Research interests

»Design research is systematic inquiry whose goal is knowledge of, or in, the embodiment of configuration, composition, structure, purpose, value, and meaning in man-made things and systems.« (Bruce Archer, "Systematic Methods for Designers", 1981)

• Phenomenology and methodology of Design
  Goal: To improve the ability of Designers to recognize and describe relevant phenomena for design work (empirical tools, terminology).
• Discourse on/with the Internet
  Goal: To research and evaluate computer-based tools to enrich and enhance discoursive conversations for decision making and learning.
• Design of emergent systems
  Goal: To understand the dynamics of emergent systems and learn about strategies to leverage the potential of "planned emergence" in design processes.
• Design in business processes
  Goal: To identify the role and potential of Design and Design processes for business development, managerial planning and organisational change.
• Weblogs in education
  Goal: To isolate, review and test success criteria and applications for "personal publishing" tools in education.
• Creative utilization of scripting languages
  Goal: To open ways for designers to design with algorithms.

Memberships

• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Designtheorie und -forschung (DGTF)
  Founding member of "The German Association of Design Theory and Research" (http://www.dgtf.de/) that was inaugurated in November 2002.
• International Institute of Information Design (IIID)
  International Institute of Information Design (http://iiid.net/) since 1996.