Prof. Sebastian Kraus – User Experience Design, Strategic Communication and Social Innovation

How do we want to live in the future? The power of design to drive social innovation.

Professor of UX & Social Innovation – Creating spaces where innovation can emerge.

At the Media University of Applied Sciences in Frankfurt am Main and as scientific advisor to the Virtual Design R&D Lab at the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, I connect research, education and practice to explore how people and organizations can navigate complexity, develop future-oriented capabilities and create meaningful change.

My work explores how people, organizations and technologies can create meaningful and sustainable futures together. Drawing on design, entrepreneurship and systems thinking, I investigate how innovation can contribute to positive societal change and create value for individuals and organizations.

For more than two decades, I have worked across academia, entrepreneurship, digital product development and organizational transformation. Working at the intersection of innovation, business, technology and design continues to shape my perspective that meaningful change emerges from environments that foster curiosity, experimentation, collaboration and continuous learning.

My mission is to turn curiosity into impact, foster knowledge transfer between academia and practice, and help shape what’s next.

Beyond academia, I serve on the Advisory Board of the German Ecodesign Award, Germany’s highest state award for ecological design, contributing perspectives on sustainable innovation, design quality and future-oriented transformation.

Transdisciplinary Design & Systems Thinking for Social Innovation

In an increasingly complex world, new approaches are required. How do we find a new paradigm for the great social transformations of our time in the field of design?

This is possible if we look at problems systemically and transdisciplinarily. Develop solutions that answer technological, economic and social questions equally and – above all – place them in a larger context: Society-Centered Design, Humanity-Centered Design, Transdisciplinary Design, Transformation Design, etc.

“Design for a Better World: Meaningful, Sustainable, Humanity Centered.”
– Don Norman

Awards

In the course of my design career, I was fortunate to be able to work with high-profile creative teams, by which I acquired various national and international accolades, became a member at the Deutscher Designer Club and a juror at design competitions.