Open – Design Week Frankfurt RheinMain

Hessen Design Competition

The winners of the Hessen Design Competition 2025 present their interdisciplinary projects as an exhibition, in workshops, and in talks at the WDC Hub.

• The EEG wearable "numa" by Laurin Emmerich explores design as a mediating discipline between technology, therapy, and user needs, and demonstrates the potential of cross-innovation for non-stigmatizing applications in the context of autism.
• The project "Where Are You Really From?” by Leonie Autenrieth combines book, film, and poster into an educational format addressing adoption, personal identity, and diverse family structures.
• “Offen—bach” by Nina Jäcker focuses on the uncovering of urban waterways as a contribution to ecology, climate adaptation, and quality of life, making potentials visible through participatory formats and a transferable design catalogue.
• "Holobiont" by Milan Stein explores microalgae as a circular bio-resource and presents their use in urban ecosystems through an autonomous, recyclable photobioreactor.
• Complementing these works, "The Algorithm Times", developed by Enes Pavlukovic as an open newsroom project, examines the responsibility of design in AI-based media production by critically exposing processes, narratives, and biases through a fully AI-generated newspaper.

Hessen Design e.V. is a center of expertise, consulting, and mediation for design in the state of Hesse, making outstanding design achievements visible across their full cultural, social, and economic spectrum.

In its role as the state’s design coordination body, the association effectively supported the State of Hesse in implementing design funding initiatives.