"Material & material culture"
Material culture is a term used to describe the entirety of equipment, tools, weapons, buildings, clothing, jewellery and other material items produced by a culture or society. Historical artefacts provide information about lifestyles and cultural techniques. Material creates identification for people, e.g. in professions and regions. Material must be considered holistically, i.e. its origin, properties, processing possibilities and recyclability should be taken into account. In particular, it is about which atmospheres and which old and new aesthetic qualities can be created through material. Material is always an indicator of a social atmosphere and should be seen as anthropological. Material has narrative qualities and appeals to all the senses.
"Object/Series & Production Society" or "Autonomy of Production"
Objects and products can be created in different contexts – in studios, start-ups, crafts, factories, industry and research institutions. Production takes place in a wide variety of social and cultural spaces. Objects and goods are created by hand, with 3D printers, robots and CNC-controlled machines. A cultural space is attached to productions, they are subject to a production atmosphere and are guided and assessed by experts.
Questions need to be asked here: How are production and production relations changing in the age of digitalisation? Which new production strategies and tools are available to designers and which do they have to reinvent (maker culture)? In which interdisciplinary constellations can innovation take place free of values? What new spaces for action and experimentation need to be developed for the future? What new understanding of the role of designers will result from this?