Johanna Seelemann is a new project professor in product design

Born in Leipzig in 1990, Johanna Seelemann is a designer whose practice shuttles between Germany and Iceland, pursuing the stories hidden in everyday objects. She studied design in Germany, Iceland and the Netherlands and founded her own studio in 2020.

Her work deciphers the everyday - from the packaging and tools that accompany us daily to the production and circulation systems that shape them. By tracing supply chains and exploring material languages, she opens up alternative perspectives on the everyday, linked to ideas of replacement, adaptation and resilience. The studio's approach moves fluidly between product design, conceptual research and strategy, often combining disciplines into thoughtful experiments that demonstrate how design can serve new values in a changing world.

Seelemann's practice has reached an international audience, with exhibitions at institutions such as the Design Museum London, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Villa Noailles in Hyères. Her work has been recognized with the Green Concept Award (2022), and in 2023 she was nominated for the Emerging Designer of the Year Award at the Dezeen Awards. Wallpaper* also highlighted her as one of the creative leaders of the future and recognized her role in expanding contemporary design practices.

As part of her project professorship, Johanna Seelemann will work with students on the topic "Designed by Refrigeration - Overcoming the Artificial Cryosphere", among others. Artificial refrigeration has profoundly changed our nutrition, infrastructure and way of life - from a technological specialty to a global standard. However, cooling is not a neutral process: it consumes large amounts of energy, causes emissions and influences our consumer behavior as well as our environment. The course "Designed by Refrigeration - Overcoming the Artificial Cryosphere" understands cooling as a cultural, technical and ecological phenomenon. In short projects, excursions and lectures, students will examine the global cold chain, question the existing dependence on artificial refrigeration and develop alternative, sustainable strategies for dealing with food.

Professor Johanna Seelemann's inaugural lecture will take place on October 13, 2025 at 12 noon in the Kunsthochschule lecture hall.

Press contact:
Çiğdem Özdemir

Links:
- Information about Johanna Seelemann here.
- Information about the project professorship here.