Understanding the interaction between products and objects in our living environment not only opens up new perspectives, but also creates an exciting field of research. As designers, we never look at what we design in isolation, but always in the context of time, space and application. What happens when we design things that interact together and in parallel?

This approach is at the heart of the transdisciplinary project Tabletop & Textile, which students from the Department of Textile and Clothing Technology and the Department of Design at the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences are pursuing. By reflecting on the relationship between table linen and tableware, new design possibilities emerge that incorporate aesthetic, functional, societal and social dimensions. The simultaneous design of the means of communication fertilizes this discourse and creates multiple levels for the messages when content and communication media enter into dialogue.

The results of this project illustrate how innovative materials and technologies and the design of these interactions can help us to question traditional food cultures and develop new design perspectives. Students from all three areas – product, textile and communication – will focus on the complex relationships between different areas of design.

We invite you to experience surprisingly new and experimental perspectives in the field of tableware and table linen and to see design as a dynamic process that offers space for continuous discovery and innovation.