www.study-design-in-bern.ch

S T U D Y I N B E R N

MASTER OF ARTSIN COMMUNICATION

DESIGN

NOW ALSOPART-TIME!

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WHY?

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There are many good reasons to begin a Master’s programme after graduating in Visual Communication, Graphic Design, Communication Design, or after a few years of professional experience as a designer:

———— Would you like to take the time, away from the pressure of daily production, to grapple with three long and creative projects and in the process become more confident in your (future) activities with regard to plan-ning, decision-making and conceptualisation?———— Are you looking to gain an insight into special disciplines and to work with practice partners in these growth areas, realising projects that expand your future portfolio as a designer?———— Have you already had some years of practical experience and would you like to acquire historical, methodological and the latest theoretical knowledge in a higher education environment? Or are you looking to become argumentatively fit by extending this knowl-edge for future challenges in an occupational field that is becoming ever more complex in terms of content?———— Are you interested in design research?

If this applies to you, then the Master of Com-munication Design course at the Bern University of the Arts will be the right choice!

The Master of Communication Design course provides you with a reliable teaching structure that gives you a great deal of freedom and enables you to pursue your specific interests. In parallel to the practical and theoretical modules, you will benefit from a broad range of elective subjects (animation, writing, drawing, web design, printing techniques, Typoclub, online publish-ing, etc.).

In the Master of Communication Design course, the contents of the practical and theoretical modules are closely interconnected – a model that is unique in Switzerland. As an integral part of the practical modules, you will gain in-depth insights into analytical and re-search methods, and already during your studies you will have the opportunity to collaborate on research projects.

The Master of Communication Design course, which is run by a team of highly qualified teaching staff, can be completed either full-time or part-time. We also provide our students with an inspiring transdisciplinary environment and an optimally equipped, clearly laid-out campus in a converted textile factory.

Have we piqued your interest? Then please get in touch with the degree course director for a personal advisory discussion. We look forward to meeting you. Agnès Laube

In this magazine you’ll find everything worth knowing about the Master’s degree programme in Communication Design at Bern University of the Arts BUA. Alongside information about the studies and its special fields you’ll gain insight into projects already completed and we show you our beautiful campus.

PROF. AGNÈS LAUBE, COURSE DIRECTOR

Agnès Laube studied Graphic Design at Zurich Design School

(to day ZHdK) and runs her own office specializing in “Archigraphy

– lettering on buildings” since 1991. She acts as a curator, pub -

lishes articles on design and works as guest lecturer and expert at

different art schools in Switzerland. Since 2011, she has been

head of the degree programme Communication Design.

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Understanding topics, critical

scrutiny, individual visualisation

and translation into an appropriate

medium

PROJECT MODULE 1 COMMUNICATION DESIGN

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This semester focus provides students with an opportunity to further develop the creative skills they acquired in previous courses. In the 14-week mentored practical module, they will position themselves in relation to a currently relevant topic and profile themselves as independent and creatively active personalities who can develop complex communication projects and implement them using appropriate media. In doing so, they can try out new creative means or enhance already familiar approaches.

Design-relevant research methods (e.g. conducting structured inter-views, drawing up surveys) are integrated into the practical projects. The project module lays the groundwork for and/or accompanies the following theory courses:

Images in the Context of Medial and Societal QuestionsUlrike Felsing

Reflections on the History and Present of Graphic Design Franka Grosse

Media Theory Dr. Christof Windgätter

Introduction to the History of Design Research Dr. Arne Scheuermann

The semester project requires around two days per week. In par al -lel, students are able to attend other courses from a wide range (e.g. animation, writing, drawing, web design, photography, typog-raphy, curating, online-publishing).

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It all began with a diving holiday in the Philippines: The unique beauty and biodiversity of the coral reefs, the paradisiacal colours and sometimes surreal shapes, the knowledge about the age-old existence of the reefs and the constant change to which they are subject, the awareness of the growing threat that they face from humans. All of this left such a lasting impression on graphic designer Renate Salzmann that she did not have to think long in her choice of topic for her semester project on the general theme “Biodiversity”. She went diving once again in the development of her project “Anthozoa”, only this time metaphorically, into the fascinating world below the surface of the sea.

The impressive end product comprises a loose series of images in which Salzmann seizes and graphically interprets various facets of the subject area surrounding coral reefs and their endangerment by humans. The images are complemented by a text section that provides concise information on the issue. When Salzmann spoke in an interview about the creation of the images, her enthusiasm – not only for the subject but also for the many questions of visual realisation – was unmistakeable. Under the expert supervision of the teaching staff, she became acquainted with graphics and design software (previously unknown to her) that would allow the implementation of her ideas into practice. Through a combination of various design techniques, Salzmann created a collection of images that is diverse yet appears as a single entity.

