Play the System

Alica Pfister completed her training as a graphic designer in 2012. After studying communication design at HTWG Konstanz, she began her master of arts—also in communication design—at HAW Hamburg in 2017. During her master’s program, she delved deeper into motion design and began one of several teaching assignments for animated posters at HAW Hamburg in 2019. Since completing her master’s degree in 2020, she has been self-employed and has worked at JUNO in the areas of visual identity, editorial design, and motion design. She currently works at the design agency BR*Studio in Hamburg.

German-Egyptian interface designer and web developer Amyra Radwan lives and works in Hamburg. Her freelance work focuses on UX/UI design, creative coding, and event identities. Through her work in Hamburg’s arts and culture sector, Radwan has been involved in the organization, curation, and execution of numerous events. Her work deals with system-critical and political issues such as the influence of excess, growth, and consumption on Western society, feminist discourses such as indoctrinated beauty standards, intersectionality, heteronormativity, and ableism.

Andreas Trogisch is a graphic designer and photographer based in Berlin. In 1989, he co-founded the graphic design studio grappa (renamed Troppo Design in 2014), where he created visual identities and print material for theaters, cinemas, and museums. Today, his work focuses primarily on book design, often exploring the intersection of database programming and automated layout systems. He also teaches as a lecturer and guest professor and has been part of the faculty at the Ostkreuz School of Photography in Berlin since 2021. His photographic works are regularly exhibited and published in book form.

Anja Groten is a designer, researcher and educator. Her work focuses on the interface between digital and physical media, design and art education, as well as participation in interdisciplinary collectives such as Hackers & Designers.
 In 2022, she completed her PhD within the PhDArts program at Leiden University and the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, as part of the NWO-funded consortium, “Bridging Art, Design, and Technology through Critical Making,” that explored the relationship between design and collectivity. Since 2019, Anja is leading the Design Master’s program at the Sandberg Instituut in Amsterdam. As of 2024, she also supervises PhDArts candidates as an assistant professor of design theory and practice.

Asmus Tietchens is a German composer of electroacoustic music. He has devoted himself full-time to electroacoustic composition since 1975. His first LP Nachtstücke was released in 1980. In 1982, he turned his attention to industrial music and released numerous works on international labels. From 1989 to 2010, he taught sound design and sound research at HAW Hamburg, and later also at HFBK Hamburg and the University of Applied Arts Vienna. He has received the Karl Sczuka Prize for Acoustic Art (2003, 2006) and composed on commission for WDR. As a self-taught musician, he has released over 50 albums and performed worldwide.

Benedikt Rottstegge is a graphic designer and developer with a focus on digital culture. He studied at UdK Berlin, HFBK Hamburg, and Cooper Union in New York, and has taught at UdK Berlin and HAW Hamburg. In 2021, he co-founded the design studio Menschmaschine, where he develops visual systems and interfaces that challenge established conventions—primarily for clients in culture and science.

Björn Jeske has been working as a freelance graphic designer and programmer since 2017, specializing in the development of holistic, mostly digital design solutions. His approach is conceptually driven, but he likes to make use of all formal freedoms within this framework. In addition to his freelance work, he teaches web design at HAW Hamburg. He briefly worked as an art director at the 3301 design agency before deciding on the freer model of self-employment. He completed his academic career with a bachelor’s degree in communication design at HS Düsseldorf and a master’s degree at HAW Hamburg.

Christoph Lohse has been working in the fields of motion, web, and corporate design for over 20 years. Even before studying communication design at HAW Hamburg, he worked as a motion designer at NDR. Today, as part of NDR’s corporate design team, he oversees the further development of digital offerings, having previously spent two decades creating designs, infographics, and templates for various editorial teams. In parallel, he realizes web projects under the name Büro für Exakte Ästhetik. Christoph was part of the founding team of the Tagesschau Instagram channel and was a lecturer at HAW Hamburg. One of his web projects for the MK&G Hamburg was awarded the Grimme Online Award.

Claudia Scheer absolvierte nach ihrer Ausbildung zur Mediengestalterin ein Designstudium an der TH Nürnberg (Bachelor) und an der HAW Hamburg (Master). Sie ist Partnerin des Designstudios ‹muskat› und initierte gemeinsam mit Lea Sievertsen und Silva Baum ‹notamuse›, eine Initiative für Grafikdesignerinnen.

