Centre for Design Studies

Centre for Design Studies serves as a hub for research into design across Kristiania and beyond. It is a diverse network of researchers exploring the role of design in an increasingly complex world. Members have backgrounds in fields such as graphic, system and service design as well as anthropology, innovation, media,  entrepreneurship and technology studies.

We explore all aspects of design, including its results, methods, theory, culture and consequences. Research spans geographies and temporalities, looking not only at how design has shaped our history and present, both nationally and internationally but also at how it may affect possible futures.

Adopting a cross-disciplinary understanding of design we focus on tangible objects of visual and material culture as well on systems and interactions.

The CDS Design Research Forum

Design Research Forum is a monthly seminar organised by the Centre for Design Studies. The forum meets on the last Thursday each month (August-June) and is open for everyone at Kristiania.

The Playful Systems Group 

The Playful Systems group is an international collaboration between the Centre for Design Studies at Kristiania and the CCT Studio at Georgetown. The group leverages the power of game co-design for complex societal problems. 

The Centre for Design Studies at Kristiania University of Applied Sciences has been involved in a diverse range of research projects that explore the intersections of design, culture, and education.

From uncovering untold histories of Norwegian fashion to developing innovative educational tools like wargames, and examining the impact of digital media on fashion, the Centre's work spans multiple disciplines and addresses complex societal issues through design.

See a full list of archived past projects here.