We are very pleased that you are interested in studying communication design or product and object design with us at the Hochschule Niederrhein.
In the adjacent menu items we have placed everything important for you. If you have any further questions, please contact our Department Manager Danny Eickemeyer or our Dean of Studies Prof. Nicolas Beucker.
In the following video, designkrefeld students Camille & Luke take you on a tour of what makes our campus and faculty special. Have fun!
The following video about artistic design teaching gives you a nice insight into this compulsory course for both Degree programmes and will certainly whet your appetite for more. Have fun watching it!
Artistic design teaching functions as an open laboratory. Its contents and approaches are in constant flux, being redefined and controversially negotiated. This is exemplarily reflected in the film "Gestaltungslehre", which the film team Bildmühle, under the supervision of Prof. Susanne Specht, produced in 2018.
Since there are no standardized approaches to learning objectives and teaching methods here, and no generally valid formulated knowledge, this film reveals a correspondingly broad field of work permeated by many heterogeneous artistic approaches.
The film poses questions rather than answering them; moreover, it does not depict a static result, but shows that design teaching is a constantly changing process in the mirror of social reality.
Drawing something...
"Apple", "Self-portrait" and "Brush" are three films that Gerd Hauser, contract lecturer for drawing at designkrefeld, made for his students as assignments during contact restrictions due to Corona:
Frankenring 20
By appointment via e-mail
Frankenring 20
By appointment via mail
Frankenring 20
By appointment via mail
As a communication designer, you prepare a client's messages and information so that they are perceived. Due to the wide range of media possibilities, communication design is the collective term for a whole series of - in some cases highly specialized - occupational fields that cover different areas of responsibility on a common training basis.
One of the declared goals of design training in Krefeld is to open up the way for you to develop into individual and self-determined designer personalities, to be able to approach and solve problems in a team-oriented manner. Due to the ever diversifying media and channels, there are many career opportunities that require specialization.
As a communication designer, you can later become a freelancer. You have the option of starting your own business or you can work as an employee in a design, Internet or advertising agency, in marketing departments of companies or publishing houses.
From the 3rd semester onwards, it becomes design-specific with the project studies. You will learn about all the fields of work in communication design and have the opportunity to set your own specialisations in the following areas:
You can find examples of projects HERE.
The standard time to degree programme in designkrefeld is 7 semesters and is divided into 4 phases (development phase, project phase, internship semester and thesis).
1st to 2nd semester | The development phase
Here we teach the artistic, technical and theoretical basic subjects, such as drawing, design theory, typography, art science and design theory.
By appointment via e-mail
The design industry is a fast-growing and exciting field of work. With society changing at an ever increasing pace, there are always new needs being placed on products and new technologies providing more and more opportunities to design them.
Product designers conceptualize and design products and objects, such as: Consumer goods, furniture and lighting, special unique pieces, ceramic products, glass products and porcelain products.
The aim of the design training to become a product and object designer is to enable the students to work in an application-oriented as well as an experimental-creative way, in the fields of product design and object design.
From the 3rd semester on, it becomes design-specific with the project study. You will learn about all fields of work in product and object design and have the opportunity to set your own specialisations in the following areas:
Examples of projects you can find HERE.
The standard time to degree programme in designkrefeld is 7 semesters and is divided into 4 phases (development phase, project phase, internship semester and thesis).
1st to 2nd semester | The development phase
Here we teach the artistic, technical and theoretical basic subjects, such as drawing, design theory, CAD model making and design theory.
By appointment via e-mail
Our Master's degree programme focuses on the further development and implementation of your ideas. In our studies, we encourage and demand a reflective position on design and practical orientation. Social concerns are important to us. That's why you'll find ethics and psychology as well as futurology and business start-ups in our curriculum, so you'll learn about the diverse career paths you can take during your studies.
Admission requirements
Our goal is to train designers to become personalities who can take a reflective position in design and maintain it in their careers.
We want to train designers who are not driven by tasks, but who critically question and formulate the tasks themselves. We want to train our masters to be world-creating and proactive designers who create the world as it should be to the best of their ability.
We offer a friendly and personal campus atmosphere, a diverse faculty of designers, artists, and cultural and humanities scholars, an excellent infrastructure for design work, an ever-growing network of cultural and business institutions, and PhD eligibility. A recent interview about the Degree programme can be found here.
The standard time to degree programme in designkrefeld is 3 semesters. The curriculum of our Master's degree programme is designed to provide skills to successfully implement a Master's project, to develop a reflective position in design and to successfully apply it in design practice.
Semester 1 I Reflection
Through "constructive uncertainty" in the first semester, we support you in finding your own design perspective. The module "Human Sciences" introduces aspects of how design can relate to social issues. In many discourses we deepen the "design development" and "-observation" and thus train the ability to reflect. In the "individual advanced course" you can deepen the design specializations relevant to you - whether social design, typography or UX design.
Our alumni have taken career paths after their master's degree that cover the entire breadth of design: whether communication or product design, textile or game design, interface or social design. They have ended up in teaching education and research or have started their own business with their own ideas.
Q: Where can I get more information about the studies?
A: Starting in October each year, there are regularly scheduled advising appointments at the university. Questions can be sent to Prof. Nicolas Beucker at any time.
Q: Do I have to have already completed my BA by the date of the interview?
