(Wismar/Munich) From Friday, 16th October to Sunday 29th November 2026, the German Design Graduates (GDG) platform, part of the German Design Council Foundation, will be presenting the exhibition „Make It Make Sense” in collaboration with the Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, Pinakothek der Moderne (2nd floor, Rotunde, Barer Straße 40, 80333 Munich).
From more than 480 entries submitted this year, 71 final-year projects from 28 German-speaking universities were selected across the fields of product and industrial design, communication and digital design, and textile and fashion design, including two final-year projects from the Faculty of Architecture and Design at Hochschule Wismar, University of Applied Sciences:
- Celine Brussel, Diploma: safe-in – A new service comprising an app and an accompanying campaign, 2025
» Topic: Parked car-sharing vehicles are transformed into temporary shelters via an app.
» A graduate of the Communication Design and Media degree programme
» Supervised by Prof. Björn Kernspeckt and Wulf Rechtacek, an external supervisor from the Scholz & Friends agency in Berlin
» Awards for the final-year project: Grand Prix, ADC Final-Year Project of the Year 2026, awarded two Golden Nails; and CommAwards 2025, awarded „Talent Bronze” in the „Digital / Digital Products” category - Korinna Rennefeld, Bachelor’s thesis: Ephemer – The Beginning in the End, 2025
» Topic: New perspectives on ephemeral product design and the transience of objects. Conventional notions of value, quality and durability are examined.
» Graduate of the Bachelor’s degree programme in Design – Product and Jewellery, specialising in product design
» Supervised by Prof. Tom Hanke and Prof. Stephan Schulz
» Awards for the final-year project: the 2025 DIA Prize in the „Product Design” category. The „DIA Prize” is an internal award presented by the Faculty of Architecture and Design at Hochschule Wismar, University of Applied Sciences, which has been awarded annually since 2007 as part of the DIA annual exhibition.
The selected projects offer different perspectives on how the scope of design is currently expanding. Hochschule Wismar, University of Applied Sciences, submitted around ten final-year projects this year.
The exhibition „Make It Make Sense” brings together works that make social, technological, environmental and cultural changes the subject of design. Together, they demonstrate the extent to which the remit of design today extends far beyond traditional questions of form and function. The accompanying programme fosters dialogue between higher education, the cultural sector and industry. For the first time, the exhibition is accompanied by a comprehensive programme of workshops for graduates.
GDG is a nationwide initiative aimed at supporting young talent amongst design graduates in the fields of product and industrial design, textile and fashion design, and communication and digital design.
In addition to the exhibition title, „Make it Make Sense” is also currently used in slang. It means explaining something illogical or absurd, or calling for a logical explanation.