RENATE SALZMANN

ANTHOZOA

Renate Salzmann Anthozoa Project module 1 Communication Design

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JONAS H

UBACHER

EXPERIMENTA

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INFOGRAPHICS

Jonas Hubacher Experimental infographics Project module 1 Communication Design

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The objective of this project was to investigate bicycle riding and to visualise the movement of both bicycle and rider in new ways. Using a scanner and an old plate camera, Jonas Hubacher designed a recording device with which he could make “recordings” in the field as well as in a laboratory-like environment in the photo studio. In the process, he invented a new recording technique for data visualisation.

Jonas Hubacher Experimental infographics Project module 1 Communication Design

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Through texts, infographics, photographs and (own) attempts, the magazine gives a taste of the risks taken by freegans when they live by their convictions. How dangerous, really, are the 928,000 tonnes of food thrown away by the Swiss population every year for fear of food poisoning and as a consequence of (excessively) high aesthetic standards?

BENJAMIN

SCHEURER

FREEGANISM

Benjamin Scheurer Freeganism Project module 1 Communication Design

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Respondingadequately to

architecture andspaces, anddeveloping

interventions that are aesthetically

as well asstructurally

coherent

PROJECT MODULE 2.1 ARCHIGRAPHY – LETTERING & BUILDINGS

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In this semester focus, the students – in collaboration with ex-ter nal practice partners – deal with the development of building signage concepts, specifically for urban-development contexts. The objective is to design in space and to be active on new scales. In the process, the students learn to analyse buildings, to extract communication require-ments and to develop specific designs that are convincing in terms of visual appearance, urban development, construction and communi-cation. Furthermore, they develop proposals on the basis of building signage as well as guidance concepts (signposting).

Task-specific methods (e.g. project planning, spatial awareness, design techniques) are integrated into the teaching of the course. The project module lays the groundwork for and/or accompanies the following theory courses:

Theory and analysis of space Theresia Leuenberger

Design to contextUlrike Felsing

The semester project requires around two days per week. In paral-lel, students are able to attend other courses from a wide range (e.g. animation, writing, drawing, web design, photography, typog-raphy, curating, online-publishing).

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If everything goes according to plan, the BUA’s main building on Feller-strasse will soon feature new signage both inside and outside. At the heart of the lettering concept, developed by Arthur Ruppel and Christoph Tim Schneider as part of the semester project 2.1, is the full-coverage lettering on the back side of the building that, depending on the viewing direction, either reads “Hochschule der Künste Bern” or its French equivalent “Haute école des arts de Berne”. But why have lettering on the back side of the building? In the case of the BUA, this makes good sense because running directly behind the building is the Bern–Neuchâtel train line and, to date, it has not been possible for those on the train to know what is inside the building. The corrugated fibre cement cladding of the building gave Ruppel and Schneider the idea of developing lettering that would – depending on the viewer’s perspective – enable the respective German and French university names to be dis-played on the same surface.

The first project phase was characterised by extensive research and exper - i mental work, and much of it was entirely new. It was the first time that Ruppel and Schneider had worked on such a large scale. They had a lively exchange with an architect who provided them with valuable interdisciplinary input. Moreover, it was their first extensive work with 3D programs, or the first in a long time, which simu-lated the effect of the lettering for the observers on the train. And it was also their first direct contact with production facilities on the subject of potentially applicable mate rials, where they learned about properties such as light fastness and weather resistance.

ARTHUR RUPPEL AND

CHRISTOPH TIM SCHNEIDER

CHANGE OF

PERSPECTIVES

Arthur Ruppel and Christoph Tim Schneider Change of Perspectives Project module 2.1 Archigraphy – lettering & buildings

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Andrea Gross LOEB-Project

ANDREA GROSS

LOEB-PROJE

CT

Project module 2.1 Archigraphy – lettering & buildings

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Andrea Gross LOEB-Project Project module 2.1

The LOEB department store is situated in the heart of Bern, inside the UNESCO-listed perimeter. For the façade, Andrea Gross has proposed a number of fine, precisely executed letterings of high typographical quality. However, the actual show is staged in the ground-floor display windows, where a long digital screen displays information or amusing topical animations, among other things.

