In this episode, Anab Jain talks about her new book, Designing Questions, and her work at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. The focus is on the Design Investigations degree programme, which views design as the process of posing questions rather than finding solutions. Jain also explains the concept of a 'second education', which develops practical skills and encourages critical and systemic thinking. She discusses the importance of making as a process of discovery ('thinking through making'), speculative design and the responsibility of designers in the face of global crises.

Anab Jain is a designer, filmmaker, educator and futurist. Born and raised in India's postcolonial landscapes, she rejects fatalism for feral hope: a rigorous practice of attentive care in an era of planetary unraveling. With Jon Ardern, she co-founded Superflux, an award-winning art, design, and research studio. Their work has received critical acclaim for its ability to navigate the entangled wilderness of our technological, ecological, political, and cultural landscapes. Awards include Dezeen’s Design Studio of the Year (2021), Google Arts and Machine Intelligence Award, the Royal Designers for Industry Award in Speculative Design (2022, and Dezeen’s Designer of the Year shortlist (2025). Superflux has created futures-oriented projects for organisations such as Google DeepMind, United Nations, New York Climate Week, the UK Government, and the Omidyar Foundation. Their immersive artworks have been exhibited internationally, including at the Barbican, MoMA New York, the V&A, La Biennale di Venezia, MAK Vienna, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Korea, Vitra Design Museum, and Kunsthaus Graz. Jain has been serving as Professor at Design Investigations, University of Applied Arts Vienna for a decade, where she recently co-authored the book 'Designing Questions’ published by Hatje Cantz, 2026.

@burg_halle @superflux

Diese Folge wird moderiert von Christian Zöllner, Professor für Industriedesign an der BURG Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle.

→ Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle

→ Hurra Hurra Festival

→ Anab Jain

→ Superflux

→ Royal Designers for Industry

→ Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien (Die Angewandte)

→ Design Investigations

→ Publication: Designing Questions

→ Nicolas Nova

→ Stefan Zinganel

→ Fiona Raby

→ John Arden

→ Vanessa de Oliveira Andreotti

→ Vanessa de Oliveira Andreotti: Hospicing Modernity

→ Speculative Design

→ Thinking through Making

→ Design Investigations: After Abundance

→ Lichen

→ Edible Lichen

→ Aquaponik

→ Philip Lloyd

→ IDEO

→ Donald A. Schön: Reflective Practitioner

→ More-than-human Relationships

→ Sophie Falkeis

→ Stefan Zinell

→ Brute Force

→ Terraforming