Simon Maris

CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS We welcome presentations, lightning talks, posters, and workshops across five thematic tracks: AI in Design Education, AI for Sustainability in Design, AI in Design Practice, AI in Design-Driven Research, and AI for Societal Benefit. Abstract deadline: June 22, 2025 Full submission details and guidelines: kind-lab.de/transform2025/open-call/ TRANSFORM 2025 // CONFERENCE ON AI, ART, DESIGN AND SOCIETY Against the backdrop of evolving AI capabilities and mounting social and ecological challenges, we find ourselves at a critical juncture. Art and design practices, education, and society are undergoing profound transformations through artificial intelligence — yet the direction, impact, and meaning of these changes remain contested and uncertain. Join us at TRANSFORM25 — where critical thinking meets active creation. As @gestaltungai 's concluding event, this conference serves as the culmination of KITeGG, a four-year collaborative research project across five German universities exploring AI integration in art and design education. We're bringing together diverse communities — design educators, creative professionals, researchers, policy-makers, developers, and advocates — to explore complex intersections of AI, art, design and society with nuance and critical awareness. Our aim is to foster connections among practitioners and craft practical solutions that address pressing ethical and practical questions in AI-driven design. 📅 September 24-27, 2025 📍 Campus of Art and Design, Trier, Germany hosted by @kindlabtrier at @campus_gestaltung_trier #transform25 #kindlab #kitegg #opencall #art #design #ai #society #trier #conference

🌳 Wie passen KI und Nachhaltigkeit zusammen? 👉 Wir haben mit Simon Maris, Professor für AI und Sustainability in Design an der Universität Trier, genau darüber gesprochen! 🚀 Folgt uns für mehr spannende Interviews! 🥰 Schreibt uns in die Kommentare, welche Fragen und Gedanken ihr zum Thema KI habt!

TRANSFORM impressions

We are well into day 3, with two very successful, inspiring and provoking days behind us! A huge thank you to all collaborators and contributors, looking forward to the many talks, workshops and panels still to come. Join us if you are in the area and also come and see the exhibition!

TRANSFORM25 has kicked off, we had a busy days of talks and panels, and are opening our exhibition officially in 30 minutes! Come join us now and later for DJ @ennasuniverse (8pm) @campusidaroberstein @trierfashiondepartment @kd_trier @innenarchitektur_trier @architektur_trier @intermediadesign_trier @campus_gestaltung_trier @hsm.kommunikationsdesign @hfg_offenbach @hfg.gmuend @kisdesign

TRANSFORM25. September 24-27 in Trier. Five tracks building on our core focus: AI in design education as foundation, extending into sustainability, professional practice, research methods, and societal benefit. Student exhibitions demonstrating new approaches. Workshops testing practical applications. Diverse communities examining both promise and peril. The final grand event of @gestaltungai // A collaboration of @hsm.kommunikationsdesign @campus_gestaltung_trier @kisdesign @hfg.gmuend @hfg_offenbach Join us, explore the program and register for free now: kind-lab.de/transform2025

Our final track addresses a crucial question: How can AI be deployed effectively in non-profit and public sector contexts? As artificial intelligence becomes more accessible, critical questions emerge about its role in addressing social challenges and advancing the common good. What ethical frameworks and policy recommendations can guide AI implementation for social benefit? How do we address power imbalances and accessibility concerns when implementing AI solutions in diverse communities? This track examines AI's potential to serve societal needs while confronting its limitations and risks. We explore how designers, artists, and technologists can contribute to more equitable and inclusive AI deployment. Who benefits from AI technologies, and who is excluded? How can art and design practices help us imagine alternative futures where AI serves justice, inclusion, and collective flourishing rather than concentrating power and resources? CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS We welcome presentations, lightning talks, posters, and workshops across five thematic tracks: AI in Design Education, AI for Sustainability in Design, AI in Design Practice, AI in Design-Driven Research, and AI for Societal Benefit. Abstract deadline: June 22, 2025 kind-lab.de/transform2025/open-call/

Be rigorous in your exploration. Be critical. Be inspired. TRANSFORM25 welcomes contributions from wherever you come from — research, artistic practice, ethics, policy, technology. Across five thematic tracks, we welcome proposals in multiple formats to accommodate diverse modes of knowledge production and sharing: - Presentations (20 minutes): research findings, case studies, theoretical explorations, or deep dives into artistic and design processes, workflows, and practices - Lightning Talks (10 minutes): brief, focused presentations on ideas or works-in-progress - Posters: visual presentations of research findings or design projects - Workshops (90 minutes): interactive sessions exploring practical applications or methodologies We're interested in the questions you're wrestling with, the experiments you're conducting, the challenges you've encountered. Share your process, your uncertainties, your discoveries. Bring your critical perspectives and creative innovations. Submit abstracts of 200-250 words outlining your contribution. Final papers are not required. Artistic and design works can be considered for exhibition upon acceptance. Beyond participant contributions, the conference features Keynotes, KITeGG Book Releases, a Project Showcase highlighting achievements across partner institutions, and discipline-specific sessions exploring how different fields engage with AI technologies.