Archigraphy – lettering & buildings

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RENATE SALZMANN

PROGR

PROJECT

In the PROGR centre for cultural production in the old town of Bern, Renate Salzmann makes a radical intervention to improve findability and orientation. The courtyard of the complex is closed off in the direction of Speichergasse with a large-scale, versatile semi-transparent information and exhibition layer that serves to elucidate the urban-development situation as well as give a face to PROGR as a whole and provide a display window for users.

Renate Salzmann PROGR-Project Project module 2.1 Archigraphy – lettering & buildings

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A common thread running through

information and images:

The digital space demands and enables new

narrative forms

PROJECT MODULE 2.2 NARRATIVE INTERFACE DESIGN

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In this semester focus, the students deal with new narrative forms in medial contexts and design multimedia websites and other digital infor-ma tion or mediation formats. The field can be seen as an expansion of the Editorial Design genre into multimedia space. Here, students work with practice partners, who can provide exciting archive material or whose topics are to be visualised independently. Through the use of a specific narrative strand, students learn to create a thrilling story by interweaving information, texts (also spoken ones), moving and static images, and sound. Thereby, they compose non-linear stories through which it is possible to navigate intuitively.

Task-specific methods (e.g. programming, storyboarding) are inte-grated into the teaching of the course. The project module lays the groundwork for and/or accompanies the following theory courses:

Theory and history of digital storytelling Alice Kohli

Design to context Ulrike Felsing

The semester project requires around two days per week. In paral-lel, students are able to attend other courses from a wide range (e.g. animation, writing, drawing, web design, photography, typog-raphy, curating, online-publishing).

SARAH-LEA HIPP

WEBSITE

PTT ARCHIVE

For her semester project 2.2, Sarah-Lea Hipp designed a website for the PTT archive in Köniz, which preserves the history of the Swiss postal, telegraph and telephone services. She selected anecdotes from a compilation of interviews with contemporary witnesses and employed them to recount specific aspects of the PTT history. The development process of the website concept included an extensive research phase at the beginning, in which Hipp, working alongside three fellow students, gained an overview of the content and searched for possible reference websites. The individual work began with the creative planning and implementation of the website, with each student focusing on different thematic aspects of the PTT history. Of particular interest for Hipp, and at the same time one of the major difficulties, was the meaningful consolidation of content and form. How to tell a compelling story with the available material? What technical possibilities exist for telling this story fluently and not – as with conventional websites – on separate pages? How best to design the homepage so that it invites users to spend more time on the website? To further complicate matters, Hipp aimed to address a heterogeneous target audience: “Searchers” with some background knowledge should be able to find specific information while the website should also appeal to “browsers” who may have landed there by chance, by providing the latter with an opportunity to navigate tangentially and non-linearly through the content. In the end result, the website meets these requirements: Parallax scrolling enables quick, fluid navigation within a subject area, while numerous links lead users directly to image galleries, for example, or to other thematically related pages in the website.

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Sarah-Lea Hipp Website PTT-Archive Project module 2.2 Narrative Interface Design

LUZIAN M

EIER

ICH FÜHLE

MICH DIR

VERBUNDEN

With surprising quotes from interviews with former PTT employees (e.g. “I was a Helvetian James Bond”) alongside animated graphic elements and sound fragments, the project offers an emotional gateway to the multi-layered material on the website of the PTT archive. Visitors receive either successively more detailed information on a topic or can navigate between different topics via cross-references.

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Luzian Meier Ich fühle mich dir verbunden Project module 2.2 Narrative Interface Design

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Before (re)entering professional

life, the Master’s thesis offers the

opportunity to take a thematic

position and to undertake the

independentdevelopment of a

project

MASTER-THESIS

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Students are free in their choice of subject for the Master’s thesis. We take it as self-evident that topicality and relevance should be important selection criteria; the chosen topic should also enable students to take full advantage of their potential for development. In all phases of the process they are supported by teaching staff and mentors, as well as by the degree course directors.

The theoretical work is closely related to the practical project, it is its basis and reference point.

ALAIN AEBERSOLD

TEXT BODIES

Even before his studies in Communication Design at the BUA, Alain Aebersold noticed that in new media, too, text is often simply put into place in a manner that is familiar from print products. But wouldn’t it be possible to do more? In his Master’s thesis, Aebersold examined the possibility of arranging writing as a moving element within a timeframe. How does it appear, and how does it disappear again? At the moment of reading, the typeface should be two-dimensional and static. At the moment of move-ment, however, it should be three-dimensional and kinetic. Moreover, Aebersold wanted to design the letters as interactive elements, to make them clickable. Emphasis was given throughout to the balance between technical and aesthetical aspects, and the result was often a compromise.

