Logo of the Center for Design Research. In short: DEFO
Logo of the Center for Design Research

DEFO - Center for Design Research

 

DEFO is the Center for Design Research at Pforzheim University, School of Design, and stands for ...

... the promotion and visualization of the cultural dimension of Pforzheim University as a fourth mission: through relevant research projects and publications, discourse contributions and interventions in the open source journal "Spiegelkabinett" as well as the transfer to society through lecture series, symposia and cooperation with cultural institutions.

... a holistic approach to artistic research: through the lived Pforzheim model and active exchange in international networks on artistic research, which enables interdisciplinary research and cross-university cooperation.

 

... the opening up of new perspectives on existing bodies of knowledge and the critical questioning of their conditions of origin in the sense of Science and Technology Studies: by integrating the workshops at the School of Design as well as the Material and Digital Labs into research questions.

... the transfer and mediation of cultural knowledge and cultural practices: through format developments of science communication and citizen science projects, publications, exhibitions and the inclusion of innovative and intervening teaching/learning formats for a transformative effectiveness also in the non-university context.

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Team

LEADERSHIP

Prof. Dr. Evelyn Echle
Pforzheim University, School of Design,
Chair of Cultural and Media Theory

Contact Prof. Dr. Echle
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MEMBERS

Prof. Simone Sommer
Pforzheim University, School of Design
Fashion Design and Sustainable Transformation

contact
Profile

 


Prof. Dr. Thomas Hensel
Pforzheim University, School of Design,
Chair of Art and Design Theory

Contact
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Prof. Dr. Steffen Reichert
Pforzheim University, School of Design
Digital Design and Future Making

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Research projects

Collage of sand and the sea
Figures carved in stone

KUPFER: "The teaching materials collection of the Pforzheim School of Arts and Crafts between media archaeology and innovation transfer"

The teaching materials collection at the School of Design at Pforzheim University stands for both design education with a global reach and international economic and social history. The collection once comprised several thousand objects such as original pieces of jewelry, plaster casts, taxidermy, masterpieces and glass slides.

In two sub-projects, KUPFER is researching how the collection of teaching aids was used in teaching and exhibitions and what role provenance and innovation played and can still play today.

The project is funded in the funding line Networking - Exploring - Researching. Alliance for University Collections II of the BMBF under the reference 01UQ2305 in the period from 1.07.2023 to 30.06.2027.

→ to the project page

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Lecture series and journal

Hall of Mirrors. Reflections on design research

In the series "Spiegelkabinett. Reflections on Design Research", Prof. Dr. Evelyn Echle and Prof. Dr. Thomas Hensel invite internationally renowned scientists and decision-makers from the fields of design and art to provide insights into their research and work. The format allows design, art and science to enter into a dialog, symbolized in the title "Spiegelkabinett".

"Spiegelkabinett" is also the title of the periodical of the Center for Design Research and is published by the Chairs of Cultural and Media Theory and Art and Design Theory. The first issue of the open access journal will be published soon.