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The phrase is based on the “Law of the Instrument” theory, which states: “If the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to treat everything as if it were a nail,” and is attributed to the psychologist Abraham Maslow and has since become an idiom in English.
It describes the cognitive tendency to rely excessively on a familiar tool or method and to apply it (sometimes compulsively) to any problem.
This tendency can run counter to a design-based, research-oriented approach, as it often leads to similar results. Against the backdrop of the growing power of technology companies, interdisciplinary, conceptual, and thus research-based design is becoming increasingly important—with regard to a cohabitation that is increasingly characterized by (visual) communication and language.
All speakers represent positions that dissolve the distinction between the three worlds—research, design, and art—since they consist, as it were, of elements from all three. As such, they can represent a future of communication design.
Speakers:
• David Bennewith
• Lotte Meret Effinger
• Rosen Eveleigh
• Gruppo Due (Moritz Appich and Bruno Jacoby)
• Tereza Ruller
• Boy Vereecken
Conference on Expanded Design
When?
14:30 on November 12, 2026 to 20:00 on November 13, 2026
Where?
HBKsaar, Saarbrücken
Keplerstraße 3-5
66117 Saarbrücken
Information and registration here
