25.06.2009
Small but excellent: the University of Design Schwäbisch Gmünd
Manuel Perez Prada was awarded a scholarship donated by IKEA (© Manuel Perez Prada)
A young designer from the University of Design Schwäbisch Gmünd (HfG) has once again come tops in competition for an IKEA scholarship. In his final degree thesis Manuel Perez Prada considered the criteria which make for a convincing "product design". In his view design plays a decisive role in associating a product with a brand, for a product’s recognition value and the generation of brand awareness. On the practical side he is currently developing a product family of computer peripheral modules and is summarising the implicit “design language” in a guidebook which his professors believe has the potential to become a manual for students and designers.
The University of Design Schwäbisch Gmünd is a university of applied sciences and has been a member of Cumulus since 2004. This network of international art and design academies currently consists of 140 members from 40 countries. HfG Rector, Cristina Salerno, is a member of the Cumulus board. Students in Schwäbisch Gmünd are able to spend one semester studying abroad at one of around 40 partner institutions of higher education in Europe, the USA, Canada, South America and Asia. The HfG offers three Bachelor degrees (interaction design, communications design, product design) and two Master degrees (communication planning and design as well as product planning and design). Schwäbisch Gmünd currently has around 450 students.
www.hfg-gmuend.de
