The interdisciplinary, cross cultural, interactive project „Design is Music is Design – European United!“ (2019), initiated by Prof. Dr. Marina-Elena Wachs, is shaping an inter- and transdisciplinary design process and education space together with other cultures in Europe.

Beside the didactic effort, the aim is to come to sense full smart and sustainable solutions with the help of synesthetic effects: Design- and Engineering and Management concepts will be sketched for the post-digital area, together with experts and students in a non hierarchical structure. 

Together in this cross cultural education and working space, with experts from different design and engineering (scientific) fields, innovative valuable objects and processes are creating new design languages, forming design differences.

We have to ask for the term “industry” and the usage about, within the fourth (digital) industrial revolution, and we have to discuss the post-digital conditions for human beings, considering the phenomena of De-Industrialisation. What about the life conditions of a non-material world tomorrow? Which kind of identities and demands will be signed by man-machine-concepts tomorrow? Who wants to define the next cultural heritage of a non-material world?
How could we take benefit from looking at our cultural heritage in each nation of European regions, and how could we take profit for people and our planet by working and thinking and sketching and painting and playing together in one creative act... what about the significance of the „creative industry“ in 2040?

„Design is music is design“ means researching new patterns, motives, rhythms in design, transforming and shaping music into new languages, connecting, touching women beside, next to you, you!

Within this frame a design method of an „interactive tangible aesthetic design tool“, will be discussed by the design researcher Marina-Elena Wachs (Hochschule Niederrhein, Mönchengladbach, Germany) and Ashley Hall (RCA London, UK) to focus on advanced design skills of our talents and experts of tomorrow.

„Mind no Gap! ... in European design education in design / engineering / management...
Listen to the design talents and experts... 

In cooperation with: Royal College of Art London, Lund University Sweden, Jugendsinfonieorchester Mönchengladbach, EPSON GmbH Deutschland, NRW Kunstforum Düsseldorf and other great partners…

The Winter Semester’s project „Design is Music is Design – European United!“ started with a cooperation of the Mönchengladbach music school and the Cellist Niklas Schröder. A multi-sensory experiment containing sound and color for a new group of master students, for connecting the acoustic sense with the visual sense by mixing music and color for a new form of expression.

The students using tools like markers, crayons or acrylic creating designs on paper while feeling the music, the rhythm…

Sequences of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sarabande form the C major Suite and Giovanni Solima’s Lamentatio were transferred into colorful abstracted designs. Cellist Niklas Schröder, his teacher Sabine Heiwolt and Prof. Dr. Marina Wachs choose two contrasting compositions for visualizing the music. This experiment connected the feel and the touch of rhythm by creating visual structures and designs.

This experiment with synaesthesia shows the importance of multi-sensory design. It will be a part of the next large collaborative project that seeks to promote Europe 's diversity in both academic and cultural education as well as in non-hierarchical working groups with experts. The aim is to connect senses and cultures, disciplines and languages: EUROPEANS UNITED!

Imagine no gap between the experts and disciplines in design engineering, management and music! See some impressions of the kick off at Hochschule Niederrhein on October 1st, 2018: we would like to thank the cellist Niklas Schröder, Mrs. Sabine Heiwolt and the director of the music school of Mönchengladbach, Mr. Christian Malescov for their engagement.

“Design is music – music is design: European united! Sketching the design/engineering future together in non hierarchical patterns...”
(Marina-Elena Wachs, 2018)

Sketches: Master students Regina Weidental, Nany Reich, Yeliz Kus and more