The presentation brought together the new Bachelor’s students of Information Design, students of the Master’s programme Communication and Exhibition Design, and students from Interaction, Media and Sound Design. The morning was hosted by Daniel Fabry, Head of the Institute, and Birgit Bachler, Head of Information Design.
The 15th edition features a striking mirror surface. The title Reflect & Refine refers to key skills of designers: critically reflecting on their own thinking and practice and using this reflection to develop better design solutions. Five essays by colleagues from the Institute complement the student projects and place them within a broader context. Here you can find the new publication: Reflect & Refine
Five Red Dot Design Awards
No fewer than five student projects received a Red Dot Design Award and were presented during the event:
– Alex Suvakova – Riso is the Limit (MA): An exploration of the creative possibilities and limitations of risograph printing.
– Jana Klammer – Where Are We From? (BA): A bachelor’s project exploring home, belonging and identity from multicultural perspectives.
– Johanna Stangl – CRUSH (5th Semester Showcase): A visual identity interpreting the double meaning of “crush” – falling in love and destruction.
– Karoline Kirner – From Storage to Showroom (MA): A concept for a visible museum storage facility that connects collections with the visitor experience.
– Lisa Pendl – Live Fast, Design Punk (BA): A plea to question and break design rules and experiment with an individual visual language.
The previous year’s yearbook, “Frame & Form”, designed by Lucia Jarosova, also received a Red Dot Design Award. Congratulations!
Alumni on Stage
Another highlight of the event was a series of talks with alumni.
Theresa Steiner spoke about her journey from the Master’s programme in Exhibition Design to Creative Industries Styria and the agency Nofrontiere, and on to her current role as a curator at the VISTA Science Experience Center in Klosterneuburg.
The agency Unerwartet Design showed how a fictional company developed as part of the Institute’s Start-Up course can grow into a successful creative agency specialising in branding and web design.
Michael Frager, Benjamin Hable and Gernot Steffl looked back on the founding of their company Unter freiem Himmel, which began in 2012 as a spontaneous idea under a tree on the FH JOANNEUM campus. Today, their studio focuses on animation and motion design.
Film Screening
The event concluded with the short film “Blau wie der Morpho”, created by students of the Media Design CMS24 programme. Developed as part of a course and supervised by Roman Pürcher and Patrick Sturm, the film was independently developed and produced by the students.
It explores the challenges faced by people requiring care and those working in care, focusing above all on trust, human connection and social relationships.
A short making-of presentation afterwards offered insights into the film’s development and production process.
