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 /

c27 Stilvorlagen. A Lecture Series on Design and Society

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From 2003 to 2017, the lecture series Stilvorlagen—conceived of and organized by students—was held almost every summer at the Department of Design at HAW Hamburg. Its aim was to reflect on contemporary positions in communication design within a societal context and to sharpen the students’ critical perspectives. Intense, creative, and—above all—collaborative experimentation with processes and imperfection was part of the concept.
At the heart of the series was the exploration of the designer’s role in a changing society, along with the question of how shifts in the professional field might influence designers’ awareness and self-conception. International guests from a wide range of disciplines provided insights into their practice and design approaches. Interviews and workshops—prepared and conducted by the students—formed the core of the events.
In addition to the thematic work, students also took on extensive organizational responsibilities: they developed the visual identity of each year’s series, coordinated the events, managed press relations, and documented the project. Stilvorlagen offered students the opportunity to take responsibility, to get to know designers and their working methods, and to develop their own perspectives.