see-Conference - Visualization of information

Noma Bar became known worldwide for his clever and humorous depictions of cultural and political icons such as Albert Einstein, Shakespeare, Nelson Mandela and George W. Bush. His pictorial elements often merge into one another – irony and deeper meaning often only become apparent after further consideration.

Hundreds of illustrations by the Israeli-born artist have been published in major publications such as Time Out London, BBC, Random House, The Observer, The Economist and Wallpaper – but his portfolio also includes campaigns for Google, Coca-Cola, Mercedes-Benz and Apple.

Bar himself sees his works simply as a tool of visual communication: “maximum communication with minimal elements”. His awards include the Gold Clio for his 3D animation at the New York Presbyterian Hospital and the Yellow Pencil from D&AD for his exhibition “Cut It Out” at the London Design Festival.

www.facebook.com/NomaBar
www.nomabar.com

Hartmut Rosa is Professor of General and Theoretical Sociology at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Director of the Max Weber College at the University of Erfurt and Editor of the international journal “Time & Society”.

The history of acceleration in the modern age is one of Hartmut Rosa’s major themes: the time gained through technological advancement has led to a shortage of time – and not a gain. The myriad possibilities mean that people can no longer exhaust the chances given to them in the course of their lifetime. The “growth rate exceeds the rate of acceleration”. Therefore, what individuals have just experienced is no longer up-to-date, and they have no chance of dying “saturated with life” – as Goethe’s Faust also experienced. (“Social Acceleration. The Change of Temporal Structures”)

Rosa was awarded the Thuringian Research Prize for Fundamental Research, the Tractatus Essay Prize for Philosophical Essay Studies and the Erich Fromm Prize.

Photo credits: Anne Guenther/FSU (portrait); Helena and Laurent Martin (couple in the forest)

Christina Varvia is Deputy Director of Forensic Architecture – a London-based collective of artists and researchers dedicated to exposing human rights violations. Forensic Architecture develops new technological-forensic methods and architectural evidence techniques.

Examples of her work include the analytical video documentation of the Hamas bombing of the Gaza city of Rafah in 2014, and the 3D reconstruction of a Syrian prison in collaboration with Amnesty International.

Varvia is a member of the Technology Advisory Board of the International Criminal Court and studied architecture at the University of Westminster and the AA School of Architecture in London, where she also currently teaches.

Photo credits: Simone Rowat (Portrait)

www.forensic-architecture.org

Marjan van Aubel is a solar designer and co-founder of the design collective Caventou. Her innovative work encompasses the fields of sustainability, design and technology. She focuses on using intelligent design to create a “solar democracy”. This involves integrating solar panels into windows, furniture and other objects, thus making solar technology part of our lives in an aesthetically pleasing way. Her goal is to make solar energy socially acceptable.

Marjan teaches at the Design Academy in Eindhoven. In 2017 she was voted “Designer of the Future” by Swarovski; in 2016 she received the Wallpaper Design Award and WIRED’s Innovation Award.

www.marjanvanaubel.com
www.caventou.com

Eike König founded HORT in Berlin – a design office for visual communication. Its portfolio includes ARTE, Bauhaus Dessau and Nike. Eike’s work not only provides answers, but also stimulates political discourse. His special priority is to promote young people. Since 2011 he has been professor for illustration and graphic design at the Offenbach Academy of Design (HfG Offenbach).

Both at the academy and in his design office, Eike is first and foremost a mentor – not a boss or a teacher. He strives to spark creativity and courage by working in a liberal and inspiring way.

www.hort.org.uk

Daan Lucas is founder and managing director of Random Studio – a design studio that creates immersive experiences. These experiences involve interactive installations related to brands and products, opening up new perspectives in physical space to the viewer.

Daan has not pursued a typical career in design. He first studied law before giving it a go in the world of advertising and programming on his own. He quickly realized that there were people who were much better at advertising and programming than he was and founded Random Studio – an open office for designers and artists of all kinds.

www.random.studio

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Mathew Leung is co-founder of “Assemble”, an interdisciplinary architecture, design and art studio specializing in the planning and implementation of workspaces. Mathew has managed projects including “The Cineroleum”, a pilot project to reuse 4000 unused UK petrol stations, and “Blockhorse Workshop”, a workshop in Waltham Forest which is open to the public. Assemble’s project “Granby Four Streets” won the Turner Prize in 2015.

In addition to his work at Assemble, Mathew lectures in cultural and educational institutions around the world and publishes his research in RIBA Journal and with JOVIS Publishers, among others. His Master’s thesis was awarded the RIBA President’s Silver Medal.

(Photo credits from left to right: Zander Olsen, Assemble, David Vintiner)

www.assemblestudio.co.uk

Since her studies in insectology and product design at ArtEZ in Arnhem, Matilde Boelhouwer has worked in an interdisciplinary manner in the fields of design, art and biology. In her work, she strives to generate ideas that are not only beautiful but also have an added value. Matilde sees insects as a subject, material and source of inspiration, discovering the vital role they play in our ecosystem. Her designs aim to show new possibilities and perspectives and make society aware of the importance of the environment.

As part of her “Food for Buzz” project, Matilde developed artificial flowers in Atelier Boelhouwer that transform rain into sugar water in order to serve as a food source for insects in urban areas.

www.matildeboelhouwer.com

Mary Katherine Heinrich is an interdisciplinary researcher working on self-organizing and bio-hybrid robotics. Mary Katherine works at the Institute of Computer Engineering at the University of Lübeck and is part of the “Flora Robotica” research team.

“Flora Robotica” is a Europe-wide research project made up of architects, biologists, engineers and computer scientists. Its aim is to investigate ways in which plants and robots can benefit from each other in a symbiotic relationship. By combining different disciplines, the research team wants to develop independently growing, adaptive and self-repairing plants which will autonomously produce architectural artefacts and living environments in the future. The vision of the research team is that the intelligent plants, guided by robot swarms, will enliven our cities in the long term.