A system within systems. Hacking as design strategy
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Autor:innen
Autor:in (Körperschaft)
Publikationsdatum
2025
Typ der Arbeit
Master
Studiengang
Master of Arts FHNW in Digital Communication Environments
Typ
11 - Studentische Arbeit
Herausgeber:innen
Herausgeber:in (Körperschaft)
Übergeordnetes Werk
Themenheft
DOI der Originalpublikation
Reihe / Serie
Reihennummer
Jahrgang / Band
Ausgabe / Nummer
Seiten / Dauer
Patentnummer
Verlag / Herausgebende Institution
Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst Basel FHNW
Verlagsort / Veranstaltungsort
Basel
Auflage
Version
Programmiersprache
Abtretungsempfänger:in
Praxispartner:in/Auftraggeber:in
Zusammenfassung
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.
Schlagwörter
Hacker Ethics, Counter Practices, Subversive Design
Fachgebiet (DDC)
Veranstaltung
Startdatum der Ausstellung
Enddatum der Ausstellung
Startdatum der Konferenz
Enddatum der Konferenz
Datum der letzten Prüfung
ISBN
ISSN
Sprache
Englisch
Während FHNW Zugehörigkeit erstellt
Ja
Zukunftsfelder FHNW
Publikationsstatus
Begutachtung
Open Access-Status
Lizenz
Zitation
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