Stra­tegic Design: Design, Manage­ment and Research

Design is unders­tood here as in addi­tion to attai­ning finan­cial success, also pursuing social progress toward improved living situa­tions for people. In other words, stra­tegic design, that influences social deve­lo­p­ments and chal­lenges of the future. This requires know­ledge of cultural and social science. The master’s program at the HfG, Schwä­bisch Gmünd provides you with these skills in a project-based, inter­di­sci­pli­nary and appli­ca­tion-oriented manner.

Course of study

In the first two semes­ters you will take courses in all three funda­mental areas – design, manage­ment and rese­arch. Starting in the first semester you will test methods and processes of design in a stra­tegic design project. Findings from the accom­panying courses are inte­grated into the project. In stra­tegic manage­ment you will receive an intro­duc­tion to the basics of stra­tegy deve­lo­p­ment and formu­la­tion. Scien­tific methods as well as the theo­re­tical exami­na­tion of ques­tions of cultural studies and design rese­arch round off the program of the first semester.

In the second semester, you will also work on a design project, focu­sing on plan­ning and orga­niza­tion as well as commu­ni­ca­tion stra­te­gies. In addi­tion, courses on ​„Opera­tional Manage­ment“ are offered. In the rese­arch module, you will delve into ques­tions of design rese­arch. You will also learn tech­ni­ques of scien­tific work and publi­ca­tion strategies.

The third semester is dedi­cated to the master’s thesis. This can consist of a design project and a written scien­tific-theo­re­tical elabo­ra­tion. The thesis is usually written in coope­ra­tion with external project part­ners from rese­arch, univer­si­ties and compa­nies, i.e. with a high scien­tific or profes­sional rele­vance. After successful comple­tion of the three semes­ters, you will receive the inter­na­tio­nally reco­gnized Master of Arts degree.

Lear­ning objec­tives of the program

The master’s program expands the design-related skills you acquired in the bache­lor’s program to include scien­tific and economic skills. The profes­sional field of the desi­gner has changed massi­vely in recent years: Today, desi­gners are incre­asingly desig­ning processe- be it control tasks in compa­nies, sustainable services or complex or trans­me­dial commu­ni­ca­tion tools. What these fields have in common is the ​„classic“ sepa­ra­tion between product, commu­ni­ca­tion and inter­ac­tion design which are beco­ming incre­asingly blurred in profes­sional life. Ther­e­fore, the master’s program aims less at specia­liza­tion in a parti­cular disci­pline, but more at trai­ning desi­gners who work in a super­or­di­nate and inter­di­sci­pli­nary way and act as media­tors and communicators.

You will learn team leader­ship skills, the multi-perspec­tive view of problems and the analy­tical work on solu­tions. Further­more, you know the soci­ally and ecolo­gi­cally respon­sible role of the desi­gner. You are fami­liar with the condi­tions and conse­quences of design-led action and learn to influence design thin­king and action in cultural, admi­nis­tra­tive and economic contexts. You are also able to work on rese­arch tasks in design and to use evalua­tion methods to opti­mize processes.

Coope­ra­tion with other univer­si­ties, rese­arch insti­tutes, insti­tu­tions and compa­nies creates under­stan­ding for the input of powerful expert groups and shape commu­ni­ca­tion and team skills.

Super­vi­sion and equipment

Profes­sors and lectu­rers of commu­ni­ca­tion, product and inter­ac­tion design as well as cultural and economic sciences will perso­nally super­vise you at our univer­sity. In addi­tion, top-class experts from industry and rese­arch are available to you as lectu­rers. Design and scien­tific exper­tise are on an equal footing with prac­tical support from external project part­ners from the busi­ness world.