Subject Area Trends & Identity

Trends & Identity explores lifestyles and cultures of things, and analyses trends, fashions and identities. Through design, we take a critical, fun and forward-looking stance on social change. We develop concepts, design products and produce services. Design perspectives are supplemented and consolidated with cultural research and design ethnography methods.  

Teaching and learning

Trends and Identity offers comprehensive training with the six-semester Bachelor’s specialization and the three-semester Master’s specialization. Bachelor’s students learn to critically analyse social developments and design concepts, products, staged presentations and events on this basis. They acquire concept design skills and a broad-based knowledge of design. Students completing the Master’s specializations display an impressive combination of research-focused and design expertise. They are able to transform knowledge of identity constructions and socio-economic trends into future-oriented design concepts and products in an exploratory manner.

Research

Research in the Trends and Identity subject area is carried out at the intersection between cultural studies research, empirical social research and design research. Three research focuses – care futures, fashion theory and history, and lifestyle and identities – address topics such as mental health, death settings, culture-historical aspects of clothing and fashion, and ethnographic analyses of everyday cultures in a theoretical and practical way.

Head of Programme

Prof. Katharina Tietze

Degree programme of the subject area

The degree programme of the subject area of Trends & Identity includes:

→ Bachelor of Arts in Design with a Specialization in Trends & Identity

→ Master of Arts in Design with a Specialization in Trends & Identity