Aebersold tested the typeface developed within the framework of the project in an animated and interactive album booklet for a band with which he is friends. As an experienced designer for various bands, he found repeatedly that the music industry is currently subject to profound change, not only in the form of storage mediums but also with respect to the graphical aspects of companion media. Gradually, the classic paper-based CD booklet is being replaced by digital companion media – a development that Aebersold regrets, not only from the perspective of a graphic designer. At the same time, the rise of a multitude of new channels through which a band can make their work known on the Internet opens up diverse new possibilities for the visual design of a band’s appearance.

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Alain Aebersold Text Bodies Master-Thesis

SUSANNE BURRI

NEW TYPE

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Susanne Burri NEW TYPE Master-Thesis

The still relatively young scene of independent Type Foundries has enriched the design scene with scores of new typefaces. However, with the growing number of typeface publishers it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of exciting new launches. In her Master’s thesis, Susanne Burri proposes “New Type”, a platform that is curated by a team of specialists and aimed at making innovative typefaces from selected type foundries available, along with clear and easy-to-browse background information.

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Susanne Burri NEW TYPE Master-Thesis

The publication “Bermuda X” by Julien Chavaillaz moves at the interface between documentation and fiction. On the one hand, Chavaillaz refreshes the Bermuda Triangle myth, setting researched images against “new” material. Above all, though, the project is an editorial search for how a layout concept can gen-erate the feeling of alienation and disappearance solely through the unorthodox arrange ment of images and the choice of cropping.

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JULIE

N CHAVAILLAZ

BERMUDA X

Julien Chavaillaz Bermuda X Master-Thesis

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Exploringthe Borders

TYPOCLUB

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The Typoclub at the Bern University of the Arts is a forum and work-shop for typeface design and all forms of typographic expression. Members work independently on interdisciplinary and cross-media projects.

The Typoclub facilitates discussion of issues concerning lettering and typography: What are the motivations behind the development of a typefaceor a typographic project? What are the creative forms of expression? What requirements are there? What is the target audience? In which historical or present context is the project rooted?

There is great scope for potential projects: Calligraphy, hand letter-ing, typeface design, typeface as image, image as typeface, animated type-face, typeface in movement, interactive typeface and typeface in space are just a few examples of the subjects with which the Typoclub is occupied.

At the beginning of the semester, the students work on the basis of an interest in a particular subject or of the contents of a project outline. Projects are worked on independently over the semester, being challenged and augmented in discussions with teaching staff. Here, the approaches are as varied as the projects themselves.

Christoph Stähli Weisbrod, Hansjakob Fehr and Mika Mischler (binnenland.ch) lead the club, curate the Afterwork Lectures* series of events, publish students’ works (www.typoclub.ch) and promote knowledge ex change with illustrative material and theoretical content. Each teaching ses sion begins with a short, self-initiated input on the part of students, which is then discussed in plenum.

Typoclub projects often serve as the starting point for later thesis projects.

*The Typoclub’s irregularly scheduled Afterwork Lectures – organised in cooperation with Syndicom, the media and communication trade union – open a wide field of dis-cussion between students, teaching staff and impetus-generating, creatively active persons from Switzerland and abroad on the subject of typeface and typography.

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Valentin Pauwels Favorit Grotesk Typoclub

VALENTIN PAUWELS

FAVORITGROTESK

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NICOLAS PA

UPE

DAZZLE

TYPE

Nicolas Paupe Dazzle Type Typoclub

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— 1 —Bern is a village

that becamethe capital asa result of an

administrativeoversight

— 2 —Bern is great

when youknow whatyou’re about

— 3 —IN BERN YOU

CAN READ A BOOK IN

PEACE WITHOUT HAVING TO

TALK ABOUT IT

— 4 —In Bern people

still throw stones at the police

— 5 — In Bern theymake music,

in Zurich they make money

— 6 —IN BERN YOU

FIND CONCEN - TRATION, INZURICH YOU

FIND SUCCESS

— 7 — In Bern, youtry desper - ately to be

different – untilyou reach

a certain age

— 9 —The Internet

turns even a village into a

metropolis

— 10 —IN BERN, HEADSOF STATE STROLL

UNACCOMPANIED THROUGH

THE VEGETABLE MARKET

— 8 —Bern is Berlin

in earnest

SO

O

PROPOSITIONS ON THE SUBJECT OF BERN WRITTEN BY SIMON KÜFFER

Simon Küffer born and raised in Bern works as Graphic Designer at Atelier

Pixelfarm and as researcher at BUA. Furthermore he produces swiss rap

music in collaboration with Kollektiv Eldorado FM and is known under the

nickname Tommy Vercetti. 

