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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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p103 Construct Prison Island

Author

Undine Meinke

Year

2021

Course

archipel.mov

Supervision

Design Disciplines

[Motion Design] [Typography] [Time-related Media]

Mediums

[Digital] [Video]

Technologies

[Adobe Aftereffects] [Adobe InDesign] [Adobe Photoshop]

Subjects

[Society] [Utopia]

We have always been interested in the dark abysses of humanity. Streaming platforms are filled with documentaries about the trade in drugs and weapons, criminal clans and their actions, or even the seemingly mysterious prison islands. Some inmates have become legends thanks to their spectacular escape attempts or particularly ruthless crimes, while others are completely condemned by society. Criminal offenses are judged and evaluated by us according to different standards. But what do the construct and the associated punishments, rules, and procedures of the judicial institution actually trigger in us? Do we have an opinion or feeling about it?

Punishment and resocialization
On the one hand, the execution of a prison sentence serves to protect the general public from further criminal offenses. On the other hand, the prisoner should be enabled to lead a socially responsible life without committing offenses in the future. They should change their behavior and adapt to the rules and values of mainstream society. The convicted person should be prepared to reintegrate into the social fabric of society and be resocialized. The concept does not work for all offenders. Some remain in the custody of the justice system for life. Can offenders be successfully reintegrated into society, and can the prison island construct guarantee this at all?

Ethics and morals
Visiting times are short and strictly monitored. Interaction with people who love and support you is limited and is further restricted by the local isolation. Daily routines are kept to a schedule, and there are hardly any places for prisoners to retreat to. Every prisoner is an individual. At what point do the strict requirements within the prison walls exceed the rights and needs of individual prisoners? Does the concept encroach on the ethical and moral ideas of society?

Law and justice
Law encompasses all rules (norms) to which we are subject in the interests of the common good. Laws and rules of behavior that are considered binding in the community should be accepted and followed. Justice, on the other hand, is a judgment of the individual behavior of people. Among other things, it is about treating equal things equally and unequal things unequally. Is the interplay between law and justice reflected behind the walls?

The Prison island construct is intended to encourage the viewer to reflect by juxtaposing concepts. What actually happens in the institution? Do law and justice interact? Do we feel that punishment and resocialization are appropriate? Are the precautions ethically and morally justifiable?