The Future of Design – Designing the Future

The Imag(e)ining Futures symposium will examine the epistemic, aesthetic, and political practices of design through the lens of visions and images of the future. It asks how visions of the future emerge, how they circulate in cultural and media contexts, and how they exert their influence. Here, processes such as prototyping and speculative approaches are understood not merely as forms of expression, but as methods through which spaces of possibility (an desirability) can be generated, and alternative narratives of the future can be explored.

The conference is based on the idea that visions and images of the future (Zukunftsentwürfe) play a key role in how society understands itself amidst ecological, technological and social changes. These visions and images function not merely as projections, but as practices that organise expectations and guide present-day action. The conference addresses this by collectively and interdisciplinarily examining the aesthetic forms, epistemic claims and political dimensions of such visions.

Visions and images of the future are examined as cultural and media forms that condense contemporary analyses, value judgements and collective expectations. Research into ‘imaginaries’ reveals that visions of scientific and technological progress frequently align with concepts of the common good and shared futures. Imag(e)ining Futures brings together researchers, futurologists, designers, lecturers, students and alumni to explore the role of design in developing visions of the future whilst questioning the future of design itself. The conference demonstrates how design makes the future conceivable and negotiable, from visual media and product and interaction design to spatial and visual practices.

The aim is to combine focused interdisciplinary discourse with conceptual clarification, case studies and workshop formats. An open-access publication will make the conference’s processes and results accessible to specialists. An exhibition of the same name, showcasing the work of students from the Faculty of Design, will accompany the conference.

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Fees

• THWS members (staff and students) and external students: free of charge
• One-day ticket for 5 November 2026 (external participants): €25
• One-day ticket for 6 November 2026 (external participants): €25

In addition, THWS members and external participants will have the option to book a meal package as an extra. This includes a hot lunch, some small snacks and fruit, as well as mineral water. Please note that, due to the necessary time required for planning, bookings for the catering package can only be made up to 19 October (8:00) 2026.

• One-day meal package: €12

Registration is on a per-day basis. Anyone wishing to attend on both days should please register twice. We recommend that you obtain information in advance, particularly regarding the limited-availability activities, as enrolment for these takes place as part of the registration process:

• Discussion sessions (Panel II, 5.11.26)
• Workshops (Panel III, 6.11.26)

To register and pay, please use the online form for Day 1 (5 November 2026) ↗

To register and pay, please use the online form for Day 2 (6 November 2026) ↗

Day Programme

9:00 am — Open Doors

9:30 am — Welcome and Opening

• Prof. Claudia Frey, Dean Faculty of Design (THWS)
• Prof. Dr. Gerhard Schweppenhäuser (THWS)
  “Visions of progress, speculators and ‘backward-looking prophets'”

Today, progress should be conceived first and foremost as a moving forward that leads away from erroneous conditions in the past—and not toward the potential catastrophes of the future. We need images for guidance. But not external images (picturae), for these are representations of what already exists. We need inner images: imagines. Imaginatio is the Latin translation of the Greek word “phantasia”; in English: imagination. Images of the future are products of the imagination. While the imagination is often reproductive and recalls what has been, it can also be productive and anticipate what does not yet exist. Within this conceptual framework, the lecture will address questions of the philosophy of history and design.

10:15 — Panel I: Images of the Future – The Future of Images

13:00 — Lunch

14:00 — Panel II: Sustainability and Future Studies in Design

17:30 — Closing

What visual forms and narrative patterns characterise contemporary visions of the future? The focus is on the question of what images, by their very nature, can be in the future – and to what extent they shape the future itself. The study examines how images not only represent, but also actively structure expectations, imaginations and forms of knowledge. Images shape our present – and mould our future.

10:15 — Welcome and moderation Prof. Johanna Diehl (THWS) and Tessa von Both, MA (THWS)

10:25 — Presentations 

• Prof. Dr. Rafael Dernbach (HSBI, Bielefeld)
  “How does an image become an image of the future?”
• Malin Schulz (Director Brand & Visual DIE ZEIT, Berlin/Hamburg)
  “The New Power of Images: AI and the Transformation of Visual Reality.”
  
• Prof. Salvatore Vitale (visual artist, professor, HSLU Luzern)
  “Images of Automated Futures” (EN)

12:30 — Panel Discussion

13:00 — Lunch break with time to chat and catch up.

How are visions of the future shaped in discourses on sustainability and transformation? The focus is on goals, values and areas of conflict, as well as on the question of how these visions are translated into political, social and cultural processes.

14:00 — Welcome by Dr. Beatrice Barrois (THWS)#

14:15 —Presentations

• Prof. Dr. Susanne Ritzmann (KHK, Kassel)
  “Design in the Wasteocene – Shifting Perspectives, Transformation, and Values”
• Prof. Dr. Eileen Mandir (HM, München)
  “Participatory Design Futuring – exploring, imagining and negotiating conflicting futures for sustainable urban transitions”

15:45 — Following the presentations, symposium participants will have the opportunity to explore the topics in greater depth in a series of discussion sessions. These will be moderated by

• Prof. Raffaela Aversa (Universität Kampanien)
  “The History of design as a history of technology transfer” (EN)
• Julian Moder (THWS)
  “Second-Hand Futures”
• Barbara Schmidt (THWS)
  “Decolonizing sustainability “

Alternatively, the time can be used for informal conversation in the cafeteria.

