Interface Design
Philipp Heidkamp holds a degree in Visual Communication / Digital Media from HfG University of Design Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany. He was running his own design studio in Cologne for 20 years working for various clients and cultural projects (Siemens, EXPO2000, Bertelsmann, Management Engineers, Land NRW, Deutsche Telekom, Verlag Walther König, Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, Tanzarchiv NRW, Valie Export).
In parallel, he was teaching at different Universities across Europe. Since 2001, he is appointed as full Professor and Chair for Interface / Interaction Design at KISD (Köln International School of Design at TH Köln) having more than 25 years of academic experience in the design teaching and research on the one hand and organizational development, leadership and science management on the other hand.
He is currently Head of Program MA Integrated Design Research/ European Studies in Design (MEDes) and is elected as Vice Dean International. In 2002, he has been elected as Director of KISD for 4 years, in 2006 he has been elected as Dean of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences at TH Köln until 2018. He was heading both the MA Integrated Design and the MA European Design program for years. He co-initiated and implemented three MA Double-Degree programs with strategic partner universities in Shanghai (Tongji), Tokyo (ChibaU), and Taipei (NTUST).
Philipp is experienced in strategic development of organizations and programs, cross-faculty collaborations and a passionate driver of change processes. He has a strong legacy in strategic academic internationalization – collaborating with partners from all over the world since more than 20 years. Besides collaborations in existing structures, he is developing new formats (e.g. the Global Cultural Library Project) inside and parallel to existing academic structures and paths. As a founding member of the Global Design Initiative with Lasalle College of the Arts Singapore, ual London, SCID Taipei and Musashino Art University Tokyo, he is pushing the boundaries of both the design agenda and educational / academic formats to come. In 2017, he was appointed as Senior Fellow of Musashino Art University, Tokyo to reward his support for this University. In 2109, he was elected as Executive Board Member of the Cumulus Association and served as a Vice President of Cumulus for 3 years. Philipp served in different institutions as Executive Board Member (e.g. EQ-Arts, the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Arts Education) or Advisory Board Member (e.g. SeeKicks, at the Berlin Weißensee Art Academy and Cumulus Association). He lectures and runs design workshops, joins different university evaluation committees and assessment boards in various countries in Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa and South America.
His focus in design shifted from information and interface design to Human Environment Interactions and Systems Oriented Design. As a consequence, he was one of the founding members of the research lab “Realtime City” at the TH Köln in 2018.
In 2023, he started a research sabbatical on Design and Proximity Food Systems in Barcelona, connected to different academic institutions and hosted by ELISAVA as a visiting professor.
Contact
Köln International School of Design
Ubierring 40
50678 Cologne
Room 311
philipp.heidkamp@th-koeln.de
+49(0)221 | 8275-3700