A: An application can be submitted at any time. However, registration in the Degree programme can only be done with a completed BA or Diploma. Registration can continue into March after passing the qualifying exam. In the rare case that all examinations have been completed by the time of registration, but the certificate for the first university degree has not yet been issued, special arrangements can also be made if necessary.
Q: Can I start my MA in design with my degree from a foreign university?
A: In principle yes, for the exact procedures please click here: Application from EU foreign countries or Application from non-EU foreign countries.
Q: What are the prerequisites for admission to the MA in Design programme?
A: Prerequisites are a Bachelor's or Diploma degree in Design or a related discipline. Final grade of at least "good" (2.5). With a convincing application, other degrees as well. In the case of a 6-semester Bachelor's degree, an additional 30 credits must be earned; this can be done as part of the Master's program. Submission of a letter of motivation, portfolio and exposé on a Master's thesis topic.
Q: What documents are needed for the application?
A: For the application are needed: Letter of motivation (max. two pages) and exposé (max. five pages), as well as a CV with biographical data relevant to your career goal. Detailed information is available here.
Q: Do I have to have a bachelor's degree in design?
A: No, the application is decisive. If projects and ideas are convincing, the studies are also possible with a degree from other Degree programmes.
Q: How many ECTS do I need for the Master?
A: 210. However, missing points can be made up during the Master's or proven by practical experience.
Q: When do the interviews for the aptitude test take place?
A: The interviews always take place at the end of January. You will receive the exact date in December.
Q: What is the interview process?
A: All applicants are invited to the university for an interview. There, an interview of about 30 minutes takes place with three lecturers, in which the portfolio and project idea are presented.
Q: When do the studies begin?
A: The master's degree always begins in the summer semester.
Q: Do I have to implement the project as a master's thesis with which I am applying?
A: No, if you favor another idea during your studies, you can also implement it.
Q: How big are the courses approximately?
A: Our goal is to work in small groups. Most courses have between 5 and 15 people attending.
Q: What are the design specialisations?
A: The master's offers a wide range of specialization options: Illustration, Editorial Design, Typography, UX Design, Printmaking, Porcelain Design, Ceramic Design, Glass Design, Experimental Object Design, Experimental Space Design, Social Design, Design Perspectives, Theory as Practice, CAD Practice, Rapid Prototyping.
Q: How many days a week do I need to be in college?
A: This depends on individual course selection. Most students take courses 3 days a week.
Q: Can I study on a career-integrated basis?
A: The studies are not specifically career-integrated. Nevertheless, individual solutions can often be found.
Q: What housing costs should I expect in Krefeld?
A: Krefeld offers many affordable housing options. Rooms in shared flats can be found for less than 300€.
Q: What are the connections to the nearest major cities?
A: With the RE (included in the semester ticket) you can reach Düsseldorf in 25 min., Duisburg in 20 min. and Cologne in 45 min.
By appointment via e-mail
By appointment via e-mail
Dear pupils,
during the Easter vacations 2023 the Faculty of Design at the Hochschule Niederrhein offers the "designkrefeld designlab", especially for pupils of the upper grades (from grade 11).
The 2-day "designkrefeld designlab" will take place on April 13 and 14, 2023, from 10 am - 4 pm each day. It accommodates a total of 20 pupils from the upper school and is the perfect opportunity to experience the study options on site to get a first feel for them.
Unfortunately, all spaces for the designlab during the Easter break are now filled. The next designlab will take place during the fall break.
Frankenring 20
By appointment via mail
We not only attach great importance to personal support during studies, but also beforehand, because we know that many of the applicants we advise now will later be our students.
Take advantage of this opportunity and let us advise you. We offer regular portfolio advisory services beginning in the fall. This is your chance to get professional feedback from the lecturers who administer the artistic/design aptitude test.
Feel free to come to us several times for a little "coaching."
If you feel well prepared, don't hesitate to apply to one of our Degree programmes.
The next portfolio advisory services will start in fall 2023!
Set out on your way.
With the "designkrefeld vorkurs" we want to open the way to design studies (product and object design or communication design) for you and create sheets for your own application portfolio with the help of regular practical exercises.
The course of the "designkrefeld vorkurs" takes place once a week in the evenings. In joint discussions, the results worked out are presented and reflected upon. If you participate regularly and your work is of a high quality, it can be part of your application portfolio for the aptitude test.
We would like to inspire you to creatively examine the world of things surrounding us through drawing and to exhaust the entire spectrum of possibilities of representation. By means of freehand drawings, a space will be opened up for you through exercises on perspective and the theory of proportion. Your awareness should be sharpened for the fact that for designers it is about a sovereign handling of the problem of shaping, for which you must find a convincing solution depending on the requirements of the given task.
As is well known, no master craftspersons fall from the sky ... Just come and try yourself out! Perhaps you will take the first step into a professional world in which you can develop your creative abilities. We are looking forward to meeting you.
Participation in the preliminary course is aimed at pupils in the upper school and is free of charge. Prior registration is not required.
When & where:
The current preliminary course has ended. As soon as the date for the start of the next preliminary course is fixed, we will announce it here.
The Hochschule Niederrhein
Faculty of Design
Campus West
Frankenring 20
47798 Krefeld
Frankenring 20
By appointment via e-mail
Frankenring 20
By appointment via mail
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