Anhalt University of Applied Sciences has appointed Professor Heike Schmidt to the professorship of "Strategic Communication and Design" at Campus Dessau in the Department of Design. The communication designer has many years of experience in brand strategy, organizational development and systemic consulting.
Heike Schmidt studied communication design at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences and Manchester Metropolitan University. Her professional career took her first to Pentagram Design Berlin and then to MetaDesign, where she worked as design director and team leader. In 2008, she co-founded the brand agency Stan Hema in Berlin. Until 2022, she was responsible for brand strategy and communication, the development of innovation strategies as well as personnel and organizational development. Since 2022, Heike Schmidt has been working as an independent systemic consultant for identity-based organizational development, process support and brand strategy. She is also a trainer and coach for managers and teams in the field of self-organized work.
"I want to bring my practical experience directly into teaching," says Schmidt. "It is important to me to convey that design today is not just function and visuality, but a key strategic competence." At Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Prof. Schmidt is currently developing the new module "Strategic Communication and Design", which brings together topics from brand strategy, organizational development and design. She attaches particular importance to practical experience, cooperation and a feedback culture. "Students should learn to understand complex systems, think strategically, act responsibly and work collaboratively. For me, this is the core of today's design skills," says the new professor.
Interested parties can find out which skills she considers particularly relevant for contemporary design teaching from a market perspective and how she has experienced Campus Dessau in her first few months in the interview at www.hs-anhalt.de/einblicke.
