Title-Photo: Bauhaus Interface Design Master Class July 18, 2012
The chair of Interface Design at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar was founded in 1999 by Prof. Dr. Jens Geelhaar. Starting Friday, 14. Juli 2019, Vertr.-Prof. Michael Markert and the team of Interface Design will celebrate 20 years of Interface Design with a »Schaufenster-Ausstellung« at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Marienstraße 5. During the Summaery this exhibition – along with open labs – will present artifacts from the chair’s research and activities over the years.
»In den letzten Jahren baute [Prof. Dr. Jens Geelhaar] erfolgreich das »Bauhaus Form & Function«-Lab auf. Das Weimarer Forschungslabor ist ein Ort, an dem interdisziplinäre Forschung und die Verbindung von Design und Produktionsprozessen kontinuierlich vorangetrieben werden und an dem zukunftsweisende Impulse für die Entwicklung neuer Interfaces und Interaktionsmöglichkeiten mit innovativen Materialien wie gedruckter Elektronik entstehen.« – (Bauhaus-Universität Weimar 2019)
From 2015 to 2017 and from 2019 to 2020, Michael Markert was holding the chair as interim professor. Michael researched and taught as »Künstlerischer Mitarbeiter« at the chair between 2009 and 2015, actively shaping the profile of Interface Design together with Jens Geelhaar for a decade, bridging art, design, and technology with a scientific approach. Jason Reizner led the department from 2020 to 2023, eventually passing the torch to Martin Hesselmeier, who took over the legacy of nearly 25 years of Interface Design.
Prototyping practices and procedures for tangible, pervasive, and embodied interaction. Interface Design.
Operating team members from various disciplines formed the heart of the chair, which was once designed itself as an interface between neighboring Professorships in the »Media Art & Design« study program, including Experimental Radio, Experimental Television, and Design of Media Environments amongst others.
Interface Design was always interdisciplinary spanning over faculties: The MediaArchitecture program is a dual joint Master’s degree at the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism. Interface Design initiated a DAAD exchange program with the University at Buffalo, State University of New York.
Interface Design was also collaborating with the Human Interaction departments in Computer Science at the Faculty of Media.
Based at the newly founded Faculty of Media for the longest time since 1999, the transition to the Faculty of Art and Design in 2017 reminded everyone how important Interface Design was and still is when we look at the rise of UX/UI professions as well as hybrid products and services that are to come.
Interface Design Team 1999-2019
- Prof. Dr. sc. hum. Jens Geelhaar
- Vertr.-Prof. Michael Markert, Dipl. postgrad. Kunst und öffentl. Raum, Dipl.-Des. (FH)
- Vertr.-Prof. Jason Reizner, MFA
- Max Neupert, PhD
- Darko Velazquez, MFA, Dipl.-Künstler
- Brian Larson Clark, MFA
- Steffi Harnisch, Staatsexamen
- Johannes Deich, MFA, MA
- Florian Wittig, MFA, MA
- Martin Schied, MEng
- Frederic Gmeiner, MFA
- Jan M. Sieber, Dipl.-Ing.
- Frank Matuse, Dipl.-Mediengestalter
- Jens Weber, Dipl.-Ing.(FH), M.Sc. MediaArchitectur
- Andreas Wolter, Dipl.-Des.(FH), M.Sc. MediaArchitecture
- Sonja Hartmann, Dipl.-Schausp.
- Saskia Benger, Dipl.-Mediengestalterin
- Lars Wieneke, Dipl.-Ing.
- Wolf Landmann, Dipl.-Mediengestalter
- Andreas Niemand, Dipl.-Ing.
- Mario Riedel, Dipl.-Ing.
- Jens Wille, Dipl.-Arch.
- Julia Kissel, Dipl.-Des.
The sudden loss of Prof. Dr. Jens Geelhaar in 2019 left us humbled and interrupted two decades of significant artistic design research. Jens was a mentor to many and he will still be with us, who continue to explore new interfaces that connect and translate, from signal to LED, from idea to spark, from a thought to a project.
The window exhibition is open 24/7 for the duration of the annual Summaery and over the summer.
Links
- Bauhaus-Universität Weimar (2019) Prof. Dr. Jens Geelhaar (Accessed: 5. February 2025)
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