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

Question the known and develop future-oriented concepts

Design increasingly shapes the world. From a purely aesthetic component, it has become an indispensable success factor for products and services. In architecture, it even influences how people live together. It can have a positive or negative influence. The design has long been concerned not only with the outer shell but starts much earlier – even in the basic conception and development of a new room or product.

Open exchange in interdisciplinary teams

When designing sustainable concepts, designers work closely with experts from other disciplines. Their partners in the development process come from the engineering sciences, economics, ecology, sociology, psychology or philosophy, which is why interdisciplinary work is the focus of our Master’s programme. Our students develop products and concepts that focus on people and their needs.

Target Audience

Through the practical and interdisciplinary transfer of ways of thinking, skills and working methods, our students acquire a clear profile in the future fields of design. The Master Design program is aimed at graduates from the following fields:

  1. Product & industrial design, service design, interaction/user experience design, media & communication design as well as related disciplines of the “cultural and creative industries
  2. Architecture and interior design who work on planning, design and layout tasks in design processes in space
  3. To applicants from “design-related disciplines” such as engineering, UX engineering, computer science, economics, innovation & product management and marketing

Freedom of.design

Master’s project and mentor freely selectable

You are free to choose your Master’s project and mentor. You can work intensively on a project topic over the course of three semesters. You apply for a topic with a mentor (LINK: Thematic fields) without having to define your own topic in advance. However, it is also possible to propose an individual Master’s topic. The joint development of the Master’s topic with the mentor takes place in the first semester in the subject “Master-Project: Orientation”.

The master’s project also forms the topic of the respective master’s thesis, which documents the results and the course of the project. As a master’s student, you have the opportunity to intensively engage with a topic throughout your master’s degree and thereby develop a clear profile. We call this “research-based learning,” which not only strengthens professional competence, but also the ability to independently work on complex design projects.

Individual timetable

You choose your study programme from a wide range of teaching and research opportunities. A wide variety of additional courses complements the specialization in your field of study. These include lectures and seminars on topics such as “Innovation and Project Management”, “Marketing and Communication” or “Social Space Solutions”.

.design is cocreation

Interdisciplinary teamwork

An interdisciplinary design process leads to entirely new design solutions. That’s why you also intensively research the technical, economic, ecological, social or psychological factors that determine your master project. The Faculty of Design at Coburg University of Applied Sciences comprises the three disciplines of product design, architecture and interior design. There is a lively exchange between these subjects. Thus, a creative environment awaits you, even beyond your area of expertise.

Mentoring Model

We learn most from other people – from experts in their field. That’s why a mentor will closely support you. Our mentors supervise your focus project from the first semester up to the master thesis. You can work on both practical and research-oriented topics.

we.design in collaboration

Expert network

Designers from Coburg, enjoy an excellent reputation in business and professional circles. We maintain an intensive exchange with companies, design offices and cultural institutions all over the world. Numerous cooperation projects during your studies will make your career entry easier later on.

.design innovation

DESIGNPILOT

Creativity is still seen as something mysterious. According to the motto: one has it or not. The inventor Thomas Edison already knew: “Creativity means 1% inspiration and 99% transpiration”. With transpiration, he meant “intensive work” in the figurative sense. Designing is intensive work on a problem. The Coburg Design Pilot is a digital tool developed by experts that enhances creativity, structures design processes and promotes interdisciplinary exchange. In a figurative sense, it offers a whole “laboratory of design” that demonstrably leads to innovative ideas. Our Master students learn to design with this tool. Inspiration and experimentation with ideas are combined with discipline and a structured approach.

(LINK: www.designpilot.info)

Shaping the future

The way we shape our environment has a direct impact on our quality of life. In our Master’s degree programme, designers are trained who have a desire to shape the future. Universal, humane and environmentally friendly design that is at the forefront of technology and can also survive in the marketplace – in this sense, we continue to develop our disciplines.

.design to overcome boundaries

Design breaks boundaries

In our Master Design, we sensitize our students to pay attention to the small and inconspicuous without losing sight of the big picture. Designers learn to deal with problems and grievances that are not even noticed by others or are considered a necessary evil. This skill enables our students to look at issues in their entirety, tackle them from the ground up and break down barriers that have always existed.

