Dezeen School Shows: a collection of 3D-printed breast prosthetics is included in Dezeen's latest school show by graduates of the University of the Arts Berlin.

Also featured is a self-charging street light that has a minimal environmental impact and a food container that indicates the condition of food.

University of the Arts Berlin

Institution: University of the Arts Berlin (UdK)
School: Institute for Product and Process Design

School statement:

"We are in a world where we need to think about the position of design and its relationship to production and consumption, how to shape our future environment and what role materials, cultural, technical, social, digital, historical and artistic impulses play in this.

"Responding to this reality, Product and Process Design at the University of the Arts Berlin focuses on vital areas of study to make a positive contribution to our future.

"Based in the heart of Berlin, the University of the Arts Berlin is one of the oldest universities of the arts and product design.

"As an art university and with institutes including Fraunhofer, Max Plank and Design Research Lab, UdK's product design is rooted in art and research.

"It offers a four-year BA programme and a one-year MA programme, taught by internationally renowned staff specialised in domains including design foundations, design and development, design and social context, design and interactive systems, design and art, design and industrial technology, design and theory, and design and research.

"Many graduates have started successful careers in Germany or around the globe. This show presents ten recently awarded graduates who have created projects with strong concepts."

Papilio by Tobias Trübenbacher

"Papilio is a street light that reduces light pollution. Using a Savonius wind rotor, it functions as a 'prosumer', producing all the energy it consumes.

"Papilio has a built-in battery to store the electricity. This enables Papilio to operate completely autonomously without the need for an underground electricity infrastructure. Alternatively, it can also be connected to a power grid to charge other devices during strong winds.

"To tackle light pollution, Papilio is designed as a 'full-cut-off' light, which only emits light downwards. Moreover, it provides an infrared sensor, only activating the light when it is needed. Papilio also uses a low blue light component that has less impact on insects.

"With Papilio, the process of generating energy becomes an aesthetic play, enriching the public space during day and night."

Student: Tobias Trübenbacher
Awards: Newcomer of the Year, German Design Awards 2023, Green Concept Award 2022, German Sustainability Award 2022, James Dyson Award 2021 (National runner up), Braun Prize 2021, Green Concept Recognition and German Design Graduates 2021

Bloom – An Artificial Agent for Our Urban Ecosystem by Kim Kuhl

"Bloom is an artificial fruiting body that connects trees and humans by examining how trees respond to stress in a language humans can understand.

"In an IoT (Internet of Things) network, Bloom communicates through a sensor fashioned to the roots of the tree that measures the suction force of the roots.

"The sensor's information is translated into a pulsing light, changing from slow pulsing when in good condition to frantic red pulsing in emergencies.

"From a passive presence in nature into a visible and active participant in our ecosystem, the project aims to reshape human understanding of technology's role in our ecosystem."

Student: Kim Kuhl
Awards: 'Dare to design' Museum für Kunst und Gestaltung in Hamburg German Design Graduates 2023 and 'Interconnected' GDG at Dutch Design Week 2023

Whole Earth Project by Louis Bindernagel

"The Whole Earth Project is an emergency response platform that facilitates a dialogue between designers, makers and people working on the ground.

"It deals with the analysis, consolidation and creation of networks dedicated to the idea of 'think global, make local'.

"The result is a global process, involving various people from different backgrounds. The project focuses on tackling crises by leveraging existing networks and maker spaces for immediate and long-term support worldwide.

"The Whole Earth Project plans to put this approach into practice in the context of responding to humanitarian or environmental crises."

Student: Louis Bindernagel
Awards: Circular Design Award, German Design Graduates 2022 and GDG selection for Design Campus der Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2022

Familie Hempel – A Furniture Collection that Provides Space to be Chaotic by Marie Radke

"This fun furniture collection is a homage to the classic pile of clothes on a chair. These are clothes which are already worn but still not ready for the washing machine, preventing unnecessary washing.

"The title is inspired by an old German saying where one will shout Your room looks like family Hempel's place! when witnessing a messy room.

"This family Hempel has four places to store you store clothes: a stool, a pouf, a bench and a high seat."