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RP O P

— 11 —Bern, too,is a classsociety

— 12 —In Bern,

the high qualityof life is also

enjoyed by the lower classes

— 13 — YOU CAN

SLEEP BY THE AARE AND YOU CAN

DRINK FROM THE AARE

— 14 — Whoever swimsin the Aare no

longer needs to read Seneca

— 15 — In Bern, the

mountains mightbe nearby but

they’re expensive

— 16 — IN BERN,

SLOWNESS HASNO NEED

OF DISCOVERY

— 17 — In Bern, youcome across

the same idiotsas you would

anywhere else — 18 —Considerateness

is subversive,leisureliness is

conservative— 19 —Bern is genuinely

modest andgenuinely pahetic

— 20 —The illusionof paradise is

perilous.

S U B

29PICTURE SPREAD BY SARAH KELLER

Sarah Keller works as a freelance photographer and Graphic

Designer. Raised in Aarau, she studied photography at ECAL

in Lausanne. Currently she works on her master-thesis at the

Communication Design department at BUA.

O F

B E R N

J E C T

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I

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FRANKA GROSSE,GRAPHIC DESIGNER AND

LECTURER IN THEORY

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SDS I V !

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There are good reasons to believe that contem-porary graphic design is affected to a special degree by the enormous process of transformation that, under the influence of new communication media, the Inter-net and globalisation, is currently influencing numerous areas of life in our Western culture. Changes in the field of communication with regard to production and distribution conditions or repercussions on the nature of the reception of communication design are examples of striking consequences that mark a shifting understanding of the discipline and question the traditional role of the graphic designer.

Often as if it was a matter of course, students of communication design deal with the changing opportu-nities presented by their subject. They make light work of innovative open source tools, WhatTheFont, maintain a presence on tumblr, subscribe to rss feeds or develop their own apps. However, this proficiency often seems to stand in contrast to an indistinct reflection of current creative processes in the field of design. For instance, students are little aware of the historical contexts, current

interconnections, meanings and consequences of new practices and trends, much less in a position to identify the associated opportunities or risks. Here, the seminar endeavours to help students to become more aware of future-oriented topics.

The course “Perspectives on Communication Design” analyses and debates phenomena, design strat-egies, repercussions, correlations, attitudes and theories relating to current practice. The discussion is centred on various topical themes such as authorship, design and society, gender, art and design, or maker culture. Along-side this investigation of contemporary practice, the focus is on classifying it within the context of design history. Indeed, only by reference to the history of visual commu-nication is it possible to gain an in-depth understanding of and reflect on current issues.

Under the title “Perspectives on Communication Design”, the course focuses on and conjectures about developments in the fieldof communication design that could be of importance for future practice in the discipline.

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You are a designer who has developed to become a design theorist and researcher. How did this come about?

Graphic design has also been subject to dramatic change in this age of globalisation, medi a-tisation and computer-based networking. For me, this brings about a need to ask design-related questions based on broader criteria. A term that describes this expanded area of work well is “pro blem-oriented design”. Here, Jesko Fezer, Professor of Experimental Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg, defines problem orien- tation as “the desire to relate design to the contra- dictions, potentials and circumstances of reality”. The objective is to investigate specific design questions and decisions in the context of broader societal issues. This is, for example, the medial conditions of representation and their transforma-tion in connection with analogue and digital media, or the cultural implications of visual signs. For me, methods of research and reflection have become critically important in order to develop creatively actionable answers to these questions.

What kind of knowledge do you convey in your theory courses? What do you consider to be particularly important?

Uniquely in Switzerland, the MA Com-munication Design in Bern appropriately accom-modates the iconic turn. In the two seminars “Design to Context” and “Images in the Context of Medial and Societal Questions”, we endeavour to discuss design and images in terms of their social, political and cultural dimensions. Why is such great potential for power accorded to images? What influence do images have on the individual and collective memory? How can con tent and creative form work together coherently, and what

are the contributing medial factors in the inter-mediation, authorisation and constitution of knowledge? Important here is the acquisition of visual-argumentative reflective faculties in the area of tension between visual and theoretical thinking – in other words, a form of reflective practice.

What can this knowledge and these skills bring to the future careers of students of design, in particular in practice?

