Björn Franke


	Björn Franke info@bjornfranke.com News \| Projects \| Research \| Teaching \| Biography Biography Björn Franke is a designer and researcher who investigates the social, psychological and philosophical implications of artefacts and products; in particular how the shifting technological environment alters human behaviour, relationships and self-conception. By means of both socially and psychologically challenging projects, Franke explores how people can express and control their emotions, obsessions and fears through objects and technology. The projects vary in media and include conceptual products, photography and film. Franke studied Industrial Design at the Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts and Design Products at the Royal College of Art where he is currently studying for a PhD in Design Interactions. He is also a Fellow at the Akademie Schloss Solitude. His work has been exhibited in London, Berlin, Amsterdam and Helsinki and has been published in magazines worldwide. He lives and works in London. Education 2007 – present PhD Student, Design Interactions, Royal College of Art, London, UK Supervisor: Anthony Dunne 2004 – 2006 MA (RCA), Design Products, Royal College of Art, London, UK Professor: Ron Arad, Tutors: Noam Toran and Shona Kitchen 1999 – 2003 Diplom, Industrial Design, Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts, Kiel, Germany Professors: Ulrich Hirsch and Norbert M. Schmitz Professional History and Residencies 2007 - present Fellow, Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany 2001 – 2004 Design Consultant, Syndicate Brand & Corporate Design, Hamburg, Germany 2000 Designer, MA Design, Kiel, Germany 1999 – 2000 Designer, Schwarzdesign, Hamburg, Germany Teaching, Lectures and Workshops 2007 - present Reviewer, School of Architecture, Westminster University, London, UK, 29 October 2006 - present Lecturer, Interior Design, American Intercontinental University, London, UK 2006 Workshop Leader, »The Subversive Tourist«, Aarhus School of Architecture, Denmark, 3 - 9 April 2005 Lecture, Department of Design and Media Arts, UCLA, Los Angeles, USA, 11 January Conferences Presentations »Manufactured Fears«, Dealing with Fear, Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany, 18 - 20 October 2007 »Artefacts as Influential Actors«, Design/Body/Sense, Design History Society Conference, Kingston University, London, UK, 5 - 7 September 2007 »Affective Sensory Extensions«, Persuasive 2007: The Second International Conference on Persuasive Technology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA, 26 - 27 April 2007 »Traces of an Immaginary Affair«, Something Fake, Platform 21, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 5 October 2006 »New German Police Uniforms«, Colani: Formen und Visionen 3000, Herold Center, Hamburg, Germany, 1 November 2002 Conferences Participation Systems and Synthetic Biology: Scientific and Social Implications, EMBL Heidelberg, Germany, 7 - 8 November 2008 Creating New Realities Today, BIRD Design Research Symposium, HfG Basel, Switzerland, 4 - 5 April 2008 Human Enhancement Technologies, Goethe Institute London, UK, 12 February 2008 Neurosocienties: The Rise and Impact of the New Brain Sciences, ENSN Symposium, London School of Economics, UK, 12 - 13 November 2007 Tesla Symposium: Visions and Imagination, Advanced Information and Communication Technologies in Art and Science, University College London, UK 7 November 2007 The Future of Our Species: Evolution Disease and Sustainable Development, EMBL Heidelberg, Germany, 2 - 3 November 2007 Beyond the Genome: The Challenge of Synthetic Biology, London School of Economics, UK, 24 October 2007 Colophon 2007: International Magazine Symposium, Luxembourg, 9 - 11 March 2007 Tomorrow's People: The Challenges of Technologies for Life Extension and Enhancement, Saïd Business School, Oxford, UK, 14 - 17 March 2006 Selected Projects 2007 Posthuman Minds, PhD Research Project, Royal College of Art (ongoing) Threat Alert, Object and Photos Chalkhead, Installation for Village Fête, Victoria and Albert Museum Trend, Collage for Copy Magazine 2006 The Other Side, Essay and Photos investigating Soviet Cold War Objects and Landscapes Traces of an Imaginary Affair, Objects and Photos Affective Sensory Extensions, Objects and Film 2005 Apocalyptic Architecture, Essay and Photos investigating Cold War Survival Architecture Eastern German Remains, Essay and Photos investigating Abandoned Eastern German Landscapes Pace Maker, Object and Photos Utopian Landscapes, Essay and Photos investigating Extreme American Spaces and Landscapes 2004 Panic Box, Installation, Photos and Film Wild Things, Image Archive of Customised Objects and Unofficial Design (ongoing) Authenticity, Collage for Swiss Typographic Magazine Selected Exhibitions 2008 Die Römer VI - Kommunikologie, Projektraum Römerstrasse, Stuttgart, Germany, 15 November Open Studios, Sommerfest, Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany, 5 July Fetisch & Konsum, Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany, 29 May - 5 July 2007 The Art of Research, Lume Gallery, Helsinki, Finland, 1 - 12 October Village Fête, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK, 27 - 28 July Digitalinability, DMY 2007, Berlin, Germany, 17 - 20 May 2006 Eden ADN, Saint-Étienne, France, 22 November - 3 December Something Fake, Platform 21, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 6 - 27 October Weapon World, Café de Lumiere, Taipei, Taiwan, 7 - 14 November The Wellcome Trust's Travelling Apothecary, London, UK, 16 September Generation, Royal College of Art, London, UK, 23 June - 2 July Designsuburbia, DMY 2006, Berlin, Germany, 18 - 21 May 2005 Work in Progress, Royal College of Art, London, UK, 6 - 10 December 2004 Work in Progress, Royal College of Art, London, UK, 8 - 14 December 2002 REHAcare International 2002, Düsseldorf, Germany, 23 - 26 October Features in Books and Magazines 2008 Forms for Pleasure, Stichting Kunstboek, Belgium, 2008 (forthcoming) Crazy Stuff, OLO, France, 2008 (forthcoming) IdN 15th Anniversary Book, Systems Design, Hong Kong, 2008 (forthcoming) Wysokie Obcasy, Nr.9(462), March 2008, Poland 2007 Code Magazine, Issue 5, Autumn 07, Belgium VIA, 03/06, June 2007, Austria IdN, Vol.14 Nr.1, April 2007, Hong Kong Copy, Nr.3, March 2007, UK 2006 Cool Hunting, Dave Evans, East Street Publications, Australia, 2006 Icon 41, November 2006, UK Vogue, October 2006, Korea Gallery, October 2006, Ukraine Viewpoint, Nr. 20, September 2006, UK Designers' Workshop Tokyo, Vol. 23, No. 149, September 2006, Japan Icon 39, September 2006, UK Static, Issue 3, The London Consortium, July 2006, UK Pix, Nr.2, July, Brazil Design 2006/07, Korea Copy, Nr. 2, June 2006, UK La Repubblica delle Donne, Nr. 503, June 2006, Italy ID Magazine, June 2006, USA +Design, Nr. 45, March/April 2006, Greece QUO 04/06, Spain Max 03/06, Italy Homme 02/15, Spain 2004 Swiss Typographic Magazine 03/04, Switzerland 2003 Design Report 05/03, Germany 2002 Design Report 02/02, Germany © 2004 - 2008 Björn Franke