Graphic Design Jurist
Prof. Nikolaus Hafermaas, Department Chair, Graphic Design, Art Center College of Design

Nik is chair of Graphic Design education at Art Center College of Design. As former principal and chief creative officer of the design company Triad Berlin, he and his two partners formed an integrated professional team of over 50 employees, shaping it into one of Germany’s leading design firms specialized in the field between industry and the arts, new media and contemporary culture. His clients include the Bertelsmann Media Group, World Expo 2000, Audi, Deutsche Telecom AG, Mercedez-Benz, Volkswagen, and Zurich Financial Services, Expo.02.

Recently Nik founded the art and design company UeBERSEE, specialized in narrative spaces [www.uebersee.us]. One of the present commissions is the design and production of a major architectural exhibition for the Vitra Design Museum. His current large-scale environmental artwork PowerPLANTs – a major public work awarded by the City of Pasadena – was featured as a top winner of design in Newsweek, June 2006.

Prior to Art Center, Nik was a Professor of Integrated Design and Temporary Architecture at the University of Arts, Bremen and curator of the Berlin-based network Young Creative Industries. He was recipient of the IF Design Award in 1999 and 2004, the German Design Club Award in 2000 and 2002 and the Art Directors Club Design Award in 2002. As of this year, he is appointed member of the National Board of the AIGA. At Art Center Nik has created a new Graphic Design curriculum, co-hosted studio abroad programs in Berlin, Copenhagen and most recently in Tokyo. He studied Visual Communication and Architecture at the University of Arts, Berlin.