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| Jury member of the BraunPrize 2009
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Florian Seiffert
Professor for Product Design, Fachhochschule Mainz and first BraunPrize Winner 1968
Florian Seiffert studied Product Design at the Gesamthochschule Essen. He won the first BraunPrize in 1968 and started his career as Product Designer at the Braun AG in Kronberg. Since 1972 he has been working as a freelance designer and is running a design studio in Wiesbaden. He held a teaching position at the Fachhochschule Pforzheim, Germany and since 1987 he has been lecturer for Product Design at the Fachhochschule Mainz and visiting Professor at the ISIA in Rom, Italy.
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Jury statement
Design’s Future Depends on Design Education
Ladies and gentlemen, revered colleagues, dear BraunPrize 2009 finalists:
When I won the first BraunPrize 41 years ago, the world, and design, looked very different than they do today. I had the great fortune of being the first BraunPrize winner, and you, dear finalists, hopefully will not be the last – because this reflection of all German and foreign institutions of design education and their distinctive projects is one of a kind, and it’s a very important information source for designers and aspiring designers.
Forty-one years ago, one’s chances of winning the award were relatively good. There were just 122 entries from 14 countries. As we have already heard, the 2009 BraunPrize competition has attracted around ten times that number. This speaks to the popularity of the BraunPrize today.
Of course, we must not forget that in 1968 there were only five or six degree programs in product design in the Federal Republic of Germany. Today, if I’m not mistaken, there are 22 or more institutions in Germany alone that offer professional training in this field.
Around 1968 some 50 students per year graduated from universities in West Germany. The number is now about 500 annually.
In the late 1960s in West Germany, some 100 new coffeemakers were developed, designed, and in most cases also produced, each year. This required about 20 designers, ten model builders and 20 production facilities. And today?
In the sixties we had ten semesters – often even longer in practice – to complete our studies and thesis. We had to take about twelve subjects and complete one design project per semester. We had time to lay down a solid basis of knowledge and develop our skills. After our studies, my fellow students and I all found employment in the industry.
Today, the bachelor’s degree program in product design has been reduced to between six and eight semesters, including thesis. Students complete three design projects. Basic professional training now additionally takes in such areas as CAD and related informatics, computer-aided presentation, rapid prototyping, and marketing. This all leaves little room for solidly founded design that is worked out down to the level of detail.
Graduates with master’s degrees won’t fill this gap, because the master’s program is intended to deepen the student’s theoretical knowledge.
In the last four decades, however, consumers have come to demand considerably more in terms of design. Given the current conditions, how will the designers of the future satisfy this demand? And how can professional training in product design be improved?
The globalization of the market has led to a reduction in product range, meaning there are far fewer products to be designed. These pose a greater challenge to the designer, however, as every product must meet varying requirements around the world – all the more reason to give the utmost priority to improving the quality of design training, so as to maintain and increase the quality of design itself.
Design will only be as good as the training the designer has received.
To fulfill the present and future demands on design, we must increase the length of the degree programs and decrease the number of students. Or, would the state rather that industry took over part of the training? If so, periods of practical training would have to be built into the design curriculum.
My appeal to our universities and to the government:
The universities should turn out fewer, but better qualified graduates. Courses of study should be lengthened. They should work in cooperation with industry to convey and build upon a sound foundation of knowledge.
As part of their basic design training, students should gain knowledge of subjects including: drawing, structure, ergonomics, Radius Topology, color theory and production engineering. The focus should always be on tomorrow and beyond. As students, future practitioners must learn and know that good and serious design can only come about when the designer lives, comprehends and feels it.
Or will BRAUN one day train its own designers?
Because it wants to, or because it has to?
Thank you
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