With the German Design Graduates (GDG) initiative, the German Design Council Foundation offers young talents a platform for pioneering ideas that drive change in business and society. GDG is the only initiative with the aim of promoting the next generation of product and industrial design graduates and representing renowned German universities and colleges.

Planned obsolescence: problem or opportunity?
Award Winner 2024
Dean Weigand, Hochschule der Bildenden Künste Saar, Master of Arts
As part of his final thesis, Dean Weigand showed that a defective electronic component of a washing machine weighing 0.000839 kg leads to a barely recyclable mountain of waste weighing over 60 kg. Through in-depth research, he discovered that the wear and tear of the part was not included in the design and looked for economically viable solutions.

About Slag
Award Winner 2024
Max Greiner, Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle, Bachelor of Arts
For his objects, which move between product and experiment, Max Greiner used the complex material of blast furnace slag to produce a glass mass, which he processed in various ways. The project resulted in a close exchange between industry and craftsmanship, the outcome of which suggests that the newly developed process can be scaled up.

Handmade With a Robot
Lotte Schlör, Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin, Master of Arts
The project responded to current challenges and forward-looking questions in the context of human-robot collaboration and automation in the skilled trades. Are we being replaced by technology? Do we still need manual work at all? How can I use digital production without losing my individuality? The designer’s Handmade With a Robot project is based on these questions and combines a high degree of human flexibility with the precision and endurance of robots.

Mono Wool
Michelle Müller, Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin, Master of Arts
With Mono Wool, Michelle Müller has designed a manufacturing process that makes the waste product raw wool usable for the production of furniture. The cover is knitted with cavities, filled and then folded to form a seat shell. Using 3D knitting technology, the cover fabric can be produced entirely on the machine and the upholstery made from 100% wool is designed for local, circular and social production.

Hotspot
Moritz Walter, Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin, Master of Arts
More comfortable, efficient and flexible heating: Consisting of several electrically powered modules, Hotspot creates heating zones in the room. While a heat panel enables large-area heating, modular heat storage units can be used for direct heat. The modules fit seamlessly into living spaces and enable sustainable heating that no longer requires fossil fuels.

MonoSpeaker
Lion Sanguinette, Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle, Bachelor of Arts
The recyclable bluetooth speaker consists of just one material in addition to the electronics. The designer replaces the membrane of a conventional speaker with a resilient material structure. If the product no longer works, the electronics can be easily separated from the plastic housing and returned to the manufacturing company for reuse.

Gestaltungszentrale Politik
Award Winner 2024
Philipp Cartier/Frederik Kampe/Jule Helene Leinpinsel/Robert Schröter/Lisa Heinze/Norbert Lein, Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg, Master of Arts
Gestaltungszentrale Politik e.V. examines the relationship between politics and design. In order to gain a precise understanding of everyday political life and these processes, the initiative is working on two pilot projects with members of the Bundestag and political scientists. The aim is to achieve a sustainable change in the design culture in political creative processes so that different perspectives and approaches to solutions lead to democratic decisions in the interests of the common good.

making an inventory
Florian Bremer, Kunsthochschule Kassel, Diplom
The results of a survey at the Kunsthochschule Kassel make the various facets of university life visible and playfully reveal the creative potential and deeply rooted knowledge that exists in systems such as universities. The project shows that well thought-out design helps to involve as many people as possible in participation processes.

Das Probesitzen am Hansaplatz
Irini Schwab/Anna Ulmer/Tina Henkel/Maren Hinze, Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg
In cooperation with the neighborhood, the Probesitzen project is committed to designing a square in Hamburg for the common good. The designers created twelve seating objects that can be used collectively and temporarily. The furniture represents the desire for a long-term change to this place.

ThermoCell
Linjing Wu, Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin, Bachelor of Arts
ThermoCell is an innovative product service for (night) markets. The product uses heat from kitchen appliances to generate electricity for rechargeable batteries, providing an environmentally friendly and convenient charging solution for customers’ mobile phones. In addition to ecological aspects, the project is dedicated to social innovation and a Sharing Economy.

TAG
Award Winner 2024
Lena Hellmann, Kunsthochschule Kassel, Diplom
The table tools designed by Lena Hellman promote shared experiences and social interaction in equal measure: A spoon with indentations or reworked tongs encourage sharing. With the help of 3D printing, the designer developed a cost-efficient production process with an experimental design. The objects were produced in cooperation with the manufacturer mono.

Celina Kroder, Su(n)spend, Folkwang Universität der Künste Essen
Simon Morgenstern & Robert Baumgart, DUC 20, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Josua Roters, Cable Mania, Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle
Jungwoon Lee, Furtho, Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle
Christoph Hilmer, Stand-bye, Hochschule Hannover
Estelle Willers, 280+, Hochschule Düsseldorf
David Zech, THEA – Therapeutischer Audiocontroller, Hochschule Darmstadt
Florian Albrecht, Zum Schluss, Fachhochschule Potsdam
Ina Qian, Adaptives Interaktionsdesign zur Motivation ökologischen Handelns, Technische Universität Dresden
Sophie Bernauer, Clayer, Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach

Nan Song, 3D-gedrucktes Organmodell für die robotische Cholezystektomie-Operation, Folkwang Universität der Künste Essen
Severin Göbel-Groß, Am Drücker, Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Dresden
Charlotte von Ravenstein, Ceramic Interfaces, Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin
Julia Kulaga, xy², Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach
Lea Kutschke & Geraldine Kutschke, Sonnenschutzverhalten,
Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaft und Kunst Hildesheim
Ilija Majcen, non traditional wood bending, Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin
Sophia Reißenweber, Break-up Lab, Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle
Marc Roman Page, recasting aesthetics, Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin

Lilly Alicia Günther, A Graphic Guide On Female Tropes, Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Dresden
Dorothea Wagnerberger, Gendermedol+, Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal
Lena Kölmel, Wirkmodell für transformative Bildung, Bergische Universität WuppertalLukas Henneberger,
Lukas Henneberger, be seeing you, Universität der Künste Berlin
Julia Karpf, Ecken und Kanten, Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg
Bernadette Geiger, GamingWell — WorkingWell, Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Dresden
Michelle Pilz, design as democracy, Kunsthochschule Kassel
Mira Müller, Undoing Arne, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar

Arista Meier, COLD LAYER, Muthesius Kunsthochschule Kiel
Shani Nahum, The Boiling Purple, Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle
Johannes Schmidtner, Urban Sails, Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin
Eric Geißler, Compostable Devices, Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle
Birke Weber, MycoColors, Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin
Lara Aue, Steps to Stay, Bergische Universität Wuppertal
Max Böhm, Bela, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Amelie Poxleitner, cool pieces, Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe