Philosophy

Design philosophy in the combination of product design, architecture and interior design

A common design philosophy in the combination of product design, architecture and interior design in teaching aims to provide students with a holistic understanding of design that transcends individual disciplines and understands and considers the social, environmental and aesthetic implications of their design.

ASPECTS considered in this design philosophy are:

  • Interdisciplinarity, how important it is to look beyond one’s own discipline and collaborate with other disciplines.
  • Sustainability, how environmental, social and economic sustainability can be integrated into designs
  • User-centred approach, focusing on the needs, desires and experiences of users and creating spaces that provide a positive user experience
  • Aesthetics and functionality, balancing aesthetics and functionality or combining form and function as fundamental aspects of design
  • Cultural and social sensitivity, respecting and taking into account the diversity of people and their needs
  • Creativity, experimentation and innovation, exploring new materials, technologies and approaches and pushing their boundaries

Contributing to Work at an Institution That Poses New Questions and Develops Trend-Setting Concepts.

More and more, design is giving distinction to the world. It is no longer a purely aesthetic factor, but an essential factor of success of products and services. Regarding architecture, it even determines the way people spend their lives with each other. Design no longer only deals with the design of the exterior but sets in a lot earlier – as early as in the basic conception and development of a new interior or product.

Close Cooperation with Experts from Other Disciplines

Thus, when generating innovative concepts, designers work in close cooperation with experts from other disciplines. Their partners in the development process are specialists in the fields of engineering, economy, ecology, sociology, psychology, or philosophy.

This is why our master.design program focuses on interdisciplinary and process-oriented work.

Our students develop products and concepts that focus on humans and their needs. This includes a careful use of our planet’s natural resources.

designing our future

„The best way to predict future is to design it“

– Richard Buckminister Fuller (Architekt and Designer, 1895 – 1983)

We want to train designers who are keen on designing the future.

The way we design our surroundings directly affects our quality of life. Elderly people, for example, are ostracized by complicated ticket machines when travelling by train. It is questions like these that are dealt with in the master focuses universal design concepts, interface design or sustainable architecture.

Designing future can also mean focusing on innovative technologies and materials. This qualification can be acquired in our master focus advanced material & technology design. Today, there are a high number of technical innovations still to be dealt with. Designers who are willing to explore this innovation potential have the chance to specialize in this field at Coburg University. Ecological design is another master focus in this field.

Ecological and Socially Just

Design that follows the highest technological and economical standards – this is what we want to achieve in our disciplines. Not in terms of naïve utopias but rather with the help of the tools of a well funded analysis and consideration – just as they are taught in the integrated approach of the design department.

Learning fields

Instead of off-the-peg training, you choose your own personal study programme from a wide range of teaching and research opportunities.

are meaningful and exciting fields of learning:

  • Innovation, design and design processes with the use of more complex multi-technological design and communication tools
  • Corporate culture, design strategy, digitalization and innovation in the competitive environment, change process and innovation management, research, usage scenarios
  • Design of products, processes and utilization concepts and their interfaces
  • increasing social and sustainable relevance of design (Eco-Design, Human Design & Social Design)
  • Use of artificial intelligence and self-learning systems, products and Services, (e.g. in the health sector)
  • digital transformation processes
  • digitally networked products and services (Industry 4.0)
  • Topics, where design humanizes technology
  • Integration of new areas into design: comprehensive digitization, user experience, visual thinking, teambuilding, business design, fundraising, design management and ecodesign, interaction design, user experience design
  • Cross-sectional technologies that enable new products, services and new, disruptive business models in very different industries and applications

Application-oriented research

We focus on application-oriented research with the aim of finding solutions for concrete, real-life and practical problems.

This type of research – close to application – thus contributes significantly to the emergence of technical, economic, social and societal innovations. Joint research across disciplinary boundaries is becoming increasingly important. This is why the number of design projects involving people from different disciplines is increasing. Students in the Master’s Design programme are closely linked to the other programmes of the Faculty of Design in terms of organisation and subject matter.

