Institute Contemporary Design Practices (ICDP)

The Institute of Contemporary Design Practices (ICDP) works at the intersection of education, research, knowledge production, and design mediation. It encompasses three fields of study: Fashion Design, Industrial Design, and Interior Architecture & Scenography and offers students, researchers and staff from various disciplines a lively, creative environment to explore and mediate contemporary, reflective design practices.

The Institute of Contemporary Design Practices understands design as a central area of cultural production that molds many areas of daily life and thus as an essential aspect for shaping our society. The institute sees itself as a hybrid platform, offers interchangeable study programs at both Bachelor's and Master's levels, and is connected to the school's Ph.D. programme. These tertiary education opportunities will be complemented in the coming year by design-oriented continuing education programs, which offer individual in-depth study in the field of one's practice, research, and theory. The urgent current discourses around global crises of climate and social inequality are negotiated in design-oriented focus areas such as sustainability & ecology, future-making & technology, interaction & materiality.

The ICDP's goal is to promote the plurality of perspectives and approaches and interdisciplinary exchange. With its labs, the institute offers the ideal platform for the education of current and future designers and provides space for diversity, novelty, criticality, and experimentation. Together, students and staff strive to cultivate diverse perspectives and strengthen individuals' design development and creative paths. In addition, the ICDP is an essential stakeholder in the contemporary Swiss design scene and works regionally, nationally, and internationally with numerous partners from the creative sector and the industry. In the context of these cooperations, we realize relevant research, development, and service projects.

For future-oriented training and research activities, the institute offers three labs: the Digital Integration Lab, the Design Culture Lab, and the Material@Sustainability Lab. The labs are designed as an open space for experimentation and discovery and contribute to the high design quality in teaching and research. A lively infrastructure with workshops, experts, and guest lecturers complements the institute's facilities. The ICDP is actively involved in numerous international and Swiss design and cultural events, festivals, exhibitions, fashion shows, and conferences. The results of projects, research findings, and multiple student awards are regularly disseminated through publications and digital channels.

The labs are designed as open spaces for experimentation and cognition and contribute to the high quality of design in teaching and research.
The ICDP Institute has the following laboratories for research activities:

• Design Culture Lab
• Circular Design Lab
• Digital Integration Lab
• metaLAB