Student: Marie Radke
Awards: One-and-twenty award 2020, German Design Graduates Press recognition 2020, Green Card Ambiente Frankfurt 2020, Make Me Design Competition, Lódz 2020 and Finalist Global Grad Show, Dubai 2019

Double You by Dominique Bertisch

"Double You offers women the freedom to produce personalised breast prosthetics with 3D technologies. Any woman who has lost a breast can create breast prosthetics by 3D scanning, mirroring and 3D printing the remaining breast.

"The process of making the prosthetic herself frees a woman from the general prosthetics offered in medical shops and allows her to design the prosthetic at home.

"Moreover, various personal requirements, such as breathability, can be taken into account."

Student: Dominique Bertisch
Award: 'Dare to design' Museum für Kunst und Gestaltung in Hamburg German Design Graduates 2023

Extra Ordinary by Yuhang Ke

"Our modern lives are surrounded by so many objects. Some of them have been existing for a long time and people use them and live with them every day without noticing.

"Designers as 'objects makers' are responsible for this invisible connection between people and objects.

"The central aim of this project is to understand design as a medium to draw people's attention to the beautiful but neglected little things in everyday life.

"Each of the ten objects in this project represents a subtle memory – an experience, a moment and a detail about the beautiful but neglected side of everyday life."

Student: Yuhang Ke
Award: One-and-twenty shortlist 2022

The Doing in Itself – Not Entirely Effective Objects for Meditative Practice by Agnes Kelm

"These six objects encourage the user to question common assumptions about the functionality and efficiency of objects and their processes.

"These objects are deliberately made less effective. They are also designed to be playful and encourage the user to slow down and be increasingly conscious of daily actions.

"The brooms foster repetitive and meditative movement while the watering cans encourage contemplation."

Student: Agnes Kelm
Awards: Talente Preis München 2023 and Selection Supersalone Milano 2021

Vorkoster by Kimia Amir-Moazami

"More than 18 million tonnes of food are wasted in Germany every year, which takes up almost one-third of the total food consumption.

"More than half of this food waste – about ten million tonnes – could be avoided. What if your dishes could show you the condition of your food?

"Vorkoster is a lid that contains a pH-sensitive foil in the middle. When the quality of a protein-containing food declines, the foil changes colour, indicating that we should consume the product quickly.

"The foil is reusable – it can be neutralised after use and then ready for the next product. The shape pays homage to the upside-down plate that is often used to cover leftovers."

Student: Kimia Amir-Moazami
Awards: Secrid Talent Podium, 2023, Third prize Hessian State Prize for Universal Design 2022, Cultural and Creative Pilots Germany 2022, Design Research Award – German Design Graduates 2021, Einundzwanzig Shortlisted 2021, Berlin Science Week Audience Award 2021, Antenna selection Dutch Design Week 2021, Selection Supersalone Milano 2021 and Selection Global Grad Show, Dubai 2021

MEA – Modern Restoration by Cathy Wolter

"MEA rethinks the principles of furniture manufacturing and repairability. This is illustrated by a chair made of solid wood.

"With detachable joints, the chair can be quickly disassembled and refurbished in less than 60 minutes. The irreparable parts can be replaced while all other parts remain in use."

Student: Cathy Wolter
Awards: Green Concept Award shortlist 2023, Luxembourg Design Award nominee 2023, winner of IF Design Student Award 2023

Agency for Unseen Sights – A Critical Analysis of Sight and Seeing by Esmée Willemsen

"Agency for Unseen Sights questions what we see and what we consider worth seeing. It places objects which attract the eye in sites that otherwise seem entirely mundane.

"A gate, a ladder with a frame on its top and a pair of fences were placed in fields as if suggesting a must-see event.

"In this way, the project challenges rituals and practices of sightseeing and all the habits that come with it, including travelling the world in CO2-emitting planes."

Student: Esmée Willemsen
Awards: First Prize Designblok Prague 2023 and selection 'Interconnected' GDG at Dutch Design Week 2023

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and University of the Arts Berlin. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.