Design Education Talks ep. 68 – Justus Theinert

Dan Vlahos – Dynamic Media, Critical Thinking, and Design Pedagogy Design Education Talks

Dan Vlahos is a Boston-based design leader, educator, and researcher. He is currently a Senior Lecturer at Bentley University and is serving on the AIGA Boston Board. Vlahos is also a member of the Boston Society of Printers, the Design Management Institute, and was a founding member of Design Museum Boston (now CoDesign Collaborative). His interdisciplinary design work has been recognized by the AIGA, the One Club, Print, How, and the Interactive Media Council. Vlahos began his career in Arnold Worldwide’s Volkswagen Design Group and later served as Creative Director for Shepley Bulfinch architects. His past clients include Harvard University, Duke University, Educators for Social Responsibility, and the Industrial History Center. Vlahos received a BFA in Graphic Design from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and returned to MassArt’s Dynamic Media Institute to complete his MFA in Design in 2017. Vlahos’ research explores empowerment, complexity, dynamic media, sustainability, and creative learning. In 2020, Merrimack College’s Interdisciplinary Institute named Vlahos a Presidential Fellow, and in 2021, Vlahos entered into the Design Incubation program as a Writing Fellow. In 2023, he became a USGBC LEED Green Associate and an AIGA Design Leader (DL). In 2024, Vlahos was named an AACSRE Emerging Fellow, and in June 2025, his short motion-graphics-based film Towards a Dynamic Discipline of Design premiered at the MODE Summit in Prague.Link to website: https://danvlahos.comLink to Towards a Dynamic Discipline of Design motion graphics film: http://dynamicdesign.filmSince its inception in 2019, Design Education Talks podcast has served as a dynamic platform for the exchange of insights and ideas within the realm of art and design education. This initiative sprang from a culmination of nearly a decade of extensive research conducted by Lefteris Heretakis. His rich background, intertwining academia, industry, and student engagement, laid the foundation for a podcast that goes beyond the conventional boundaries of educational discourse.See all of our work on on https://linktr.ee/thenewartschoolFollow us on twitter at @newartschoolRead our latest articles at https://newartschool.education/and https://heretakis.medium.com/Equipment used to produce the podcast:Rodcaster pro IIRode NT1 5th generationElgato Low profile Microphone ArmMonster Prolink Studio Pro microphone cableThe rest of the equipment is here 👉https://kit.co/heretakis/podcasting
  1. Dan Vlahos – Dynamic Media, Critical Thinking, and Design Pedagogy
  2. Jan Kubasiewicz on Teaching Design as a System of Meaning
  3. Nikolaus Hafermaas – Berlin Unplugged: Design, Education, and the Courage to Disrupt
  4. The Future of Learning with Christian Dominique: AI, Neuroscience and the Art of Wellness in Education
  5. Design in Motion: James Grady on Creative Process and Emerging Technologies

After graduating as Industrial Designer Justus Theinert carried out a one year field inquiry on “Methodology and didactics in European design education”, visiting the leading design schools in Europe. Later he participated as Research Fellow in the project “Design quality of engineer-buildings” at the University Stuttgart, investigating the phenomenon of Gestalt-quality in engineer buildings. He then became an Assistant Professor at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart where he was in charge of the development and establishment of the “Master of European Design” program and project manager within the design network “Four Motors for Europe” (Baden-Wurttemberg, Catalunya, Lombardy, Rhône-Alpes). At the same time he became Senior Designer and Partner in the studio “Prof. Wulf Schneider & Partner” with focus on the development of office furniture, interior and transportation design. In 1996 he founded the “Studio for innovation-management and product development.” After several projects for Mercedes-Benz, he was offered the position of Senior Designer at corporate design studio of DaimlerChrysler AG, where he was responsible for three dimensional aspects of corporate design such as POS furniture, accessories as well as brand strategy. In 2001 Theinert was appointed Full Professor for Industrial Design and Design Theory at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences where he managed the faculty as Dean from 2007 to 2010. 2004 consultant for design promotion and design education development in Jordan in collaboration with Yarmouk University, Irbid and the German Research Foundation (DFG). International teaching and consultancy in design didactics in Europe, Egypt, Taiwan and at more than 30 Chinese universities. Various visiting professorships and publications on aesthetic education and design didactics. 2014 Justus Theinert was nominated DeTao Master at DeTao Masters Academy Shanghai.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/prof-justus-theinert-27577b50/

https://design.h-da.de/justus-theinert

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