At designLAB, we take a hands-on approach to art and design. Our courses combine theory, research, concept development, and making, and are structured around assignments that gradually become more open. This supports a shift from guided experimentation toward a self-directed, critical practice, where critical thinking, experiments, failures, and detours are treated as meaningful parts of the learning process.
We aim to offer a broad and adaptable toolbox. Through assignments, students enter the workshop, develop hands-on skills and become familiar with techniques, materials, and tools across a wide range of media. Worldbuilding and storytelling are used to frame and connect research and making, allowing form and medium to emerge from content.
Feedback, dialogue, and critique are central to the department. Students learn not only how to make work, but also how to articulate, contextualise, and critically reflect on it. We foster a collaborative environment in which work is shared, discussed, and developed over time. Students are supported in developing their own practices - shaping their methodologies and artistic language - while encouraging critical engagement with cultural, social, and artistic contexts. Within this diverse environment, students become autonomous makers, able to position their work within and beyond established disciplinary boundaries.
