Ronja Kügow: Der Nutzen der Abnutzung, 2022
Type: Semester Project Degree Programme: Product Design Professorship: Emerging Technologies and Design Advisor: Jr. Prof. Dr. Thomas Pearce, Timm Burkhardt, William Victor Camilleri

Is the wear of an object its life or its death? Can designers harness and embrace wear as a ongoing transformative force? How might this influence future design methodologies? The project challenges the conventional preservation of ancient objects in museums, highlighting their dynamic history of handling, burial, erosion, and excavation. Instead, it reimagines wear as a creative design tool, designing a series of drawing techniques and devices that simulate accelerated processes of wear. What if our products and designs catered not to immediate needs but were meant to be discovered by future generations, centuries or even millennia from now? Developed during the ‘Prehistoric ≈ Postdigital? Speculative Practices and Tools for Ongoingness’ studio, this project aims to inspire designers to adopt a long-term perspective.

Product Design
Emerging Technologies and Design
Jr. Prof. Dr. Thomas Pearce
Timm Burkhardt
William Victor Camilleri
Ronja Kügow