16:45 — Panel Discussion

17:30 — Dinner-Keynote

Prof. Erich Schöls (THWS), in converstion with Dr. Jörg Vogel (Würzburg) and M.A. Max Seeger (Berlin)

18:30 — Exhibition Opening & Get-togeher

Day Programme

8:30 am — Open Doors

9:00 — Panel III: Prototypes and other tools for thinking about the future

13:00 — Lunch

14:00 — Panel IV: Future Visions in Knowledge Transfer

16:00 — Closing

To what extent do prototypes, scenarios and speculative design processes generate knowledge in their own right? This panel examines how designs make assumptions visible and alternatives testable, and how limiting assumptions about linear progress are.

09:00 am— Welcome by Prof. Judith Glaser (THWS) & M.A. Samira Wirtz (THWS)

09:15  am — Keynote by Moritz Koch, Gentle Systems (Berlin)

10:00 — Following the keynote presentation, there will be a series of workshops on the theme of ‘Thinking about the future through design’. These will be led by

• Prof. Andreas Muxel (THA, Augsburg)
  “Positive Futures 2046: Living with Machines “
  
• Eva Katsaiti (University of West Attica, Athen)
  “From Wound to Word to World” (EN)
• Julian Moder (THWS)
  “Thinking, Prompting, Drawing: Generative Systems in the Design Process”
• Prof. André Rösler, Dr. Beatrice Barrois (THWS)
  “Drawing Forward – Comics as a Narrative Experiment”
• Tessa von Both (THWS)
  “VorBilder – Visual References, Shared Imagination”
• Prof. Sydney Craig, Nicholas Witten (Indiana University)
  “Sensory Futures: Non-Visual Prototyping as Epistemic Practice” (EN)
• Prof. Moritz Schwind (OHM, Nürnberg)
  “Algorithmic Design – Form as a Conceptual Space of Possibilities”

Alternatively, the time can be used for informal conversation in the cafeteria or to visit the exhibition.

12:15 — Podiumsdiskussion moderated by Prof. Dr. Gesa Foken (h-da, Darmstadt)

13:00 — Lunch break with time to chat and catch up

How do visions of the future come into play in practical contexts, such as policy advice, planning, education, technological development or cultural outreach? This study examines how visions of the future are used as a guide, what criteria underpin their plausibility, and how they shape decision-making processes.

14:00 — Welcome by Prof. Carl Frech (THWS) & M.A. Tabo Hartog (THWS)

14:15 — Perspectives for discussion by 

• Markus Turber (Intuity Media Lab, Stuttgart)
  “Exploration to Market Impact — Filling the Vacuum Instead of Measuring It”
• Magdalena Soetebeer (FU Berlin)
  “Shaping the Future: Walking the Tightrope Between Strategy and Reflection”

15:00 — Panel discussion involving the audience, inspired by the ‘fishbowl’ method.

16:00 — Concluding remarks

Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Ulrich

16:30 Uhr — Farewell by the Organising Committee

• Prof. Raffaela Aversa
  University of Campania (IT), Materials Research and Bioengineering
• Prof. Sydney Craig
  Herron School of Art and Design, Indiana University (USA), Narratives and Artistic Practice
• Prof. Dr. Rafael Dernbach
  Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences (Germany), Media Theory
• Prof. Dr. Gesa Foken
  Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences (DE), Art and Design Education and Research
• Eva Katsaiti
  University of West Attica (GR), Department of Photography and Audiovisual Arts
• Prof. Dr. Eileen Mandir
  Munich University of Applied Sciences (DE), Systemic Design in the Context of Social Change and Transformative Processes
• Prof. Dr. habil. Claudia Muth
  Hof University of Applied Sciences (DE), Applied Design Sciences
• Prof. Andreas Muxel
  Augsburg Technical University of Applied Sciences (DE), Physical Human-Machine Interfaces
• Prof. Dr. Susanne Ritzmann
  Kassel University of the Arts (DE), Sustainable Product Design and Development
• Malin Schulz
  Berlin/Hamburg (DE), Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Visual Director at DIE ZEIT
• Prof. Dr. Gerhard Schweppenhäuser
  Würzburg-Schweinfurt Technical University of Applied Sciences (DE), Design, Communication and Media Theory
• Prof. Moritz Schwind
  Nuremberg Technical University of Applied Sciences OHM (DE), Computational Design
• Max Seeger
  Berlin (DE), Design and Research
• Magdalena Soetebeer
  Schaltzeit GmbH (DE), futurology
• Markus Turber
  Intuity Media Lab (DE), Innovation Development
• Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Ulrich
  Würzburg-Schweinfurt Technical University of Applied Sciences (DE), Design, Typography
• Prof. Salvatore Vitale 
  Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (CH), Photography, Modernist systems influenced by technology
• Prof. Dr. Jörg Vogel
  Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (DE), Data interfaces for RNA-based infection research
• Tessa von Both
  Würzburg (DE), Political and feminist theories in communication design
• Nicholas Witten
  Herron School of Art and Design, Indiana University (USA), Fine Art and Foundations of Artistic Training

• Dr. Beatrice Barrois
• Prof. Johanna Diehl
• Prof. Carl Frech
• Prof. Judith Glaser
• Julian Moder
• Prof. Erich Schöls
• Samira Wirtz