Designing for Berlin

The weissensee school of art and design berlin is celebrating its eightieth anniversary this year. Founded in 1946 in northeast Berlin, it epitomizes the city's postwar history - with all the new beginnings and radical changes - as well as generations of designers who have left their mark on everyday life in Berlin. The school's direction is determined by modernist designers such as Herbert Hirche, Mart Stam, and Selman Selmanagic. Their approaches to teaching - a combined foundation course, a strong practice-oriented focus, and work that cuts across disciplines - remain relevant to this day. The exhibition and publication examine a key aspect of design: the training of designers. To explore this, the weißensee school has partnered with the Werkbundarchiv - Museum der Dinge. The book offers insight into the school's eighty-year history. Drawing on works, both past and present, from the realms of product and graphic design, it paints a contextual picture, delineating connections between fundamentals, design, professional practice, and social realities. Silke Ihden-Rothkirch is a designer, author, freelance editor, and curator living in Berlin. Florentine Nadolni is a cultural studies scholar; she has headed the Werkbundarchiv - Museum der Dinge since 2023. Jörg Petruschat is a philosopher, emeritus professor of the theory and history of design, and director of the form+zweck publishing house.