Institute Digital Communication Environments (IDCE)

Through the propagation of digital media and the concomitant democratization of communication channels, the critical approach to visual and interaction-based design has manifestly gained in importance, not least because it has fundamentally changed the significance of information and communication in society.

Basel Academy of Art and Design

The aim of the Institute is to apply the new technological achievements by means of experiment in realistic as well as speculative scenarios in the context of communication, for the purpose of developing new application models. Unlike established technologies, new technological advancements can be deployed differently from their originally intended purposes. At the Institute, this new experimental approach is seen as a basis for a reflective engagement with communication, visual communication, images and their impact, along with technological development in general.

The Institute pursues its activities with regard to training through the BA degree programme Visual Communication and Digital Spaces and the research-focussed MA programme Digital Communication Environments.

In the field of continuing education, the Institute offers two MAS degree programmes in Graphic Design in collaboration with the University of Illinois Chicago, along with the Basel Summer and Winter Workshops, respectively.

In the service sector, the ANDICO LAB handles communication projects on behalf of public institutions, organizations, and businesses. In research, the Institute carries out externally funded projects in the field of applied media, communication, visual, conceptual and design research. PhD projects in the aforementioned fields are offered in collaboration with universities in Switzerland and abroad.

Degree programmes

Continuing Education IDCE

MAS / CAS

Modules

Research

Research at the IDCE examines diverse forms of visual communication in digital environments and with analog media through practice-based research.

With our research projects we strive to gain insights into the potential and limitations of visual communication, its channels of dissemination, as well as the processes and tools of creating visual messages. We use these insights in practice-oriented projects together with cooperation partners from academia, civil society or public authorities with the aim of social participation, inclusion and diversity, as well as to strengthen democratic societies and ecological sustainability. Moreover, we investigate design practice and the design processes themselves. We historically examine how they continue to change in shifting technological, social and cultural contexts and conduct research into the history of Swiss graphic design and its digital transformation. At the same time, we explore the question of what future design processes might look like and how new tools such as generative AI’s in particular will change professional design and visual culture.

Research Colloquium

Publications/Symposia

Research Responsible

Labs

Projects

Publications

You can find an extract of the Institute’s bibliography here

Network and partners

The Institute Visual Communication has a diverse network of partner institutions that includes, among others, the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, India, the Paju Institute of Typography, South Korea, the National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei and the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, USA.

Contact & Team

Prof. Michael Renner

Head of IDCE / Head of MA Digital Communication Environments

Phone: +41 61 228 40 85
E-Mail: michael.renner@fhnw.ch

Institute Digital Communication Environments (IDCE)

Phone: +41 61 228 41 11
E-Mail: info.idce.hgk@fhnw.ch

Post address

Visitor and delivery address