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 project freely selectable

You are free to choose your specialisation topic and work intensively on it over three semesters. For this purpose, you define a so-called research or focus project, which you work on in the first semester as part of an internship in a business or cultural institution. This project will also be the focus of your studies during the rest of the master’s programme and ends with the master’s thesis. Besides, there are cross-sectional lectures, seminars and competence workshops with cross-cutting teaching content. “Research-based learning” is the name of the method by which students work on a self-initiated project independently. As you work intensively on a topic for three semesters, you will acquire a clear profile and learn to take responsibility for leading something independently to a goal.

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

Coburger 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

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1. semester

Focus internship

25 ECTS | PR

Focus internship course

3 ECTS | PR

Focus internship seminar

2 ECTS | S, ExL

2. semester

Focus-Project Mentor-Review

8 ECTS | SU, Ü, PR

Focus-Review

10 ECTS | SU, Ü, PR

Cross-sectional lectures

4 x 3 ECTS | SU, Ü, PR

3. semester

Focus-Project Mentor-Review

4 ECTS | SU, Ü, PR

Master’s seminar

6 ECTS | S

Master’s thesis

20 ECTS | MA

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:

Focus areas

Ecodesign
Business & Service Design
Material - Technology - Innovation
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.

Focus areas

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

Future Prospects

Wir setzen auf die anwendungsorientierte Forschung mit dem Ziel Lösungen für konkrete, lebensnahe und praktische Fragestellungen zu finden.
Diese Art der Forschung – nah an der Anwendung – trägt so wesentlich zum Entstehen technischer, ökonomischer, sozialer und gesellschaftlicher Innovationen bei. Die gemeinsame Forschung über Fächergrenzen hinweg gewinnt zunehmend an Be-deutung. Daher steigt die Zahl der Designprojekte, an denen Menschen aus unterschiedlichen fachlichen Schwerpunkten beteiligt sind. Die Studierenden im Master Design sind organisatorisch und thematisch eng mit den anderen Studiengängen der Fakultät Design verzahnt.

Neue interdisziplinäre Forschungsaufgaben an Hochschulen, Unternehmen und Instituten sind:

  • Innovationsforschung und neue interdisziplinäre Entwicklungs- und Design-Innovations-Prozesse
  • neue Forschungsfelder an den Schnittstelle zwischen Kultur, Wirtschaft, Technologie und Gesellschaft
  • Methoden zur Erforschung, Reflexion und Gestaltung von Zukunftsvorstellungen in Gesellschaft, Politik & Wirtschaft
  • Gestalterische Transformation sozialer, kultureller und ästhetischer Veränderungen im Kontext digitaler Technologien
  • Erforschung und Gestaltung komplexer Wirkzusammenhänge innerhalb ökonomischer, technologischer, sozialer, politischer sowie kultureller Felder

Spezielle Forschungsfelder in Architektur und Bauen sind die Anwendung moderne Baustoffe, raffinierter Konstruktionen und effizienter Energie- und Infrastrukturkonzepte. Neue Ideen für das Leben in kleineren Städten und im ländlichen Raum prägen die angewandte Forschung in der Architektur. In den Themen spiegeln sich die aktuellen Megatrends Energieeffizienz, Urbanisierung und demografischer Wandel wider. In einem interdisziplinären Dialog entstehen an der Hochschule Coburg und im Master Design neue Ansätze für eine lebenswerte Zukunft.

Unsere Absolventinnen und Absolventen arbeiten als Selbstständige, Angestellte oder in leitenden Positionen. Weitere Tätigkeitsfelder in Unternehmen sind in Forschung und Entwicklung sowie Kommunikation und Consulting. Wesentliche Arbeitsfelder liegen im Rahmen der fachlichen Vertiefung und Spezialisierung in unterschiedlichen gestaltungsorientierten Branchen und in der wissenschaftlichen Auseinandersetzung mit designrelevanten Fragestellungen. Aber auch in Führungs- und Planungsaufgaben, dem Projektmanagement und der Initierung und Organisation von Entwicklungs- und Designprozessen interdisziplinärer Teams.

Der Hochschulabschluss Master of Arts (M.A.) ist international renommiert und eröffnet Ihnen den Zugang zu Führungspositionen und zum höheren Dienst. Die Berechtigung zum Erwerb einer Promotion erlaubt auch den Weg in eine wissenschaftliche Laufbahn. Auch berufliche Tätigkeiten in der Designforschung und in der Lehre an Hochschulen sind so möglich.

Die Tätigkeitsfelder für Absolventinnen und Absolventen des Master Design umfassen heute eine große Bandbreite:

