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KITeGG

Summer & Winter Schools

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KITeGG

Info

Team

Summer & Winter Schools

Publications

Courses

News

Contact

Info

KITeGG - Making AI tangible and comprehensible: Connecting technology and society through design. A joint project of five universities on the integration of AI in design teaching. The project brought together the Mainz University of Applied Sciences, the Offenbach University of Art and Design, the Schwäbisch Gmünd University of Applied Design, the Cologne International School of Design and the Trier University of Applied Sciences. Funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and the states Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia.

Since 2021, the joint research project KITeGG has examined how artificial intelligence can be approached creatively and integrated critically into art and design education. Over four years, the five partner schools established experimental labs, developed new teaching formats, and built a shared digital infrastructure, including a server based in Mainz, a learning platform, and tools for teaching and exploring algorithms. Many of these structures will continue beyond the project’s end. Regular Summer and Winter Schools provided a framework for joint workshops, talks, and exhibitions, connecting research and teaching through public exchange. An important outcome of the project is the realisation of an inter-institutional master’s program titled Design is All You Need – AI and Design Education, taking place within the framework of the Communication Design MA at Hochschule Mainz. The programme incorporates teaching formats from all five KITeGG partners and directly involves students in the research project. The results and reflections of this collaboration are collected in the three-volume publication series un/learn AI, which traces different phases of approaching, navigating, and integrating AI in aesthetic practices.

Team

Prof. Adrian Nießler

Alexander Bauer

Prof. Alex Oppermann

Anton Koch

Prof. Benedikt Groß

Prof. Catrin Altenbrandt

Christopher Pietsch

Eduard Paal

Elisa Deutloff

Felix Sewing

Prof. Florian Jenett

Francesco Scheffzcyk

Franz Anhäupl

Prof. Harald Steber

Prof. Hartmut Bohnacker

Ivan Iovine

Jakob Kilian

Jean Böhm

Johanna Wallenborn

Jordi Tost

Julia-Jasmin Bold

Lars Hembacher

Prof. Lasse Scherffig

Maika Dieterich

Matthias Grund

Prof. Dr. Matthias Sieveke

Markus Mau

Max Kreis

Moritz Hartstang

Paul Eßer

Peter Ehses

Rahel Flechtner

Ron Mandic

Simon Maris

Aeneas Stankowski

Alexa Steinbrück

Bastian Kämmer

Felix Tischmacher

Isabela Dimarco

Joscha Berg

Laura Juliane Wagner

Leon-Etienne Kühr

Maxime Beck

Mattis Kuhn

Robert Kremer

Vivien Cai

Mainz University of Applied Sciences ↗

Mainz University of Applied Sciences is the network coordinator in the KITeGG project and is also setting up the joint AI infrastructure. The teaching and the laboratory that will be set up as part of the funding are thematically oriented towards automation, tools and generative design approaches.

Offenbach University of Art and Design ↗

The HfG Offenbach is exploring AI and artistic practice as a thematic focus within the project. As part of the project, an AI lab and a robotics lab have been set up, which are integrated into the artistic teaching area of Electronic Media. The AI lab supports students in the development of deep learning algorithms and in the integration of existing data sets and trained models into their artistic practice. The implications of technology for society and the reflection of one's own artistic work play a central role here. With the help of physical computing, robotics, digital fabrication and artificial intelligence, the robotics lab supports students in the development of interactive installations.

Trier University of Applied Sciences ↗

Sustainability is firmly anchored in teaching at the campus, which has carried the ‘Fairtrade University’ label since 2021. The AI lab focuses on this topic, including research into material efficiency as a sustainable aspect of avoiding overproduction. In the lab, AI can serve as a creative, experimental tool for finding ideas and inspiration or for incorporating various complex interrelationships into the design process. Students learn to use AI-supported information as a basis for ethically and ecologically responsible design decisions.

Köln International School of Design (Cologne University of Applied Sciences) ↗

The KITeGG project at KISD focuses on approaches that consider the social impact of the design of and with artificial intelligence and that - in the sense of an interdisciplinary understanding of design - focus on artificial intelligence in the context of the design of products, processes and interactions.

