We
The Design Research Lab is a network of people, organisations, and non-human agents engaged at the intersection of technologies, materials, and social practices. Our aim is to design socially and ecologically sustainable tools, spaces, and knowledge that support people’s participation in a digital society – based on common principles of inclusiveness and respect for the planet. This puts the basic democratic right to take part in the digital sphere into practice. We start our research from individual lifeworlds and the needs of minoritized groups, beyond consumer majorities.
We are an interdisciplinary team of designers, researchers, tech-enthusiasts and critical thinkers from Berlin University of the Arts, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society, as well as Einsteincenter Digital Future (ECDF).
Team
Make
Projects
Stuff
Resources
Virtual Colloquium: Radical Kindness & Critical Hope
In a world plagued by conflicts and increasingly pessimistic outlooks on the future, the concepts of “radical kindness” and “critical hope” are more relevant than ever. As designers, we will explore this semester what these concepts could mean for our own designerly practice in order to build new bridges, foster empathy and contribute to positive changes in society. As such, we are inviting researchers, activists, educators and designers to help us reflect on the notions of kindness and hope in today’s world and discuss the questions of societal impact through compassion and keeping our collective dreaming alive in difficult times.
Moreover, we will employ critical and speculative methodology to imagine and contemplate the possible evolutions of our communities based on themes discussed in class through development of conceptual rapid prototypes. Finally, we will visit exhibitions to expand the dialogue and gain new perspectives and experiences.
Co-chairs: Prof. Dr. Gesche Joost & Žarko Dumičić
Start date & place: Thu, 23.04.2026, at 9 am in-person at DRLab (R215, Einsteinufer 43)
Colloquium time: Thursdays, 9:00-10:30h
Colloquium venue: Zoom (online classes) & Design Research Lab at UdK (in-person classes) + museum visits
If you’d like to join the course as a listener, please send an email with your details to Žarko Dumičić at .
More info will follow on the website about this semester’s guests!