Play the System
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is a platform for parametric design in graphic design. It documents the work of students and teachers at the Department of Design at Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW), who are investigating the significance of the system as a conceptual model and design method under the title “Parametric Design in Graphic Design.”

Design is less about intuitive, even ingenious “strokes of genius” and more about a holistic and rule-based (systemic and systematic) process of gaining knowledge and shaping form. It is becoming increasingly important to be able to design dynamic systems that both guide and inspire the design process.

Parametric design refers to this design in and of systems—with rules, their modes of operation, and systematic manipulability. The research project, led by Prof. Heike Grebin, is an integral part of teaching and aims to raise awareness of design as a performative process.

Play the System brings together selected study projects in which the system plays an important role as a design method – whether analog or digital. The works are created in a fruitful symbiosis of theory, design, and technology. Socially relevant issues and positions from philosophy, art, and avant-garde design from around 1900 to the present day are repeatedly discussed.

Play the System is an invitation to become aware of the systemic competence of graphic design and to gain the maturity to use the tools of digital design critically.

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Play the System Courses /

c35 [Dis]Play the System

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How can graphic design be exhibited? And how can graphic design be used to exhibit graphic design? The course [Dis]Play the System explores the potential of parametric design to develop a surprising exhibition concept.
The basis of the course is Play the System, an archive of more than 400 student projects from almost 20 years of research on parametric design. The collection includes books, animated posters, and interactive graphics, as well as self-programmed design tools.
In experimental workshops, the students sharpen their understanding of rule-based design. Playful manipulation of the parameters results in new, often unexpected design variations.
The archive is explored in search of the best projects for the exhibition. The students talk to the designers about their experiences and their design practice, thus allowing personal insights to be experienced directly.
The students delve into the world of exhibition design, analyzing past events, visiting current exhibitions, and examining their curatorial strategies. These observations flow directly into the course’s own exhibition concept, which is implemented by the students themselves and celebrated in an exhibition that runs from July 17 to 20 at Kultur&Gut in Altona.