Schwäbisch Gmünd University of Applied Design ↗

As part of KITeGG, we have established the AI+Design Lab at HfG Schwäbisch Gmünd, a place specialising in AI technologies. The lab serves as a contact point for students and teachers and offers technical advice, project support and introductory formats. Our goal is to cultivate what we call AI intuition: a fundamental, practical understanding of how AI works and where its limitations and potential lie. In order to preserve the knowledge we have acquired and continue working towards our goal of providing expert support to students and teachers in the use of AI technologies, the AI+Design Lab will continue to operate as a central AI hub at the HfG. This will be made possible by filling the lab management position and funding the project server in Mainz. In addition, a temporary professorship has been advertised. The aim is to develop new teaching content and update existing content to incorporate AI into teaching in close cooperation with other teachers.

AI+D Lab Website

Summer & Winter Schools

24 - 27 Sep 2025

Transform 2025: Conference on AI, Art, Design and Society

We are looking forward to our very last KITeGG Symposium! More info on the website.

To Website

15 - 16 Mai 2025

re shape – Forum for Artificial Intelligence in Art and Design

Join us on May 15–16 for the re shape Forum for Artificial Intelligence in Art and Design, where we’ll explore AI’s evolving role in creativity, interaction, and society. From playful experiments that challenge conventional AI use to critical discussions on its ethical and ecological impact, this event brings together visionary designers, artists, and researchers. We’ll question dominant AI narratives, rethink design beyond human-centered approaches, and imagine regenerative futures where technology coexists with the more-than-human world. Be part of the conversation as we reshape AI’s role in art, design, and beyond!

To Website

Video recordings of the talks

Photos by Stefan Eigner.

11 - 13 Dec 2024

Correlations Forum for AI in Art and Design

Correlations is an interdisciplinary event that gathers artists, designers, educators, students, theorists and the public for an exchange on the evolving role of artificial intelligence and robotics in art and design. Over 2.5 days, Correlations provides a forum for critical reflection, knowledge and skill sharing to explore questions. Through lectures, workshops, panels, performances and an exhibition participants will engage with the cultural, ethical, and societal implications of AI, while exploring its potential and limitations as both a tool and a subject for artistic experimentation.

To Website

Video recordings of the talks

Photos by Cheesoo Park.

12 – 14 June 2024

Hidden Layers – AI and Design Conference

Köln International School of Design will host the second edition of its Hidden Layers conference from June 12-15 in Cologne, Germany. The event brings together a diverse group of experts to collectively discuss and learn about artificial intelligence in design. Organized by the research project KITeGG on design and AI, it combines a public program of talks, an exhibition and workshops with internal meetings of the five art and design schools involved in the project.

To Website

25 – 28 Oct 2023

Transform 2023: Conference on AI, Sustainability, Art and Design.

We take a closer look at the intersection of AI, sustainability, art and design.

To Website

Photos by Luca Natale.

10 – 12 May 2023

Reshape – Forum for Artificial Intelligence in Art and Design

How will artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) techniques (re)shape the field of art and design in the future? Join us for a refreshing in-depth exploration of the multifaceted world of creative AI.

To Website

Photos by Stefan Eigner.

09 – 11 Nov 2022

Correlations Forum for AI in Art and Design

Correlations is an interdisciplinary event gathering creatives, experts, as well as curious non-experts for an exchange on Artificial Intelligence.

To Website

Photos by Jakob Diekmann.

17 – 22 Aug 2022

Hidden Layers – AI and Design Summer School

Hidden Layers gathers a diverse group of experts to collectively discuss and learn about artificial intelligence in design.

