A system within systems. Hacking as design strategy
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Authors
Author (Corporation)
Publication date
2025
Typ of student thesis
Master
Course of study
Master of Arts FHNW in Digital Communication Environments
Type
11 - Student thesis
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DOI of the original publication
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Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst Basel FHNW
Place of publication / Event location
Basel
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Abstract
This Master's thesis explores the potential of hacking – not as a technical act, but as a critical and playful mindset – for rethinking graphic design practice. Sparked by a personal frustration with the narrow roles and expectations designers are often offered, it proposes an alternative approach that embraces curiosity, experimentation, doubt and resistance. Through a series of self-initiated design experiments, the work investigates how hacking might be used to interrogate and reconfigure the technical, aesthetic, institutional and personal systems that shape our work. Drawing on early hacker culture, hacking is redefined here as a way of engaging with systems: understanding how they function, identifying defaults, and bending or misusing them creatively. From tools and templates to workflows, authorship and identity – everything can be seen as a system, and therefore as something that can be hacked. Each chapter follows a loop of theory and hands-on experimentation, moving from external structures (grids, software, protocols) to internal ones (habits, ego, authorship). Rather than offering polished outcomes, the experiments act as probes – tools for making visible the often unseen assumptions embedded in design culture. Ultimately, this thesis argues for a designer who doesn’t just work within systems, but questions, reshapes and reclaims them – turning default limitations into spaces for agency and change.
Keywords
Hacker Ethics, Counter Practices, Subversive Design
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Language
English
Created during FHNW affiliation
Yes
Strategic action fields FHNW
Publication status
Review
Open access category
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Citation
Beck, J. (2025). A system within systems. Hacking as design strategy [Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst Basel FHNW]. https://irf.fhnw.ch/handle/11654/53545