35 years of mdh - Inspiring thesis no. 4

2023 - our anniversary year! We are celebrating 35 years of mdh. In the course of this, we are taking a look at the past, showing locations and faces as well as exceptional final projects.

Jayden Wittstock and Lina-Marie Behrens, bachelor graduates of the Media Design program at the Mediadesign Hochschule Berlin, dedicated their final thesis to the modern representation of traditional Daoist infographics and their transfer to the Western world.  

Daoism is a 2000-year-old Chinese tradition that emphasizes harmony with nature and the search for the principle of "Dao". Daoists strive for serenity and focus on the essential. Daoist medicine uses practices such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, qigong and meditation to promote health and treat illness. The goal is to bring body, mind and spirit into harmony and increase well-being.

Their personal experiences with alternative healing methods motivated Jayden Wittstock and Lina-Marie Behrens to intensively study Daoism and the central question of how the complex philosophy of Daoism can be made more accessible. Traditional infographics in particular proved difficult to understand, and the image of Daoism in the Western world was marked by prejudice. The two authors found solutions to overcome these challenges and present the Chinese philosophy in an appealing way.

The approach of the work included first a theoretical examination of Daoism and Chinese philosophy in order to understand the context for graphic design. This was followed by an analysis of the requirements for infographics and how they relate to traditional Daoist graphics. This analysis formed the basis for the practical part of the work.

The goal was to develop contemporary infographics that would provide a better understanding of the philosophy of Daoism. At the same time, the various techniques of Daoism were to be presented comprehensively. The result was a print product that presented the infographics in a supportive manner.

The work of Jayden Wittstock and Lina-Marie Behrens contributes to spreading the knowledge of Daoism in the Western world and letting people benefit from the possibilities of this traditional Chinese philosophy. Their creative approach and efforts to make traditional infographics contemporary offer new approaches to reach a wider audience and cultivate the knowledge of Daoism.