Play the System

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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The world feels off kilter—and we want to respond with political posters. To sharpen our political awareness and strengthen our ability to argue, we are joined by Sophie Schäfer from Netzwerk Spandau—a network for democracy, tolerance, respect, and diversity.

Together, we discuss current social developments and explore concrete topics and ways to take action. We read excerpts from Germany’s Basic Law and study research by More in Common—an international organization dedicated to social cohesion. We even take a quiz to see which of the six social types we belong to.

In an open and engaging atmosphere, we talk about the actions of the Center for Political Beauty, democracy as both a system and a value, and the crises and resilience of our society. Many of these insights find their way into our projects—and continue to resonate beyond the semester.