Experiments On The Surface: HuM Collective’s »I-designed.«

HuM-Collective is an ongoing mediation between Hannah Häußer and Maximilian Borchert’s exploration of design as a socio-cultural practice. Based in Stuttgart and Bonn the former fellows of Akademie Schloss Solitude are researching how their practice as cultural workers and designers can contribute to critically reviewing the processes and hierarchies of social life and work.

A book object with a narrative only revealed when its configured. — Nov 17, 2022

Akademie Schloss Solitude - Experiments On The Surface: HuM Collective’s »I-designed.«

Their recent book object titled, I designed. was developed around a narrative. The work is self-reflective and begins with its title as the opening sentence, »I designed.« Each page of this book object references its surface. The length of each passage grows and tapers off in what Häußer and Borchert described as, »A journey from the dead end of ideology trapped within a vacuum, into a seemingly easy way out by rolling a dice. The book object addresses the complex path dependencies of design decisions and the potential of design in an escalating retelling of failure.«

As the reader follows the story, different intentions for planning and making varied materials unfold. I designed. is self-referent, making the design evident as the narration and an installation for the reader.