Alongside craftsmanship and aesthetic abilities, reflective faculties and contextual know l-edge form the basis for an independent position as a designer. The students empower themselves to this effect and are in a position to convey to clients which different solution potentials are con-tained in a particular design assignment. Even in the most concrete cases, one must be able to ask overarching questions in order to find indi vid ual and specific creative answers. In contrast, acting only in the focus of the specific solution will lead to no more than a repeat of tried and tested ap proaches; at worst you will find yourself in an impasse of clichés, simply applying programmes. In the MA Communication Design, plenty of room is given to the interplay of theory and prac-tice – through individual mentoring for students’ own ongoing projects, in joint topic-finding work-shops and in seminars.

Degree course director Agnès Laube in conversation with Lecturer in Theory Ulrike Felsing on the significance of design theory for prospective young designers:

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The subject of Design Research during the Master’s programme

Design research is discussed at various levels during the MA Communication Design course. All stu-dents attend the introduction to the still young discipline of design research (history, current discourse, positions of designers) and participate in the annual Junior Design Research Conference. In parallel to the course of studies there is also the opportunity – in consultation with the degree course directors – for individual collaboration in projects conducted within the key research area of Com mu nication Design (led by Dr. Arne Scheuermann), in particular in the fields of “Design and Rhetoric” and “Communication Design in Space”, as well as “Interme-diality” (led by Dr. Priska Gisler).

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ww

w.hkb.bfh.ch/kom

munikationsdesign

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w.junior-research.ch

Design researchCommunication Design is one of four key

research areas at the Bern University of the Arts. It is the largest of its kind in the German-speaking world. Here, in interdisciplinary teams, the various forms of designed communication are studied in four fields of research.

The projects in the research field “Knowledge Visualization” render qualitative knowledge visible in new ways; “Social Communication” analyses aspects of communication in society and in particular in the health sector; “Communication Design in Space” is dedicated to the interaction of communication design and space, in particular architectural space; and the research field “Design and Rhetoric” explores practices of communica-tion design using concepts of rhetoric.

The key research area of Communication Design is represented on the board of the Swiss Design Network (SDN), the design research network of the Swiss univer-sities.

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Doctoral programme: Graduate School of the Arts

For interested students, the MA Communi ca-tion Design course is the qualification level for a further career in design research. During their Master’s pro-gramme, students can specifically address the question of whether they wish to pursue a career in design re-search. Successful completion of the MA Communica-tion Design course (final grade 5.0) qualifies students for the subsequent three-year Graduate School of the Arts (3rd cycle), a collaboration between the BUA and the University of Bern.

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w.hkb.bfh.ch/gsa

Research-oriented Master’s projects

Students with three-semester, research-oriented Master’s projects are co-mentored from the research and teaching sides. Upon completion of the Master’s cycle, the findings gained from these processes are made acces-sible to the wider public as part of a communication pro -ject of the student’s choice. This work may form the basis for further treatment of the subject within the scope of a dissertation project.

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mappingsw

issgraphicdesignhistory.ch

Research project: “Mapping Graphic Design History in Switzerland”

The research project investigated the historio-graphy of graphic design in publications and exhibitions published or curated in Switzerland between 1925 and today. The following questions were to the fore: Which publications and exhibitions construct a historical narrative? What artefacts were illustrated or exhibited? Which people and institutions were involved in the con struction, and in what capacity? To answer these questions, the project collected over 300 historiogra-phical publications and exhibitions, compiled thema-tically relevant information and presented all in an inter con nected manner. The result is an interactive time-line that can be used online as a reference work and data base for historiographical research. In February 2014, a sympo sium of the same name elucidated the history of graphic design in Switzerland, featuring con - tributions from nine universities. This gathering was aimed at promoting interexchange between estab lished researchers and stimulating interest in the emerging field of research among students.

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“Dealing with the past has always made a

decisive contribution to the contemporary

understanding of graphic design. What is new,

however, is that research is being conducted in this area, using

scientific methods.”

ROBERT LZICARLECTURER, ASSOCIATE RESEARCH PROFESSOR

AND DOCTORAL STUDENT AT THE GSA

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ALSO IN PRACTICE!

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You head the key research area of Com -munication Design at the BUA, which is close ly connected to the Master of Communication Design course. What questions do you (and your team) find especially fascinating and engaging?

We are particularly interested in how communication design can make itself useful in areas where there is otherwise no research being carried out. For example, how the pictures used to assist stroke patients in relearning how to speak should look like. Or how planning can be im-proved in train stations through new forms of visual ising passenger flows. Or how blind children can be intro duced to Braille using picture books. What is important to us is that design remains firmly in the foreground.

During the course, how are the Master’s students introduced to the research, and where and how can they get involved themselves?

