Design can be a powerful tool to manipulate trust, a premise explored by 77 second-semester BA Information Design students in the Design Thinking 1 course, held in collaboration with the internationally renowned Elevate Festival. Known for its critical-political discourse and avant-garde art and music, the festival provided a dynamic backdrop for this exploration.
The course was kicked off with a lecture by festival organizer Bernhard Steirer, who outlined the festival’s two-decade history and introduced this year’s theme, “Trust Issues,”—a topic that resonates in today’s climate of widespread mistrust toward governments, media, and social platforms. This was evidenced by an initial student survey, which confirmed general trust issues among the younger generation as well as the potent role of design in trust dynamics.
Over a few intensive workshop days, students were tasked with creating step-by-step manuals to critically engage with “trust issues” through iterative design cycles. The course was led by Birgit Bachler, Head of Information Design, and Andreas Förster, lecturer in design and strategy, with support from international experts Chad Reichert, professor and designer from CCS Detroit, and Annette Wolfsberger project coordinator at Re-Imagine Europe, enhancing the learning experience with a global perspective.
A highlight was the prototype presentations at Heimatsaal, where 13 student teams presented their “manuals for designing trust” to the Elevate audience. Projects ranged from provocations like “How can men be more trustworthy than bears?” to playful explorations such as “How to start a cult?” and interactive projects like “How to discuss trust issues with strangers.” Irina Nalis, Elevate’s festival curator, likened the students’ work to “Design for the Real World” as advocated by Viktor Papanek, and called for designers to “stay with the trouble,” echoing Donna Haraway.
The festival weekend also included attendance at the Saturday Night Rave at Helmut List Halle, where some of the workshop concepts were tested with the festival audience, effectively blending discourse with disco in true Elevate style.
A big thanks goes out to the Elevate team for their trust and invaluable support. This collaboration not only provided an inspiring learning experience but also demonstrated the profound impact of design on trust in our daily interactions. By integrating their projects into the larger festival theme, our students were able to directly engage with complex societal issues in unison with the festival.
This event is part of “New Perspectives for Action”. A project of Re-Imagine Europe, a collaboration between Paradiso and Sonic Acts (NL), Elevate Festival (AT), A4 (SK), INA GRM (FR), Borealis (NO), KONTEJNER (HR), RUPERT (LT), Semibreve (PT), Parco d’Arte Vivente (IT), Disruption Network Lab (DE), BEK (NO), Kontrapunkt (MK) and Radio Web MACBA (ES). Co-funded by the European Union.
