Process Design BA at HyperWerk

During the programme, the process designers learn how to explore social, political, economic and environmental interrelationships. In doing so, they develop their own process design practice and bring together their different interests and abilities in collaborative projects. Design is seen as a holistic process that brings together these different aspects.

The Process Design programme at HyperWerk is integrated into the Institute of Experimental Design and Media Cultures (IXDM). HyperWerk is an experimental lab for new and unexpected forms of design. It provides a breeding ground for transdisciplinary project work by and with students, staff and external persons and opens up constantly changing realms of possibility.

The academic year is divided into modules derived from the process design project cycle. As a result, students go through the various process phases over two semesters.

Workshops
The programme offers numerous workshops on process design, which students of all years can take part in. In order to convey a wide range of up-to-date knowledge and techniques, specialists, experts, artists and designers from all genres are invited as workshop instructors and guest lecturers.

Projects
The practical application of learning content is central to the bachelor degree in Process Design. For this reason, the programme focuses on practical projects that enable students to apply theoretical knowledge independently. In addition to institutional projects, students are invited to develop their own and collective projects, for which they receive support from the idea through conception to production and beyond. Projects allow for concentrated work over an extended period of time and the exchange of knowledge between all at HyperWerk – students and staff. The vision of an individual learning process that promotes the interests and needs of the students can thus be realised.

Mentoring
Regular dialogue between mentor and student defines the central interface between the students and the lecturers. In this way, a culture of exchange, trust and commitment develops, which offers students a guided reflection and constructive and critical examination of their own areas of interest, course content and learning progress.

Self-organisation
Self-organisation plays an important role in the Process Design programme. Students are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning process by independently planning their learning goals, compiling an appropriate programme from the workshop offer and implementing their projects. By encouraging this form of personal initiative, students develop important skills that will benefit them in their later day-to-day lives as process designers.

Process designers want to initiate social change and develop different ways of living together. They reflect on and question social norms and take an inquisitive and open approach to the issues and content that our coexistence poses as challenges. Our students deal intensively with these questions and are convinced of the collaborative design potential in order to find answers to them that contribute to a fairer, more sustainable and more inclusive society. They adopt a long-term perspective and take part in projects they initiate themselves. In these, humans are important, but so are more-than-human actors such as fauna, flora, fungi and robots. Process design is transdisciplinary – students are interested in self-initiative and self-organised practice. Process designers are empowered to act in the present and learn to work towards liveable futures.

During the course of their studies, students acquire process design skills:

Collaboration: developing collaborative forms of relationship
Process designers learn to shape forms of relationships that are both dynamic and yet binding. Whether in the collective process of teamwork, in the design of a physical meeting space or in interaction at a distance, students hone their ability to think in a networked way, to assess interrelationships and to use this in their projects.

Design: experimenting with new forms of expression
During their studies, process designers experiment with both analogue and digital tools, including text, illustration, photography, audio, video, coding, 3D printing, virtual reality, multimedia and performative formats. Through a playful approach, determined implementations featuring new aesthetics develop in the search for the appropriate forms of expression.

Reflection: critical and attentive documentation and discussion
By engaging with the course content, process designers learn to reflect critically and question norms. Sensitive to diversity, they acquire knowledge that illustrates the diversity of different perspectives and that they learn to classify and contextualise. In doing so, they take into account the political dimensions of their work and practise scientific work.

The prospects for graduates are as diverse as the individual learning paths of the students. After graduating, process designers marshal their interactive, collective and process-oriented skills to drive forward social transformation. They are able to leverage their skills in a project management, networking and interdisciplinary manner.

HyperWerk graduates work in projects, agencies and institutions in the fields of sustainability, digitisation, anti-discrimination, design, cultural management, education, management consulting, urban development and event organisation or in the field of their chosen focus.

With its studios, labs and central Campus.Workshops, HGK Basel offers ideal conditions for combining curiosity in craftsmanship with the learning of techniques and digital skills. In addition, students have round-the-clock access to their own workspace in the spacious studios. HyperWerk also has its own workshop, an extensive technical warehouse and a self-managed workspace. In addition to hand-held wood and metalworking machines, also waiting to be discovered in the workshop are robots, 3D printers, a leather sewing machine and tufting machine – as well as all manner of odds and ends. Students wishing to immerse themselves in the world of film and sound for a project can use a recording studio and video editing stations. The warehouse with VR equipment, cameras and video cameras, projectors, computers, monitors, lighting and sound technology and a host of very special things provides access to rare as well as the latest devices.

Educational requirements
For admission to the aptitude assessment for the bachelor’s programmes in Design (Industrial Design, Interior Architecture and Scenography, Fashion Design, Process Design, Visual Communication and Digital Spaces), one of the following qualifications is generally required:

• a certified vocational baccalaureate
• a certified specialized baccalaureate
• a certified upper secondary school (level II) baccalaureate
• proof of an equivalent educational degree at an upper secondary school (level II) obtained otherwise (Swiss education system)

Language of tuition
The language of tuition is German (B2 or equivalent) and partly English. Proof of language proficiency is required at the start of the degree programme.

Workplace experience or preparatory course in Design
In addition, candidates need to provide proof of one year of workplace experience or completion of a two-semester preparatory course in Design.

Is a list of approved vocational trainings and professional fields, respectively.

Catching up on the vocational baccalaureate
Applicants who have not completed at least three years of upper secondary schooling (level II) are not legally entitled to admission to a Bachelor's degree programme. Information concerning full-time or part-time on-the-job training courses focusing on a vocational, design-based or specialized baccalaureate is provided by the local vocational colleges.

Admission on the basis of exceptional talent (1)
In exceptional cases, applicants can be admitted to the Bachelor’s degree programmes without being in possession of an upper secondary school (level II) certificate (Swiss education system), namely if they can provide proof of exceptional talent, either in a design-related or an arts-related field. 
Note: We recommend that you make enquiries by means of an email to the office of the respective degree programme at admission.BA-prozessgestaltung.hgk@fhnw.ch at least two weeks prior to the application deadline (15 February), or arrange an appointment with the Head of the degree programme.

____________
(1) If you are in possession of one of the following educational degrees, you are eligible for this mode of admission:
Federal Certificate of Vocational Proficiency EFZ (apprenticeship), Professional Certificate EBA, Specialized Secondary School (FMS), Compulsory Schooling, no educational qualification

To apply for a place at the HGK Basel, the required documents must be submitted by deadline 15.02.2026.
Please send the specific enquiries to email address.

• 01.11.2025
  Publication of the detailed information on the aptitude assessment
• 15.02.2026
  Registration deadline and deadline for submitting the required documents for the aptitude assessment.
• 14.09.2026
  Fall Semester begin 2026/27

Further information on Part 2 – Assessment:
In the assessment, workshops and work in interdisciplinary project teams will provide insight into the course of study and will help evaluate if the applicant meets the expectations and requirements of the degree programme.

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