Design products, such as mobile phones and tablets, are multifunctional tools which connect us to the digital world – but at the same time, we can use these tools to shape that world. Just a few decades ago, it would have been unthinkable: a mobile multitool that combines everything, from telephone, camera and computer through to music and video player, compass, cards, address book, and so much more – all in a single miniature device.
YESTERDAY. TODAY. YOU. Understanding the past, shaping the future: based on current design developments and their roots in the 20th century, in 2019 around 150 Thuringia school students will take part in a workshop project focused on teaching the aesthetic and theoretical principles of product design. By comparing iconic consumer products from different eras, such as cassette players and MP3 players, the students will become familiar with the essential elements of design, such as form, material and function. With the guidance of a professional designer, they will also discuss the individual benefits of different products, as well as brand-specific symbols and features that establish identity. Insights into the economic, social and technical influences that contribute to the form of each product serve as a creative springboard, inspiring the students to come up with their own ideas for creative new products – and to forecast how we will live and interact with these products in the future. Participants will give a final team presentation to the rest of the school, enabling the school community as a whole to connect with the results from the workshop.
This is a pilot project organised jointly by the German Design Museum Foundation and the PwC Foundation for Youth, Education and Culture. It will take place in 2019 in five educational institutions representing schools of different types. The concept for the workshop on product design has a practical focus, and aims to develop the students’ own judgement and encourage them to form their own critical analysis of consumer and brand images. For the first time in this schools project, the German Design Museum Foundation will be able to provide unique examples drawn from the historic photo archives of the German Design Council, a wealth of footage from the everyday life and consumer world of the 1950s through to the 1990s.
Design Workshop Weeks YESTERDAY. TODAY. YOU.
• For year 7–9 students at all types of secondary school in Thuringia
• Workshop length: five project days per school, to be arranged flexibly
• Time period: up to the end of 2019
• Send your applications to meister@deutschesdesignmuseum.de by 15 May 2019.
German Design Museum Foundation
With the main aims of promoting and conveying knowledge and collecting and discussing design artefacts, the German Design Museum Foundation is dedicated to facilitating national and international education programmes to enhance aesthetic learning and promote creativity and a new understanding of design, empowering young people to participate in shaping tomorrow’s world. To date, the education and culture campaign “Discover Design”, launched in 2014, has reached over 15,000 school students. The Foundation is equally committed to creating a digital museum of modern design. To this end they have digitised around 42,000 original images from the extensive photo archive of the German Design Council, which are now available online: www.deutschesdesignmuseum.de
PwC Foundation for Youth, Education and Culture
The PwC Foundation for Youth, Education and Culture was founded in 2002 as an initiative by the management of PwC Deutschland. It sponsors innovative projects that promote cultural, aesthetic and economic education. Its main focus is on supporting exemplary projects by cultural and educational institutions that stand out due to their concepts, creativity content, are based on an interconnected intellectual approach, or new forms of teaching. By taking a participatory approach with a practical focus, young people will be encouraged, above all, to form their own opinions and to critically question their own values.
www.pwc-stiftung.de Contact:
Stiftung Deutsches Design Museum
Julia Kostial, Managing Director
Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage 49 60327
Frankfurt am Main
Phone: 49 (0) 69 - 24 74 48 638
kostial@deutschesdesignmuseum.de

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