Karianne Fogelberg

design theorist and curator

Karianne Fogelberg teaches, writes and thinks about design. The design theorist and curator explores the present expansion of the notion of design in the context of contemporary design practice and theoretical debates. Her work is aimed at developing design theory further, taking into consideration the interrelations between theory and practice. She conceives and realises projects at the interface of teaching and research and of science and society, and investigates speculative scenarios and narratives as applied research method and their transfer into other fields of knowledge.

At present, Karianne Fogelberg heads the Chair of Fine Arts as Deputy Professor at the TUM School of Engineering and Design at Technische Universität München.

Karianne was research fellow for design and architecture theory at the cx centre for interdisciplinary studies at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich from 2012 to 2021. Besides, she has taught and lectured at the design department of the Hochschule Mainz, the architecture faculty at the TH Nürnberg, and, in the context of cross-university co-operations, at Folkwang University of the Arts Essen and Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle.

Her contributions appear in design magazines and academic publications. She regularly writes as author for FRAME, NOMAD and ndion.de

Karianne has an MA(RCA) in History of Design from the Royal College of Art/Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and a BA in European Studies from King’s College London/London School of Economics, which included a year at Sciences Po in Paris.


Research and Teaching:

In her research and teaching Karianne examines alternatives to established practices and modes of thinking in design by taking into account different disciplines and forms of knowledge. She relates current approaches such as social design, participatory design, critical and speculative design, design activism, decolonial and posthuman design as well as design research in critical dialogue with recent discourses from the social and cultural sciences, political theory and philosophy.


Academic Publications (selected):

Karianne Fogelberg, „Seasons of Aquaculture” – spekulative Szenarien zu einer Zukunft mit Algen mit einem Gespräch mit Marianne Elisabeth Lien, AR#1 Aquaculture, Atelier Luma (Hg.), Arles, 2023, S. 10–19.
Karianne Fogelberg, „Design jenseits des Menschen: Julia Lohmanns Department of Seaweedness als posthumane Designpraxis“, in: Susanne Witzgall, Marietta Kesting (Hg.), Human after Man, diaphanes 2023, S. 229–243.
Karianne Fogelberg, „Empathie und Design – zwischen Aneignung und Ermächtigung“, in: Susanne Witzgall, Marietta Kesting (Hg.), Politik der Emotionen/Macht der Affekte, diaphanes 2021, S. 215–228.
Karianne Fogelberg, „Ein kompliziertes Anliegen. Plädoyer für eine stärkere interdisziplinäre Reflexion im zeitgenössischen Design“, in: June H. Park (Hg.), „Bildungsperspektive Design“, Design & Bildung, Bd. 2, 2018, S. 22–29.
Karianne Fogelberg, „Im Bann digitaler Technologien. Ver- und Entzauberung durch Design“, in: Susanne Witzgall, (Hg.), Reale Magie, diaphanes 2017, S. 239–252.
Karianne Fogelberg, „Die Zukunft verhandeln – Spekulatives Design zwischen Anspruch und Wirklichkeit“, in: Susanne Witzgall, Kerstin Stakemeier (Hg.), Die Gegenwart der Zukunft, diaphanes 2016, S. 126–137.
Karianne Fogelberg, „Sitzmaschinen. Vom autoritären Bürostuhl zum offenen Sitzprogramm“, in: Thomas Pöpper (Hg.),  Dinge im Kontext. Artefakt, Handhabung und Handlungsästhetik zwischen Mittelalter und Gegenwart, de Gruyter 2015, S. 195–205.

Photo: Verena Kathrein