Democratic Tableware 2.0
Project information
submitted by
Niklas Hamann
Co-Authors
Axel Bäckström,
Chengcheng Feng,
Rico Freund,
Ella Horn,
Carl Jörgensen,
Lara Lehmann,
Haoyu Liu,
Lena Ort,
Finn Rein,
Damiano Rubino,
Elsa Thomas,
Mariana Villa Marquez,
Julia Götz,
Johanna Meisinger,
Lilli Endres
Mentors
Prof. Andreas Mühlenberend,
Niklas Hamann
Faculty:
Art and Design
Degree programme:
Product Design (Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)),
Productdesign (Master of Arts (M.A.))
Type of project presentation
Exhibition
Semester
Summer semester 2026
- Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 7 - Van-de-Velde-Bau
(Raum 013)
Available during summaery's regular opening hours
Project description
How can negotiations be designed?
Democratic Tableware explores how design can support conversations, decision-making processes, and conflict resolution.
In practice, negotiations are often marked by misunderstandings, imbalances, or conflicts. Time pressure, differing interests, varying levels of information, or personal biases can cause discussions to break down. At the same time, democracy thrives on both controversial debate and the ability to develop shared solutions.
The objects designed in this project address precisely this issue. They explore how physical artifacts can structure, visualize, or facilitate communication processes. This goes beyond language as the central medium of democratic negotiation. The body also plays a crucial role: gestures, movements, postures, and spatial relationships influence how people communicate with one another and make decisions.
Based on findings from embodiment research, the objects experiment with physical, visual, and haptic elements. These design elements give rise to new forms of multimodal negotiation situations that engage multiple senses and open up alternative avenues for participation. The developed objects are intended as tools that can help make communicative barriers visible and make negotiations more productive.