Following on from Summaery at the Bauhaus University Weimar our summer tour 2011 took us on to Einblick at the Fachhochschule Potsdam.
Or FHP:-) to give it its formal title.
One of Germany's newest design schools - the first communication design course at the FHP:-) began in 1992, product design joining in 1993 - the college has quickly built up a strong reputation for the quality of its teaching and research.
But not for its logo. Or FHP;-) as witticisms are presumably supposed to be written.
What always surprises us at FHP:-) is that in-spite of what you may assume based on seeing the logo - the communication design department is very strong and regularly produces excellent work.
2011 was no exception with some highly innovative projects on show. A similar visual feast was provided by both the typology course and the results of a seminar which asked students to design their own pattern based on traditional oriental designs. With the majority of the works indicating that they had been approached with a sense of fun and professionalism.
An important combination for a designer.
In terms of product design, we liked the results of the course "Design dein Sofa" - with the proviso that many of the designs were impractical - and the barbecue Abacus from Romme Stascchik - with the proviso that we don't do recycling design.
Design dein sofa was a course that asked students to develop a "feasible" sofa design.
Not all were. Or at least not if you take "feasible" to mean - usable, constructable and sellable.
That said, and as we never tire of repeating, student projects are not necessarily always about the end products. And many of the approaches the students chose to take and the concepts that attempted to apply certainly showed promise. Even if they didn't all succeed.
Abacus by Romme Stascchik arose as part of the course "Low Budget Design" and is in essence a barbecue made from an old washing machine drum, an old heating pipe and an old lampshade.
Now you know us - we don't do recycling design.
But.
There is something in Abacus that speaks to us on a deeper level and which tells us that with further development and a few modifications one could develop a useful product concept with a wide range of applications.
But we still don't do recycling design. And never will.
A further highlight for us at Einblick was the exhibition to the seminar "Persönliche Dinge" from Prof. Wiebke Loeper and Prof. Dr. Rainer Funke.
Looking at some of our favourite themes; the difference between favourite things and things we like, how we identify with objects, and our relationship with the things that surround us, "Persönliche Dinge" is a series of photos that attempt to capture the essence of why the object is so important.
In our (smow)introducing interview, FHP:-) graduate Christoffer Martens mentions the workshops, the quiet location and the proximity to Berlin as being among his reasons for choosing to study in Berlin.
Whenever we visit FHP:-) we can't help adding the relaxed informal atmosphere and the collage of stickers on the corridor walls to the list.
After a highly enjoyable afternoon in Potsdam we headed off for the next stage of the (smow) summer tour 2011, Berlin and the annual Rundgang at the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee, KHB
