For the second time, the «REFRESH X Punch Prize» has been awarded, honouring outstanding diploma projects that deal innovatively with questions of ecological sustainability, the climate crisis and the complex relationships between humans, nature and the more-than-human. The winning projects will be exhibited at the Climate Week in New York, September 21-28, 2025. The «Punch Prize» exists as a result of the close exchange between REFRESH and Swissnex in Boston und New York.
Marc Streit (Head of Arts and Creative Industries, Swissnex in Boston and New York) announced the winning projects via video message as part of the graduation ceremony of the Department of Design on June 20, 2025, at ZHdK. The awarded graduates are: Raphael Stäger with «Tschäggättä» and Nicolas Wagner with «Printed Plants Catalog». The department congratulates the winners and is looking forward to the exhibition contributions in September 2025 in New York.
«Tschäggättä» by Raphael Stäger, BA Major Cast / Audiovisual Media
Each winter in the Lötschental, it is up to no good: the Tschäggättä. The documentary short film delves into a tradition between past and present. In a world which becomes faster, louder and increasingly public, the Tschäggättä represents something that does not want, but must, adapt. An honest look at a figure that is ungraspable and - maybe as a consequence of this - continues to live on.
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«Printed Plants Catalog» von Nicolas Wagner, BA Major Visual Communication
Conventional print colours are mostly made from fossil ressources. This catalogue is a collection of 12 plant-based print colours manufactured with screen printing. All components of the catalogue are renewable, compostable and the majority of pigments is home-grown, harvested and produced independently. The project consists of a catalogue with colour samples, information on the manufacturing process and an extensive online documentation.
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