Felix Sittner awarded GDG support for master's thesis »Loopy«
Product design graduate Felix Sittner has been awarded a support in the »Publication« category of the German Design Graduates 2022 (GDG). His recyclable, circular school backpack »Loopy« will be supported by the platform for child-friendly design »afilii«.
»Loopy« is the first school bag that has been additionally developed under the aspects of ecological as well as social sustainability and is fully recyclable. Due to its modular design, the backpack is highly customisable and repairable. Individual bags can be adapted over time and thus change with the children and their changing needs.
Using the pedagogical moment of primary school age, the satchel teaches children to playfully intervene in the structure of their backpack. This can provide an opportunity to give young people a deeper understanding of the products' composition at an early age. It also strengthens emotional bonds in relation to the product, which additionally increases the product's longevity. Since the individual elements are predominantly monomaterial, i.e. do not consist of inseparable composites, they can later be recycled without any problems.
The Master's thesis was supervised by Prof. Gerrit Babtist and artistic associate Sarah Böttger from the Professorship »Design and Management« as well as research associate Dr. Johannes Lang from the Department of »History and Theory of Art«.
Further information about Loopy is available at https://www.felixsittner.de/loopy-school-bag.
About the support:
»afilii« supports four graduates this year with the publication of an interview in German and English on the afilii platform and social channels to ensure international attention for the child-friendly designs of the young talents. In addition, the selected graduates will have the opportunity to participate in the virtual meet-ups and events of the afilii network over a period of 12 months to receive valuable exchange and motivating feedback.
About German Design Graduates:
GDG is a platform that showcases, discusses and supports design attitudes of graduates from German universities. The initiative was launched in 2019 by design professors from German art colleges. The GDG's "Graduates Platform" makes visible online the diverse forms that design takes. At the same time, GDG organises an annual exhibition with a selection of current graduation projects for an open and professional audience. In addition, GDG brings design alumni together with representatives from culture and industry who select young designers for individual mentoring and coaching programmes.
You can find more info on the GDG at https://germandesigngraduates.com.