The Kunstgewerbemuseum presents the first edition of the German Design Graduates. On display are over 42 positions from twelve of the best German design schools, selected by a jury of experts from 150 submissions. Focusing on eight themes, young designers examine current design issues that affect all facets of our lives:

• Everyday life – shows everyday objects with links to functionality, sustainability or production that positively influence and improve our daily lives.
• Leisure & travel – travelling has become very common both for our work and for our leisure time. The travel experience and how to improve the way of traveling are issues occurring in private and business life.
• Transport – the transport of goods and of ourselves has increased equally. This has an impact on our lives and our environment.
• Material – in a consumer and throw-away culture that is struggling with environmental problems, many young designers are trying to find alternative and sustainable materials for our future.
• analog & digital – we are online 24/7 and have to deal with our digital reality, prepare for the next steps, but also seek connections with the analog world.
• Sound & Music – in the last decades 'the digital' has strongly influenced the world of sound. It has opened up a world full of possibilities and seems to continue to do so in the future.
• Public space – our living and working spaces are getting smaller and smaller, and this, with changing perceptions for our environment and society, has implications for our public space.
• Research – how can we improve our future with new sustainable systems and methods and different positions for design and designers?

Why was German Design Graduates founded?

Germany has a rich history of product and industrial design, but what does German design stand for today? What makes students from the university tick? What is their attitude? The profession of design has changed a lot in recent decades and so has the position of the designer. German design schools have annual exhibitions, but for an (international) national audience there is no overview that shows the quality and attitude that German design schools offer today. It was on this basis that the idea of founding the German Design Graduates was born.

Platform & springboard for young designers

German Design Graduates is building an online archive of final thesis’ that can be filtered by year, subject or school.

German Design Graduates offers a platform for the diversity that design covers today and connects young designers with relevant design networks.

Awards

Professional ambassadors from 4 design fields (culture, practice, presentation and press) are associated with German Design Graduates and award green cards and prizes to young designers in the form of exhibitions and work commitments.

At the opening of the exhibition, the curators and directors of the Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin, the Neue Sammlung Munich and the Museum für Kunst & Gewerbe Hamburg will award the GDG Culture Prize – an annual cash prize – for a project that stands out for its attitude, innovation and social impact.

In cooperation with German Design Graduates