  • Tätigkeitsfelder in der Design-Strategie, Designmanagement, Markenarchitektur, Produkt Design, Interaction Design, Kommunikations- und Mediendesign, Ausstellungsdesign, Corporate Design, Grafik Design, Packaging Design
  • Berufsfelder in der Technologie, Wirtschaft und Marketing mit strategischen Einsatzes von Design (z.Bsp. Design- und Innovationsmanagement)
  • Querschnittstechnologien: Technologien, die neue Produkte, Dienstleitungen und neuartige, disruptive Geschäftsmodelle ermöglichen
  • Einsatz künstlicher Intelligenz und selbstlernender Systeme, um innovativere, qualitativ bessere Produkte und Services (z.B. im Gesundheitswesen)
  • digital vernetzten Produktions- und Logistikprozesse (Industrie 4.0)
  • Produkt- oder Projektmanager, Design Strategist oder Innovation Manager bei der Entwicklung von innovativen und nachhaltigen Produkten, Services und Interaktionskonzepten & Verbesserung von Entwicklungsprozessen
  • Tätigkeiten in internationalen, design- oder innovationsorientierten Unternehmen als Design Manager, Strategic Brand Manager, Innovation- & Design-Consultant
  • Entwicklung physischer Produkte und Lösungen im Industriedesign (Industrie- und Investitionsgüterdesign, Medizin-, Konsumgüter- und Möbeldesign)
  • Gestaltung von Prozessen und Nutzungskonzepten und deren Schnittstellen (Corporate Design, Informationssystem, Produkt- & Unternehmenskommunikation, Medien, UX Design, Informationsdesign)
  • Bereiche: Corporate Identity, Illustration, Informationssysteme, Produkt, Unternehmen, Multimedia, Audiovisuelle Medien, Information, Visualisierungen und Animationen, Web Design etc.
  • Gestaltung von physischen oder digitalen Prozessen, Produkten, Software und Services (Engineering, Prototyping, Research, Nutzungsszenarios und Consulting)
  • gestalterisch-technische Umsetzung der Mensch-Objekt – Raum-Interaktion (Interactiondesign, User Experience Design)

Spezielle Berufsfelder für Absolventinnen und Absolventen des Studien-schwerpunktes „integrated design processes (idp)“ umfassen heute eine große Bandbreite:

  • im Produktdesign (Industrie- und Investitionsgüterdesign, Konsumgüter- und Möbeldesign, Freizeit, Sport, Spiel ; Gebäudetechnik ; Handwerk, Industrie; Haushalt, Küche, Bad; Medien, Kommunikation; Public Design; Wohnen ; Medizin, Rehabili-tation; Unterhaltungselektronik; Büro, Objekt)
  • im Grafik-, Medien- und Digital-Design (Corporate Design; Illustration; Informationssysteme; Produktkommunikation; Unternehmenskommunikation)
  • im Multimedia/ Interface/ Interaction Design; Audiovisuelle Medien/ Informationsdesign; Visualisierungen /Animationen; Web Design; Informationsdesign
  • Gestaltung von Prozessen, Nutzungskonzepten und deren Schnittstellen (Servicedesign, Interactiondesign, UX- Design)
  • Corporate Identity / Corporate Design
  • Neue Arbeitsfelder für die Designerinnen und Designer: In der Designstrategie, im Designmanagement, der Markenarchitektur, dem Innovationsmanagement sowie dem Packaging Design
  • Forschungsaufgaben an Hochschulen, Unternehmen und Instituten

Spezielle Berufsfelder für Absolventinnen und Absolventen des Studien-schwerpunktes „interior architecture & architectural design (iaad)“ sind:

  • Szenenbild (Film und Fernsehen, Werbung)
  • Bühnenbild (Theater, Oper, Event)
  • Bildende Kunst (Installation, Concept Art, Skulptur)
  • Messe-/ Eventdesign & Themeninszenierung
  • Kommunikationsdesign
  • Illustration/ Storyboard/ 2D- und 3D-Visualisierung
  • Modellbau
  • Projekt-Management
  • Marketing-/ Unternehmensberatung
  • Style Consulting
  • Werbung/ Full Service/ CI
  • Markenkommunikation
  • Entwurf, Visualisierung, Planung

Die AbsolventInnen können am Arbeitsmarkt teilnehmen als freie oder angestellte

  • Innenarchitekten
  • Szenen- oder Bühnenbildner
  • Art oder Creative Directors
  • Projektmanager/Projektleiter
  • Illustratoren
  • Stylisten
  • Einrichtungs- u. Gestaltungsberater
  • Architektur-Projektsteuerung
  • Entwurfsplanung von Gebäuden und Bauwerken vorwiegend des Hochbaues
  • Genehmigungs- und Ausführungsplanungen
  • Koordination zwischen den verschiedenen Fachplanern
  • Ausschreibung und Vergabe
  • Baumanagement
  • Bauleitung (auch Objektüberwachung oder Bauüberwachung)
  • Objektbetreuung und Dokumentation (HOAI)
  • Assetmanagement, Immobilienmanagement, Gebäude- oder Facilitymanagement
  • Aufgaben in der öffentlichen Verwaltung (Bauamt)
  • Forschung / Lehre: Architekturtheorie, Bauforschung, Bauökonomie
  • Spezialgebiete: Architekturdarstellung, Modellbau

Mögliche Tätigkeiten in der Vertiefungsrichtung „heritage design“ sind:

  • Projektmanager/Projektleiter Architektur
  • Architektur Visualisierung
  • Projektsteuerung Architektur
  • Entwurfsplanung Städtebau bis Objektplanung
  • Tätigkeit im höheren Dienst der öffentlichen Verwaltung
  • Landesdenkmalamt
  • Untere Denkmalpflege in den Landratsämtern
  • Regierungsbaumeister
  • Bauforschung
  • Restaurierung
  • Bausachverständige
  • Wissenschaftliche Dokumentation
  • Planung und Beratung mit Schwerpunkt Bauen im Bestand, Kontext und Städtebau
  • Beratung und Begleitung von Gestaltungsprozessen, Revitalisierungen