There are many options between the Mas- ter’s and research: As early as in the first semester, the students get to know the research methods employed in the field of design and can immedi-ately participate in research in projects of their choice. Some even bring along their own research interests, and we then provide assistance in de-veloping appropriate research projects. In such cases, the Master’s thesis will convey the prelimi-nary findings to the design community and to a wider public. After the Master’s, such projects can sometimes even be continued at the BUA, to obtain a doctorate at the Graduate School of the Arts. In all of Switzerland, only the BUA provides this opportunity.

In the future, what positions will graphic designers take in design research?

Graphic designers undertaking research will become the norm: Today, clients want to work with people who can familiarise themselves with complex issues and who are able to go deeper into a subject. Moreover, working models in which studio and research complement each other are becoming more attractive all the time. This means that, in your research projects, it is also possible to pursue the non-everyday alongside the everyday agency tasks. We help students explore their own mixture ratio of design and research. The founda-tions for this are laid down during the Master’s degree course.

Arne Scheuermann, Head of the key research area of Communica-tion Design since 2005, answers the questions put to him by degree course director Agnès Laube:

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The library at Fellerstrasse 11

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Working area of the Bachelor students

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The Printing Studio is the BUA’s centre of expertise and services for manual printing techniques. Its employees not only offer a wide range of courses in screen printing, gravure printing and letterpress, but also assist students if required, including in projects. After attending an introductory course, and in consultation with the ap - pro priate member of the teaching staff, students can work independently in the Printing Studio, even outside of opening times – around the clock, if they feel like it!

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“die werkstatt” is the BUA’s centre of expertise and services for technological, technical and related content matters. Its employees conduct courses and support pro j-ects by students and teaching staff. Among others, the services include technical support in the realisation of works and ideas but also advice on the purchasing of materials. “die werk statt” provides an extensive infrastructure for working with wood, plastic, metal and textiles; machines and tools can be hired as well.

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Sound studio

Issue desk at the MediaLab

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The MediaLab is the BUA’s centre of expertise and services for audiovisual design and photography. Its employees conduct courses, offer photographic and AV training and advise BUA students and teaching staff on content-related and technical issues. The workstations and studios are equipped with an extensive production infra-structure and are available around the clock. The option of hiring equipment provides BUA students with the opportunity to use it outside of the MediaLab for the realisation and presentation of audiovisual and photographic projects.

Black box

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Bern University of the Arts

Highly individualised tuition and research strength: As Switzerland’s first transdisciplinary university of the arts, the Bern University of the Arts (BUA) offers a diverse study programme in the divi-sions of Music, Design and Fine Arts, Conservation and Restoration, Opera/Theatre and Literature. It enables its students to enjoy a top-class education extending over all three academic levels up to a doc toral programme (in collaboration with the Uni-versity of Bern) and attaches importance to tuition that takes account of the changing nature of the profession al world. An outstanding infrastructure, orientation to the latest artistic and scientific devel-opments, inno va tive teaching methods, a manage-able size with a familial atmosphere together with its location in the cultural cities of Bern and Biel con tribute to the unique nature of the Bern University of the Arts.

Department Design & Fine ArtsFree and diverse: In the Design and Fine

Arts division, the Fine Arts, Art Education (BA), Visual Communication, Art Education (MA) and Communica tion Design study programmes are em-bedded in a familial environment characterised by considerable freedom. At the bachelor’s and master’s levels, students benefit from high-quality tuition, the close proximity to research and an outstanding infrastructure. The programme gives them space and time in which to develop their individual poten-tial and artistic-creative profile.

The characteristic features of the creative education at BUA are, on the one hand, the diverse and easily accessible dialogue and exchange opportuni-ties for the students, on the other, the experimental and practice-oriented realisation possibilities. In addition, each student has their own workplace and access to an extensive media library. Tuition is provid-ed in the specialist areas Photography, Video, Sound, Printing, Bookbinding, Screen Print, Graphic Arts, Sculpture, Ceramic Sculpture, Woodworking, Metal-working and Model Making.

A vital reference point in tuition consists of the collaboration with national and international professional and cooperation partners. Even during the programme of studies, individual, contemporary and socially relevant issues are dealt with in the res-pective discipline. In this way, the students learn to consider the forms of discourse formation, presen-tation and exchange already at the stage of artistic design production.

