Designer in the craft

Gestalter im Handwerk is a job title for craftsmen who have completed specialist training in design and creation.

history

After the Second World War to the integration of the work of art schools in the new colleges end of 1960 / early 1970s who put in West Germany journeyman an equal basis for the higher design education is. At the factory art schools practiced the craft organization their influence for the design qualification of artisanal young out. After the restructuring, however, craftsmen without a technical college entrance qualification were excluded from the design training. The cultural committee of the Central Association of German Crafts tried to counteract the resulting decline in design quality in the craft sector: In 1982–1985, based on a framework concept by Gottfried Böckelmann (Hildesheim University of Applied Sciences) and with funds from the Federal Ministry of Education and Science, the curriculum "Designer in the craft" Tried and tested at the Chamber of Crafts in Hanover, Kassel and Münster and recommended nationwide in a guide in 1989. As a result, a number of chambers of crafts founded design academies or work academies, which enable craftsmen with master craftsman or journeyman's certificate and professional experience to study design and design. The basis is the nationally coordinated examination regulations of the chambers on the basis of § 42a HwO . Further education to become a designer in the craft is offered nationwide in various academies.

Benefit of the qualification as a designer in the craft

Craftsmen combine their creativity with craftsmanship and implement their ideas in a contemporary and professional manner. The acquired design competence expands the professional and personal horizons of the graduates and the quality of their offer increases. Designers in the trade are repositioning themselves and becoming more competitive because they are on an equal footing with architects, design offices and customers. As part of the further training, students get to know creative craftsmen from the same or other trades, with whom they can exchange ideas and network. The state-recognized examination leads to the title "Designer in the craft" and opens admission to study at a German university. In other European countries, admission to a postgraduate course is possible with the aim of obtaining a master’s degree (MA).

tasks

Craftsmen design products, objects or rooms and advise their customers before the individual design. They document their work and drafts and create presentations . For their collections, designers in the trade develop concepts and implement them or supervise their implementation by other craft companies. They present their work in exhibitions in museums, at trade fairs, in design centers or in galleries or organize exhibitions themselves. Many designers in the craft train.

Education

The courses are offered full-time or part-time, last between one to two years and include around 1,200 hours of instruction. The examination takes place in the form of an extensive project work. The curriculum includes: drawing and representation techniques , basics of design, color theory and color design, drafting and design, project development, materials science, work technology and model making, typography and layout , photography and documentation, art and design history, presentation and design management .

The requirements for admission to the course are the master craftsman's examination , a relevant journeyman's examination or a final examination with professional experience. The further training can be completed at one of the design academies or the educational institutions of the Chamber of Crafts. If the requirements are met, you can apply for an upgrade BAföG or an education voucher from the Employment Agency (AZAV for job seekers and retraining). Working craftsmen can use funds from the European Social Fund (ESF) or funding from the WeGeBAU Employment Agency. The examination is carried out by the examination board of the competent Chamber of Crafts. The qualification entitles you to use the recognized title of “designer in the craft”. If the exam is passed successfully, designers in the craft also receive the master's bonus.

General meaning

Qualified training in design and creation can generally promote the competitiveness of craft businesses. However, it also improves the future viability of traditional craft trades in particular, which open up new fields of employment through the use of traditional techniques and materials. This is underpinned by a study on the intangible cultural heritage of handicrafts that was carried out on behalf of the Swiss Federal Office for Culture in 2011.

Designer in the craft in Switzerland

Crafts and vocational training are organized differently in Switzerland than in the Federal Republic of Germany. The necessity and objective of the craft design qualification are, however, comparable: To qualify competent specialist, project coordination and management staff for craft design. The further training measure is aimed at creative craftsmen such as decorators, plasterers, painters, interior decorators, metal workers, pavers, joiners, carpenters and textile specialists. Prerequisites are professional experience in the field of color, shape, material and surface and skills in project planning and communication.

The professional examination for designers in the craft was held by the Zurich House of Color together with the professional associations dekoschweiz, the bathing world cooperative, the Swiss painters and plasterers association (SMGV), the Swiss work association (SWB), the association of Swiss master carpenters and furniture manufacturers (VSSM), and the advertising technology association and Print (VWP) as well as the Zürcher Malermeister-Verband (ZMV), advanced training courses are offered by the House of Color.

literature

• Design in the craft. (Ed. Research Institute for Vocational Training in Crafts at the University of Cologne, Research Institute in the German Crafts Institute). Bad Laahspe i.Westf .: Carl 1991 Vol. 3 ISBN 3-88149-051-5

Web links

• Nationwide working group of the design academies
• Central Association of German Crafts
• Federal agency for work
• Designer - craft in the profession of the Federal Employment Agency

Individual evidence

1. ↑ cf. Christoph Oesterreich, “Gute Form” under reconstruction: on the history of product design in West Germany, Berlin 2000.
2. ^ Central Association of German Crafts (ed.), Design in Crafts: Guidelines for an Educational Measure within the Crafts Organization, Bonn 1989, pp. 7–12.
3. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated December 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ↑ https://con.arbeitsagentur.de/prod/apok/ct/dam/download/documents/dok_ba013470.pdf
5. ↑ Ueli Haefeli / Ruth Feller-Länzlinger / Martin Biebricher / Noëlle Bucher, research mandate “traditional crafts”, on behalf of the Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology (OPET) and the Federal Office for Culture (BAK), Lucerne 2011, pp. 36–38 ( Archive link ( Memento of the original from December 31, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. ). 
6. ↑ http://www.berufsberatung.ch/dyn/1199.aspx?id=7836 ; see. http://gestaltungimhandwerk.ch/home.php .
7. ↑ Ueli Haefeli, Ruth Feller-Länzlinger, Martin Biebricher, Noëlle Bucher, research mandate “traditional crafts”, on behalf of the Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology (OPET) and the Federal Office for Culture (BAK), Lucerne 2011, p. 37 ( archive link ( Memento of the original from December 31, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. ).