Degree modules

See more

1. semester

Master-Basics

4 SWS | 5 ECTS

Master-Project: Orientation

1 SWS | 6 ECTS

Individual-Modul 1-2

twice 4 SWS | 5 ECTS

Cross-section-Modul 1-3

3 times 3 SWS | 3 ECTS

2. semester

Master-Project 1

1 SWS | 5 ECTS

Master-Project 2

1 SWS | 10 ECTS

Individual-Modul 3-4

twice 4 SWS | 5 ECTS

Scientific work

2 SWS | 2 ECTS

Competence modules

3 times 1 SWS | 1 ECTS

3. semester

Master Thesis

1 SWS | 25 ECTS

Individual-Modul 5

4 SWS | 5 ECTS

3 + 1 for Bachelor with 6 semesters

Admission requirements for the programme are a completed university course of at least seven semesters (210 ECTS) with an overall grade of at least “good” (2.5) and a passed aptitude test.

Applicants with a standard period of study of six semesters (180 ECTS) can be admitted under the condition that they make up for the missing semester as a so-called supplementary semester within the Master’s programme.

3 – 1 for Bachelor with 8 semesters

Applicants with a standard period of study of eight semesters (240 ECTS points) may be exempted from the Master’s semester by the examination board. Prerequisites for this are, for example, a specific, completed vocational training or the recognition of periods of practical work experience in the corresponding occupational field. Periods of practical training abroad can also be recognised.

Two fields of study

integrated design processes (idp)

The contents of the study focus are based on the current and future tasks of planning, drafting and design in the professional fields of design and the cooperation with related disciplines. You will learn dialogue and team skills in interdisciplinary development and design processes. The goal is holistic design education. Students are familiarised with different perspectives, images of man and methods in design. They learn to apply the design process to complex problems and topics.

The contents of the major field of study “integrated design processes (idp)” are oriented towards the current and future tasks of planning, drafting and design in the professional areas of design and the cooperation with related disciplines. You will learn dialogue and teamwork skills in interdisciplinary development and design processes.
The goal is holistic design education. Students are familiarised with different perspectives, images of man and methods in design. They learn to apply the design process to complex problems and topics.

We train designers who enjoy developing products and concepts that advance our civilisation. We aim to use design to improve life in society by using, among other things, new technologies that enable previously undreamed-of forms and solutions.

Creative people who take on this task need more than creativity. Their highly complex work requires a planned, structured and systematic approach. In our master’s degree course, you learn to think and implement the design as a multi-stage process. New innovative ideas are the result of systematic work, as modern creativity research has shown. For us, this means that innovation can be planned – in a multi-layered process, interdisciplinary and team-oriented.

A unique feature is the project orientation – the so-called focus project, which you can choose freely and which you will work on intensively over three semesters. In Master Design, you will be closely supervised by a mentor – from the first semester up to the master thesis. In the focus projects, students learn how to apply the design process to complex problems and a wide variety of topics. They learn to plan, organize and implement results in interdisciplinary teams. The focus projects are complemented by cross-sectional lectures.

The primary field of study “integrated design processes (idp)” is modularly structured and thus enables an individual program. Students can work on both practical and research-oriented topics. The range of content includes the following subject areas, from which individual focus projects are possible:

Thematic fields

Design for sustainable innovation
Business & Service Design
Interaction Design
Designexploration

interior architecture & architectural design (iaad)

Architects and interior designers who are also aware of their social responsibility and who want to place people at the centre of their work can deepen their training in Coburg. Besides addition, artistic or technical focuses can also be chosen. The emphasis on interior architecture & architectural design has a high practical relevance and qualifies students in special subject areas ranging from interdisciplinary design processes in space to future management tasks and independence.

Architects and interior designers, who are also aware of their social responsibility and who want to place people at the centre of their work, can deepen their training in Coburg – for example in the subject areas of “The Human Space” or “Sustainable Architecture”. Besides, artistic or technical focuses can also be chosen.

The master.design focus interior architecture & architectural design has high practical relevance. It qualifies students in special subject areas ranging from interdisciplinary design processes in space to future management tasks and independence. The range of contents includes the following subject areas:

The students should be familiar with different perspectives in design processes in space. The program conveys different Perspectives, images of man and methods of various disciplines on the subject of interior design.

Questions from professional design and planning practice will be included in the courses. Students learn how to apply the design process to complex problems and topics. They learn to plan, organise, manage and implement spatial design and development processes in interdisciplinary teams.

The goal is research and practical experience in dealing with the process of spatial design and its close links to global spatial design. The focus is mainly on design processes and their coordination, design management and sustainability. Computer-aided technical communication, especially visualisation and virtual modelling, including their production-ready implementation, are a matter of course.

