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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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p370 The Prison Archipelago

Author

Anika Menzel

Year

2021

Course

archipel.mov

Supervision

Design Disciplines

[Motion Design]

Mediums

[Hybrid] [Moving Poster]

Technologies

[Adobe Aftereffects]

Subjects

[Dystopia] [Society]

You have set off for this archipelago, you are on the direct route, and yet you are trying to avoid it with all your might. Ultimately, there is no way around it for you. You know why you are here, and yet you hoped never to arrive. You don't take a short trip to this archipelago. You are condemned, and you stay. Maybe one day you'll be able to leave, and you'll return shortly afterwards. On the mainland, they say that evil gathers here.

If you set foot on these islands, you officially become a leper, forgotten, feared, or a myth. They have their own laws and rules. You are at the bottom of this power structure. This time will certainly leave its mark. But which island will you end up on, and how will it change you?

Island 03—Open execution. If you make an effort and your previous path allows it, you will arrive on island 03 near the mainland, which you are allowed to visit. You have contact with the outside world. Here you can move around freely and work relatively independently. Nevertheless, you have to adhere to strict rules and spend your nights on the island. But you have a perspective. You have a goal in mind.

Island 02—Closed prison. Most people end up on Island 02, where they keep to themselves. Power struggles, aggression, and fear, but also discipline and structure, are the order of the day. This is not a safe place. You long for contact with the outside world and other impressions. It is monotonous and oppressive. Time passes slowly. If you get through the time well, you have a perspective, but most people don't escape unscathed.

Island 01—Solitary confinement. Island 01 is a private island, but one of the worst kinds. A cage. Just you alone, with your thoughts, no way out, and no control. Most people here lose their minds, hurt themselves, or become animals. Time seems to stand still. Every day is the same. It is traumatizing. Your body fights back—resists. It is torture. You have no chance.

Levels of isolation in German prisons. How does the reality compare with the objective of imprisonment laid down in the law, and how much freedom do prisoners in the various types of prison have? Based on the daily routines of various inmates, the project shows the flexibility or monotony of everyday life in prison and the serious differences between the different types of prisons. Beyond the typical prison clichés, viewers are invited and encouraged to question the prison situation in Germany, and the project shows what actually awaits most convicts.