From the World Cup to humanoid robots

Did you know that it was an Industrial Design graduate from Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences (h_da) who designed the football for the 2014 FIFA World Cup? Or that alumni of the study programme are today leaving their mark on the national and international design landscape with their humanoid robots and even bicycles for the Tour de France? The exhibits on display at “ExSamples26” exemplify the work and, by extension, the career paths of former Industrial Design students from h_da’s Faculty of Design on Mathildenhöhe. The exhibition is on display in the foyer of the faculty building (Olbrichweg 10) until 20 November (Monday–Friday, 9.00–18.00). Admission is free.

By Simon Colin, 29.10.2026

The curators, Professor Tom Philipps and Professor Tino Melzer, who teach on the Industrial Design programme at h_da, have drawn together 39 exhibits: actual products and projects created by alumni in the course of their careers in industry, academia and research over the past 25 years. Also on display are students’ final-year projects from 2020 onwards, which were completed during the COVID-19 pandemic and could not yet be shown to the public.

“Our aim with this exhibition is to showcase the successful careers of our Industrial Design graduates since 2000 through concrete products and projects they have created or implemented for national and international companies,” says curator Professor Tom Philipps. “At the same time, the exhibition highlights the thematic bandwidth and high quality standards that our alumni take with them from their Industrial Design studies to professional practice,” explains curator Professor Tino Melzer.

This is also true of Julia Otto, who is now Design Director Colour/Materials/Graphics at Adidas. She designed the “Brazuca”, the football for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which is one of the exhibits on display. h_da graduate Fabian Wappler, Design Director and co-founder of Agile Robots AG, contributed one of those life-size humanoid robots currently creating a sensation on the global market. Industrial Design alumnus Lars Wagner, Lead Designer Road Bikes at Canyon, direct sellers who also supply the Tour de France, is showcasing a mountain bike and a road bike. Other exhibits by alumni were created for companies such as Braun, Canon, Genesis AI, Hexagon, F.A. Porsche and Prada.

The exhibition is sponsored by the GFTN (Society for the Promotion of Young Technical Talent).