To Website

With contributions by: Tomás Ignacio Corvalán Azócar, Johannes Growe, Matthias Grund, Lisa Marleen Mantel, Arthur Nagel, Alfred Ramskill-Pugh, Moritz Tontsch, Laura Wagner, Julius Walsch, Paul Wehner, Conrad Weise, Kjell Wistoff

Publications

2025

un/learn AI : Approaching, Navigating and Integrating AI in Aesthetic Practices

The Un/learn AI publication series consists of three parts: Approaching, Navigating and Integrating AI in Aesthetic Practices, which provides insights into the four-year research project KITeGG. The three books contain articles by KITeGG researchers and visiting lecturers, student projects, as well as materials from the Summer and Winter Schools. Each book highlights a phase of the research project and is curated around different focus topics. The publications are available as limited-edition prints or as PDF downloads on our website. Here, you can also browse articles by topic or language, and explore non-printed content such as additional translations and videos. Built as a web-to-print publication, the pipeline contains multiple Natural-Language-Processing algorithms that contribute to the books’ navigation system as well as to the visual and structural design.

Book 1: https://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-10586, Book 2: https://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-11811, Book 3: https://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-13020

2024

Special Issue 1: Hidden Layers

This collection of texts explores the key themes and discussions of the second edition of the Hidden Layers conference, held at Köln International School of Design from June 12 to 15, 2024.

Published by KISDedition.

2024

Creative Pattern Recognition

Creative Pattern Recognition is a hybrid publication that explores the intersection of artificial intelligence and creative practices. The publication covers a wide range of topics such as the role of AI in art and design addressing the impact and potential on the creative process.

Published by Francesco Scheffczyk.

Grund, Matthias (2025): No Thoughts, Just Vibes (im Druck). In: Karwas, Dana, Dubowski, Lauren (Hg.): Machine as Medium Printed Volume. New Haven, Yale University, Center for Collaborative Arts (CCAM)

Kuhn, Mattis. “As Far as I Don’t Know. Aesthetic Experience as Diffraction Apparatus.” In The Unknown in Design, Art, and Technology — Contributions to a Philosophy of Making, edited by Georg Trogemann, 181–94. Bielefeld: transcript, 2025.

Kuhn, Mattis. “AFFIRMATIVE — REJECT. With and Against AI.” In Artificial Intelligence – Intelligent Art? Human-Machine Interaction and Creative Practice, edited by Eckart Voigts, Robin Markus Auer, Dietmar Elflein, Sebastian Kunas, Jan Röhnert, and Christoph Seelinger, 203–16. Bielefeld: transcript, 2024.

Tost, Jordi, Marcel Gohsen, Britta Schulte, Fidel Thomet, Mattis Kuhn, Johannes Kiesel, Benno Stein, and Eva Hornecker. “Futuring Machines: An Interactive Framework for Participative Futuring Through Human-AI Collaborative Speculative Fiction Writing.” In Proceedings of the 6th ACM Conference on Conversational User Interfaces. CUI ’24. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery, 2024.

Flechtner, Rahel / Kilian, Jakob (2024). Making (Non-)Sense—A Playful and Explorative Approach to Teaching AI Intuition for the Design of Sensor-Based Interactions. In Proceedings of the 6th Annual Symposium on HCI Education.

https://doi.org/10.1145/3658619.3658643

Felix Sewing and Rahel Flechtner. 2024. Demonstrating SandwichNet—A Playful Tool for Teaching the Basics of Neural Networks. In Mensch und Computer 2024 – Workshopband, Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V., 01.-04. September 2024, Karlsruhe, Germany.

https://doi.org/10.18420/muc2024-mci-demo-322

Christopher Pietsch and Aeneas Stankowski. 2024. Transferscope – Making Multi-Modal Conditioning for Image Diffusion Models Tangible. Mensch und Computer 2024 - Workshopband. DOI: 10.18420/muc2024-mci-demo-248 . Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V.. MCI: Demos: Interactive Systems or Demonstrators. Karlsruhe. 1.-4. September 2024.

https://doi.org/10.18420/muc2024-mci-demo-248

Niklas Muhs and Aeneas Stankowski. 2024. Leveraging LLMs for Reflection: Approaches to Mitigate Assumptions within the Design Process, in Gray, C., Ciliotta Chehade, E., Hekkert, P., Forlano, L., Ciuccarelli, P., Lloyd, P. (eds.), DRS2024: Boston, 23–28 June, Boston, USA.