Design and Fine Arts bachelor’s degree programmes

Fine ArtsArt EducationVisual Communication

Design and Fine Arts master’s degree programmes

Art EducationCommunication Design

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OF THE DEPARTMENTOF DESIGN & FINE ARTS

The Department of Design & Fine Arts presents itself through different media and events to professionals and a broad public audience:

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Ding-Dong Ding-Dong is an onomatopoetic word (from

the Greek ónoma: “name”, and poíēsis: “creation, con-struction”) for the sound of the doorbell. Ding-Dong is a sound that paints, that draws, that becomes an image and, in the process, has a voice. Ding-Dong is the monothematic web magazine that above all serves the assistants (academic mid-level faculty) of the Faculty of Art and Design as an exchange and presentation platform.

DesignmagazinThe online design magazine is the shared

publication tool of the Bachelor in Visual Commu-nication and the Master in Communication Design.

Yearly symposia

The faculty positions and profiles itself with an annual, internationally attended symposium. Based on a topical theme, selected personalities are invited to present and exchange their ideas both scientifically and artistically in the course of two days, and to engage in intense scrutiny and questioning of the topic.

(2013: Nicht(s)tun, 2014: Synkope: Provinz!)

“Springtime”

Each spring, as part of the “Springtime” series of events, students from the various degree courses at the Faculty of Art and Design have the opportunity to work together with a selected fellow from the Sommerakademie at the Zentrum Paul Klee. Here, BUA students can invite an external student from a related field to engage in discussion and ex-change ideas – a sparring partner, in other words.

“Short Encounters”

“Short Encounters” is the title of a small but exquisite series of exhibitions set in the illustrious shop windows of the LOEB department store. For three weeks in the autumn, artistic and design works are staged there by degree course students along side guests invited by the faculty. The project is a colla b o -ra tion with the Galerie Bernhard Bischoff & Partner in Bern (Etagen).

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STUDY MODESStudy according to a three-semester curriculum or apply with an individual project idea.

STUDY OPTIONS Full-time studies: Three semesters Part-time studies for professionalsBeginning in spring or autumn

PART-TIME STUDIESPart-time students complete at least 10 ECTS points per semester (two daysof presence per week). One semester students of theory and chosen compul-sory courses is followed by the respec-tive practical project or the thesis in the next semester.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVEThe wide-ranging education with special opportunities in the second semester for deepening knowledge, enables students to perform independent, advisory, mana-gerial and – in the longer term – teaching activities.

LECTURED PRACTICAL MODULESDaniel Volkart, Martin Woodtli, Agnès Laube, Michael Widrig, Hugo Ryser, Nicolas Paupe u.a.

LECTURED INTERDISCIPLINARY ELECTIVE COURSESHansjakob Fehr, Michael Mischler, Christoph Stähli, Esther van der Bie, Theres Roth-Hunkeler, Guy Jost, Cécile Hummel, Frantiček Klossner, Ulrich Look u.a.

LANGUAGEThe teaching language is German (good passive language skills are required); theory texts are also handed out in Eng-lish or French; plenary discussions are partly in English.

CREDITS90 ECTS

TITELMaster of Arts BUA in Communication Design

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTSBachelor degree or UAS diploma in Graphic Design, Visual Communication, Communication Design, or equivalent qualification (Bachelor in Architecture, Product Design / Interior Design, Mul ti- media Production or similar) or equiv a-lent professional experience. A maximum of two students per class can be admitted “sur dossier”, i.e. admission by portfolio.

CLASS SIZE16 – max. 18 students

STUDY FEESCHF 750 per semester

APPLICATION FOR COMMENCEMENT IN SPRING 2015Application by 1 December 2014.

APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR COMMENCEMENT IN AUTUMN 201515 April 2015

ADMISSIONS PROCEDUREConditions of admission as well as dates and application forms can be found on our website: www.hkb.bfh.ch. Please apply online. WE TAKE TIME FOR YOUIf you have any questions, please contact degree course director Prof. Agnès Laube at any time: +41 (0)31 848 49 02 agnes.laube@hkb.bfh.ch

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IMPRESSUM

TEXTS

Agnès Laube Arne Scheuermann

Franka Grosse Mikka Mischler

Raffael von NiederhäusernUlrike Felsing

DESIGN

Meike Hardt

PHOTOSAlexander Gempeler (S. 42 o. links, 43, 45, 46, 48, 51)

Chris Richter (S. 50, 42 u. links)Esther van der Bie (S. 44, 47, 49) Sarah Keller (Inlay auf S. 28-29)

Susanne Stauss (S. 34-39)

CIRCULATION

400 copies

TYPEFACES

StanleyAvenir LT Std

PAPER

Munken LynxMultiart Gloss

PRINT

www.sihldruck.ch

© BUA/2014

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