New interdisciplinary research tasks at universities, companies and institutes:

  • innovation research and new interdisciplinary development and Design Innovation Processes
  • new fields of research at the interface between culture, economy, technology and society
  • Methods for researching, reflecting on and shaping visions of the future in society, politics and business
  • Creative transformation of social, cultural and aesthetic changes in the context of digital technologies
  • Research and design of complex causal relationships within economic, technological, social, political and cultural fields

Special fields of research in architecture and construction are the application of modern building materials, sophisticated constructions and efficient energy and infrastructure concepts. New ideas for life in smaller towns and in rural areas characterise applied research in architecture. The topics reflect the current megatrends energy efficiency, urbanisation and demographic change. In an interdisciplinary dialogue, new approaches for a future worth living are developed at Coburg University of Applied Sciences and in the Master of Design.

Job prospects & career prospects

The Master of Design prepares graduates for a wide range of activities in the design industry, in the cultural and creative industries and in areas of architecture and interior design.

Our graduates work as freelancers, employees or in leading positions. Further fields of activity in companies are in research and development as well as communication and consulting. Essential fields of work are in the context of professional deepening and specialisation in various design-oriented industries and in the scientific examination of design-relevant issues. But also in leadership and planning tasks, project management and the initiation and organisation of development and design processes of interdisciplinary teams.

The university degree Master of Arts (M.A.) is internationally renowned and opens the door to management positions and higher service. The entitlement to earn a doctorate also allows you to pursue an academic career. Professional activities in design research and teaching at universities are also possible.

The fields of activity for graduates of the Master Design today cover a wide range:

  • Fields of activity in design strategy, design management, brand architecture, product design, interaction design, communication and media design, exhibition design, corporate design, graphic design, packaging design
  • Professional fields in technology, business and marketing with strategic
  • Use of design (e.g. design and innovation management)
  • Cross-cutting technologies: Technologies that enable new products, services and novel, disruptive business models
  • Use of artificial intelligence and self-learning systems to create more innovative, qualitatively better products and services (e.g. in health care)
  • digitally networked production and logistics processes (Industry 4.0)
  • Product or project manager, design strategist or innovation manager in the development of innovative and sustainable products, services and interaction concepts & improvement of development processes
  • Activities in international, design- or innovation-oriented companies as Design Manager, Strategic Brand Manager, Innovation- & Design-Consultant
  • Development of physical products and solutions in industrial design (industrial and capital goods design, medical, consumer goods and furniture design)
  • Design of processes and utilization concepts and their interfaces (corporate design, information system, product & corporate communication, media, UX design, information design)
  • areas: corporate identity, illustration, information systems, product, company, multimedia, audiovisual media, information, visualizationsand animations, web design etc.
  • Design of physical or digital processes, products, software and services (engineering, prototyping, research, usage scenarios and consulting)
  • creative-technical implementation of the human-object – space interaction (interaction design, user experience design)

Special professional fields for graduates of the study focus “interior architecture & architectural design (iaad)” are

  • set design (film and television, advertising)
  • Fine arts (installation, concept art, sculpture)
  • Trade fair/event design & theme production
  • Communication Design
  • Illustration/ storyboard/ 2D and 3D visualization
  • Model making
  • Project Management
  • Marketing-/ management consultancy
  • style consulting
  • Advertising/ Full Service/ CI
  • Brand communication
  • design, visualization, planning

The graduates can participate in the labour market as free or employed

  • Interior designers
  • scenographer or stage designer
  • Art or Creative Directors
  • Project manager/project manager
  • Illustrators
  • stylists
  • furnishing and design consultant
  • Architecture Project Management
  • Design planning of buildings and structures, mainly for structural engineering
  • Approval and implementation planning
  • Coordination between the various specialist planners
  • Tendering and awarding
  • Construction Management
  • Construction management (also object supervision or construction supervision)
  • Property management and documentation (HOAI)
  • Asset management, property management, building or facility management
  • Tasks in public administration (building authority)
  • Research / Teaching: Architectural theory, Building research, Construction economics
  • Specialties: architectural representation, model making

Possible activities in the field of specialisation “heritage design” are

  • Project Manager/Project Manager Architecture
  • Architecture Visualization
  • Project management architecture
  • Design planning urban development to object planning
  • Activity in the senior civil service
  • State Monuments Office
  • Lower monument preservation in the district offices
  • Government architect
  • Building research
  • Restoration
  • Building experts
  • Scientific documentation
  • Planning and consulting with focus on building in existing buildings, context and urban development
  • Consulting and support of design processes, revitalization