen as a connecting and integrating discipline for the major societal challenges, such as climate change, ecological, social and economic sustainability, resilient and just societies. These are ‘wicked problems’ with no simple and straightforward solutions because they always involve different, often conflicting, interests, norms and values of the partners involved.

These kinds of problems call for a transdisciplinary approach in which art, science, governments, businesses and civil society organisations work together. It is precisely in these transdisciplinary projects that a designer can make important contributions: they approach issues from a holistic, systemic perspective with a critical eye for the social well-being of people and the ecological resilience of our planet. They use artistic methods to depict other perspectives of the future, offer new perspectives on social issues and involve important stakeholders in the transition process through co-creation and participatory design.

Design research distinguishes itself from traditional academic research methods by its strong commitment to a pragmatic creation tradition, based on unconscious, embodied knowledge (tacit knowledge) and its speculative and critical approach. In the design research of the professorship, artistic professionals are central as researchers and act as important agents of change by shaping the stepping stones towards a desired future.

The research of the professorship is rooted in the design tradition but is not limited to a specific design discipline.