Design is a powerful tool. We use it to negotiate the kind of world we want to live in. The Design major explicitly deals with the design of our environment. It teaches, experiments with, and tests artistic practices that help to open up and transform our present. We understand design as a socially effective practice that deals with the people, things, processes, ecologies, and politics of our environment.

At the HFBK Hamburg, design is a focus of artistic studies that opens up and interlinks several strands: material-related and sustainable design, socially and politically situated practices, and working with and within shared environments. Design is not reduced to material artifacts, but is understood as a process-oriented practice that negotiates social, ecological, and cultural contexts.

Students develop different attitudes and working methods—from experimental and public formats to material-based investigations and long-term, regenerative design approaches. Project work in the respective classes sometimes takes place in the real political sphere and acts in a partisan manner with social actors. Elsewhere, it positions itself in ecological transformation processes and explores sustainable design practices. Or it incorporates non-human actors and queer perspectives in order to rethink design from a decentralized perspective. The Design major represents an artistic practice of environmental design that is located in the thicket of our contentious reality.

The aim of the program is to convey the transformative potential of design practices and to support students in their personal search for socially effective forms of design. The focus is on the students' artistic research questions, which lead to individual or collective projects. In their self-chosen course of study, students are supervised by teachers in different classes.

Each class within the major highlights design from a different perspective. They deal with different environments, tools, and practices. All classes cultivate a practical, hands-on, but also critically reflective relationship with real contexts outside the university—often in cooperation with public-interest actors or institutions.

Extensive workshops at the HFBK are available for the implementation of artistic projects. There, students can learn creative and technical possibilities and try out new processes – for example, in the areas of plaster molding, wood, ceramics, plastics, metal/precious metals, digital/materials, sustainability, photography, media technology, and electronics.

The presentation, communication, and discussion of creative approaches is an important part of the program. In addition to annual exhibitions, excursions, and external workshops, the university's own gallery also offers the opportunity to try out new forms of art and design presentation and reception.

The master's program offers students a framework for deepening and independently developing their artistic and creative approach. The focus is on examining socially effective practices that shape our environment and view design as a responsible activity within ecological, material, social, and political contexts.

At the HFBK Hamburg, design forms a focal point of artistic studies, opening up and interlinking several strands: material-related and sustainable design, socially and politically situated practices, and working with and within shared environments. Design is not reduced to material artifacts, but is understood as a process-oriented practice that negotiates social, ecological, and cultural contexts.

Students develop different attitudes and working methods—from experimental and public formats to material-based investigations and long-term, regenerative design approaches. Project work in the respective classes sometimes takes place in the real political sphere and acts in a partisan manner with social actors. Elsewhere, it positions itself in ecological transformation processes and explores sustainable design practices. Or it incorporates non-human actors and queer perspectives in order to rethink design from a decentralized perspective. The Design major represents an artistic practice of environmental design that is located in the thicket of our contentious reality.

Design is understood as an artistic research process. In addition to technical skills, critical reflection is also trained in practical work. Theoretical courses provide perspectives on art and design in history, the present, and the future, enabling students to contextualize their own working approaches within a larger framework. The aim is to sharpen students' own creative and artistic positions, which are strengthened through the interplay between practical and conceptual work and in discourse with fellow students and teachers.

The HFBK's complex workshops provide the necessary infrastructure for experimental design. In addition, numerous collaborations with public-interest organizations and public institutions enable artistic projects to be prototyped and tested in real-world contexts. International study visits are also encouraged in the master's program. Guest lectures, workshops, and excursions provide further in-depth study opportunities.

The public presentation and discussion of students' own research and design projects at the end of each semester, in addition to the annual exhibitions, offers an opportunity to discuss issues of project communication and reception.