Daniel Behrens is a designer from Hamburg. He graduated from HAW Hamburg in 2010 and founded the studio Public Design. His work focuses on the conception and development of graphic systems. He has a keen interest in typographic design and the interface between typography and typeface design. Daniel loves fonts and large letters and is a committed advocate of flânerie.

After studying foreign languages at the University of Mainz, Daniel Schröder went on to study communication design at HAW Hamburg. Since then, he has been working as a software developer specializing in front-end and user experience in the health IT industry.

Elvira Barriga collaborates with visionary thinkers on progressive projects that challenge conventions and enrich our world. For over 20 years, she has helped organizations around the world define their vision, build brand identities, and connect with audiences through interactive and award-winning museum experiences. She has created work for brands like Adidas, Levi’s, and Sonos, and for institutions including Harvard, UPenn, and Humboldt University. Before co-founding Tales of Tomorrow, she was creative director at Local Projects, Imprint Projects, and Bruce Mau Design.

Esteban Barco is an designer from Colombia, with a master’s in communication design from HAW Hamburg. He blends creativity, strategy, and technology, he specializes in corporate identity, motion, and web design. His work is influenced by creative coding—a language that utilizes computational design to translate mathematical concepts into design systems. With both agency and freelance experience, Esteban has worked with and for numerous brands and organizations. He has also given talks on design, storytelling, and code at his alma mater and other institutions.

Finn Reduhn is a graphic designer and type designer. His work includes websites, corporate identities, posters, books, and branding. He is particularly interested in designing cross-media visual systems. He publishes his own typefaces through the micro-label Joint Venture. Finn is a master’s student at HAW Hamburg and collaborates with studios such as Vrints Kolsteren, Haller Brun, and Twice Studio.

Frieder Bohaumilitzky is a designer and design researcher. He studied political science (bachelor’s degree) at the University of Hamburg and fine arts with a focus on design (MfA) at HFBK Hamburg and the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem. From 2020 to 2023, he was a research assistant at the Center for Design Research at HAW Hamburg, where he researched the social and political prerequisites of design and the applications of design in the context of politics. He is currently pursuing a doctorate at HFBK Hamburg on the connection between design and right-wing extremism.

Frieder Nake (Prof. Dr.) is a German mathematician, computer scientist, and pioneer of computer art. Since the mid-1960s, he has explored algorithmically generated images and is regarded as one of the founders of generative aesthetics. As a professor of interactive graphics systems at the University of Bremen, he has shaped critical discourse on the relationship between art, code, and society, and is considered one of the leading representatives of digital art.

Golnar Kat Rahmani ist Art Direktorin und Gründerin des Studios Katrahmani in Berlin. Das Studio ist spezialisiert in Kommunikationsdesign und -beratung in den Bereichen Typografie, Typedesign, visuelle Identitäten und Editorial Design.

Hannah Bauhoff combines design, architecture, and cultural and media management into a creative, practice-oriented teaching approach. After completing her diploma and master-level studies, she worked as a journalist, senior editor, and consultant for national and international design and architecture projects. In 2009, she co-founded the network designjournalists—global correspondents for design and architecture. From 2010 to 2016, she supported the lecture series “Stilvorlagen—Design and Society”. Since 2011, she has been a secondary school teacher, developing her own design-thinking-based concepts and formats that support refugee students’ creativity and development. She has received several awards, including for “Wasserwelten” and “Pop-up Architecture.

Ian Warner was born in England, and emigrated to Berlin in 1996. He graduated from Portsmouth University in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in communication design. Ian is a freelance designer and was a partner at Grappa Blotto / Blotto Design from 2000 to 2013. He is the founder of Slab-Mag, an online journal for architecture and urbanism and a co-founder of All The World’s A Page, a literary/typographic poster emporium. He was a partner of the design studio State from 2013 to 2020. From 2020 to 2023, he was part of the local design team for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, spending two years in Doha. Since 2023 Ian is a design director at Meta Design in Berlin.