Our fourth track investigates a crucial frontier: How can AI serve as a tool for artistic inquiry and practice-based research? Or perhaps more than a tool—as material, collaborator, or research subject itself? For those working within design-driven research methodologies, artificial intelligence is opening new pathways for understanding creativity, materiality, and knowledge production. How do we investigate AI's impact on creative processes while simultaneously using it as a means of investigation? This presents unique challenges for approaches where making, thinking, and documenting are deeply intertwined. We invite PhD students, early-career researchers, and practitioners exploring these intersections to share their work. How does AI challenge or extend traditional understandings of authorship, creativity, and knowledge production in design-driven research? What experimental research formats emerge when you treat art and design practices as methods of inquiry themselves? Consider how mapping might be transformed through AI encodings, latent spaces, and new forms of visualization. What methodological innovations emerge at these intersections? CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS We welcome presentations, lightning talks, posters, and workshops across five thematic tracks: AI in Design Education, AI for Sustainability in Design, AI in Design Practice, AI in Design-Driven Research, and AI for Societal Benefit. Abstract deadline: June 22, 2025 kind-lab.de/transform2025/open-call/

TRANSFORM25 takes place at the Campus of Art and Design in Trier. The programs in Architecture, Intermedia Design, Interior Architecture, Fashion Design, and Communication Design at the Trier location, plus Gemstones and Jewellery in Idar-Oberstein, form this unique creative campus. Building on nearly 200 years of tradition, the campus cultivates creative boundary-crossing between disciplines. Students work in an open and inspiring environment where the synergies between architecture, design, and media generate innovative projects regularly recognized through national and international awards. Our infrastructure combines traditional workshops—bookbinding, photography studios, wood and metal workshops—with contemporary facilities. The interdisciplinary teaching approach strongly connects all programs, fostering collaborative research and experimentation. Trier offers a compact setting where everything is accessible by bike or on foot. As Germany's oldest city with 2,000 years of history and 10 UNESCO World Heritage sites, it provides a unique backdrop. The Mosel River winds through surrounding vineyards. Located near Luxembourg, Belgium and France, the city reflects our international perspective and offers students access to cross-border opportunities. @kindlabtrier at @campus_gestaltung_trier hosts TRANSFORM25 as the concluding event of the four-year KITeGG research project. The campus becomes a workspace for exploring the intersections of AI, art, design, and society.

Track three focuses on professional practice: How is AI transforming workflows and collaborative methodologies in design studios? Across disciplines — from graphic design to architecture, fashion to product development — practitioners are discovering new forms of human-AI collaboration. What new creative possibilities emerge when designers work alongside intelligent systems? How do we navigate questions of authorship, craft, and expertise when algorithms become creative partners? This track explores the evolving landscape of AI-assisted art and design practice. From agencies adapting to generative tools to studios developing hybrid methodologies, we examine both opportunities and challenges in professional contexts. Share your workflows, experiments, and reflections on working with AI. How has it changed your practice? What unexpected discoveries have emerged? What tensions require ongoing negotiation? CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS We welcome presentations, lightning talks, posters, and workshops across five thematic tracks: AI in Design Education, AI for Sustainability in Design, AI in Design Practice, AI in Design-Driven Research, and AI for Societal Benefit. Abstract deadline: June 22, 2025 kind-lab.de/transform2025/open-call/ #transform25 #kindlab #kitegg #opencall #art #design #ai #practice #society #trier #conference

TRANSFORM25 isn't just for designers and artists. The complex questions we're exploring — about AI's role in creativity, sustainability, and society — require diverse perspectives and collaborative solutions. We invite design educators wrestling with new pedagogies, creative professionals adapting to AI-enhanced workflows, researchers from fields like philosophy and environmental science, policy-makers shaping AI governance, and community advocates working for social good. Scholars from architecture, fashion, computer science, ethnography, and law bring essential insights. Developers working with creative AI applications help us understand technological possibilities and constraints. Students and emerging practitioners offer fresh perspectives unencumbered by established assumptions. This interdisciplinary approach isn't just nice to have — it's essential. The questions we're asking don't have simple answers. They require the collective intelligence of multiple communities, working together to craft practical solutions for pressing ethical and creative challenges.