https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.1367

Maris, Simon / Scherffig, Lasse (2024): Designing on the Micro-scale, In: Manuel Kretzer (Hg.): Synthetic Realities. New Frontiers in AI-driven Design, Fabrication and Materiality, AADR – Art Architecture Design Research, Bamberg, 2024, 116-123.

https://aadr.info/product/synthetic-realities/

Scherffig, Lasse / Hawranke, Thomas (2024): Hund: Gassi gehen im Latent Space. In: Ina Bolinski, Thomas Hawranke, Stefan Rieger (Hg.): Virtuelle Tiere: Lebewesen zwischen Code und Kreatur. Bielefeld: Transcript (Virtuelle Lebenswelten), 101-126 (Open Access)

https://www.transcript-verlag.de/978-3-8376-7194-0

Scherffig, Lasse (2024): KI als Werkzeug und Medium. In: ZKM | Zentrum für Kunst und Medien Karlsruhe (Hg.): Warum KI unsere Museen intelligenter macht. Karlsruhe: ZKM, 61-66

https://zkm.de/de/publikation/warum-ki-unsere-museen-intelligenter-macht

Rahel Flechtner and Aeneas Stankowski. 2023. AI Is Not a Wildcard: Challenges for Integrating AI into the Design Curriculum. In EduCHI 2023: 5th Annual Symposium on HCI Education (EduCHI ’23), April 28, 2023, Hamburg, Germany. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 6 pages.

https://doi.org/10.1145/3587399.3587410

Iovine, Ivan (2023): Integrating Artificial Intelligence and Robotics into Art Curriculum. INFORMATIK 2023 - Designing Futures: Zukünfte gestalten. DOI: 10.18420/inf2023_32. Bonn: Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V.. PISSN: 1617-5468. ISBN: 978-3-88579-731-9. pp. 347-352. Bildung - KI-Bildung - Ein Workshop zu Aus- und Weiterbildung über Künstliche Intelligenz. Berlin. 26.-29. September 2023

https://doi.org/10.18420/inf2023_32

Courses

Summer Semester 2025

Winter Semester 2024/2025

Summer Semester 2024

Winter Semester 2023/2024

Summer Semester 2023

Winter Semester 2022/2023

News

Sep 2025

Interim professorship „Creative AI + Design“

For summer semester 2026 the Schwäbisch Gmünd University of Applied Sciences is seeking a candidate in Interim professorship „Creative AI + Design“ (Vertretungsprofessur „Creative AI + Design“)

Sep 2025

Major Un/learn AI book release in the 24.09.25

At the TRANSFORM symposium all three parts of the Un/learn AI publication series will be presented to the public for the first time.

Sep 2025

Preliminary program for TRANSFORM online now.

The final program will be available a few days before the event under the same link.

June 2025

Open Call Transform Trier 2025

Join us at TRANSFORM25, where critical thinking meets active creation to explore these questions and more. The conference brings together diverse perspectives to investigate how AI is reshaping creative processes, design education, and sustainability initiatives across contexts and cultures. More info on how to apply on the website.

Jan 2025

Save the Date – Summer School 2025

From the 15th to 16th of May the KITeGG Summer School will take place in Schwäbisch Gmünd under the title "re shape – forum for Artificial Intelligence in Art and Design".

Nov 2024

Correlations Forum Program is set

Nov 2024

Hidden Layers Reflections are online

This collection of texts explores the key themes and discussions of the second edition of the Hidden Layers conference, held at Köln International School of Design from June 12 to 15, 2024. Offering various perspectives on ‘hidden layers’, the conference was organized in two thematic tracks: “AI, Code & Material” and “AI, Society & (Visual) Culture.”

Nov 2024

The first KITeGG Publication is published

We are online! Volume 1 of the series - ‘un/learn ai - Approaching AI in Aesthetic Practices’ - is now available as a Web2Print publication!

Contact

Please get in touch if you want to know more, are writing an article, have a workshop or event to propose or another idea of how you want to get involved.

sayhello@gestaltung.ai

Info Material

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Legal

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Content: KITeGG

Design: Maika Dieterich

Development: Maika Dieterich, Jean Böhm

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