Design Education Talks ep. 68 – Justus Theinert

Lefteris Heretakis

Lauren Alexander – Designing with Care, Complexity, and Responsibility – Design Education Talks

Lauren Alexander is an artist, educator, and researcher whose practice operates at the intersection of design, critical inquiry, and collective work. Born in South Africa in 1983 and now based in the Netherlands, her trajectory reflects a sustained engagement with questions of power, history, and representation. Trained originally as a graphic designer, Alexander has gradually expanded her practice beyond service based design, developing a research led approach that uses storytelling, archives, and collaboration as tools for cultural and political reflection She is currently co head of the Bachelor Graphic Design programme at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague where she works alongside Chantal Hendriksen to shape the strategic direction of contemporary design education. Between 2017 and 2024, she developed and taught Critical Storytelling in the MA Non Linear Narrative programme, a course centred on collaborative research methodologies and the examination of complex socio political contexts. Across her teaching, Alexander emphasises uncertainty, ethical responsibility, and critical literacy, encouraging students to engage deeply with both material and digital cultures rather than seeking quick or resolved outcomes Alongside her academic role, Alexander is co founder of Foundland Collective, a long term collaborative practice established in 2009 with Syrian designer Ghalia Elsrakbi. Foundland’s work investigates political narratives, migration, and media representation through art, design, writing, and video, and has been recognised internationally through fellowships, awards, and exhibitions at institutions such as the Centre Pompidou, Ars Electronica, and the Rotterdam International Film Festival. Together, Alexander’s educational and artistic practices articulate a vision of design not as neutral problem solving, but as an ethical and cultural practice embedded in history, power, and lived experience Find more about her work here https://www.kabk.nl/en/teachers/lauren-alexanderhttps://foundland.info/Support the showSince 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. Lauren Alexander – Designing with Care, Complexity, and Responsibility
  2. Design as Experience: Ksenija Miļča on Interiors, Branding and Education
  3. The Education of Attention: Esen Karol on Design, Publishing and Joy Teaching Designers to See: A Conversation with Esen Karol
  4. Simon Collins – What Design Schools Get Wrong About the Real World
  5. Graham Fink – Why Process Matters More Than Finish in Creative Work

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

Support the show

Follow us on twitter at @newartschool
Visits us on https://linktr.ee/thenewartschool
Read our latest articles at https://heretakis.wordpress.com/
and https://heretakis.medium.com/

Unknown's avatar

Published by Lefteris Heretakis

Navigating you through the disruption in #art, #design and #designeducation.

Leave a comment