Thematic fields

Human Oriented Architecture & Design / Psychological Aesthetics
Light and Typology
Heritage Design
New Work / New Office
Design and Make

Future Prospects

We rely on application-oriented research with the aim of finding solutions for concrete, real-life and practical questions.
This type of research – close to application – makes a significant contribution to the emergence of technical, economic, social and societal innovations. Joint research across disciplinary boundaries is becoming increasingly important. Therefore, the number of design projects in which people from different specialist areas are involved is increasing. The students in the Master Design are closely linked organizationally and thematically with the other courses of study in the Faculty of Design.

New interdisciplinary research tasks at universities, companies and institutes are:

  • Innovation research and new interdisciplinary development and design innovation processes
  • new research fields at the interface between culture, economy, technology and society
  • Methods for researching, reflecting and shaping future ideas 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 research fields in architecture and construction include the use of modern building materials, sophisticated constructions and efficient energy and infrastructure concepts. New ideas for life in smaller cities and rural areas shape applied research in architecture. The topics reflect the current megatrends of energy efficiency, urbanization and demographic change. In an interdisciplinary dialogue, new approaches for a future worth living are emerging at Coburg University and in the Master Design.

Our graduates work as self-employed people, employees or in managerial positions. Other areas of activity in companies include research and development as well as communication and consulting. The main areas of work lie in the context of professional deepening and specialization 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 organization of development and design processes in interdisciplinary teams.

The Master of Arts (M.A.) degree is internationally renowned and gives you access to management positions and higher service. The right to obtain a doctorate also allows you to pursue a scientific career. Professional activities in design research and teaching at universities are also possible.

The fields of activity for Master Design graduates now 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-sectional technologies: Technologies that enable new products, services and novel, disruptive business models
  • Use of artificial intelligence and self-learning systems to create more innovative, better quality products and services (e.g. in healthcare)
  • 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
  • Worked 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 usage 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, visualizations and animations, web design etc.
  • Design of physical or digital processes, products, software and services (engineering, prototyping, research, usage scenarios and consulting)
  • Design-technical implementation of human-object-space interaction (interaction design, user experience design)

Today, special professional fields for graduates with a focus on “integrated design processes (idp)” cover a wide range:

  • in product design (industrial and capital goods design, consumer goods and furniture design, leisure, sports, games; building technology; crafts, industry; household, kitchen, bathroom; media, communication; public design; living; medicine, rehabilitation; consumer electronics; office, Object)
  • in graphic, media and digital design (corporate design; illustration; information systems; product communication; corporate communication)
  • in multimedia/interface/interaction design; Audiovisual media/information design; visualizations/animations; web design; Information design
  • Design of processes, usage concepts and their interfaces (service design, interaction design, UX design)
    Corporate Identity / Corporate Design
  • New fields of work for designers: in design strategy, design management, brand architecture, innovation management and packaging design
  • Research tasks at universities, companies and institutes

Special professional fields for graduates with a major in “interior architecture & architectural design (iaad)” are:

  • Production design (film and television, advertising)
  • Stage design (theater, opera, event)
  • Visual arts (installation, concept art, sculpture)
  • Trade fair/event design & theme staging
  • Communication design
  • Illustration/ storyboard/ 2D and 3D visualization
  • Modelling
  • Project management
  • Marketing/business consulting
  • Style Consulting
  • Advertising/Full Service/CI
  • Brand communication
  • Design, visualization, planning

Graduates can participate in the labor market as freelancers or employees

  • Interior designers
  • Scene 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, primarily structural engineering
  • Approval and implementation planning
  • Coordination between the various specialist planners
  • Tendering and awarding
  • Construction management
  • Construction management (also property monitoring or construction supervision)
  • Property management and documentation (HOAI)
  • Asset management, real estate management, building or facility management
  • Tasks in public administration (building authority)
  • Research/teaching: architectural theory, building research, building economics
  • Specialties: architectural representation, model making

Possible activities in the specialization “heritage design” are:

  • Project manager/project manager architecture
  • Architecture visualization
  • Project management architecture
  • Design planning urban development to property planning
  • Work in the higher service of public administration
  • State Monuments Office
  • Lower monument preservation in the district offices
  • Government architect
  • Construction research
  • restoration
  • Construction experts
  • Scientific documentation
  • Planning and consulting with a focus on building in existing buildings, context and urban development
  • Advice and support for design processes and revitalizations