Since 2022, GDG has been supported by the German Design Council and annually honours outstanding graduation projects with prizes and funding formats such as exhibitions, workshops and residencies. The aim of the initiative is to increase the visibility of young design talents, strengthen current social issues in design and build bridges between universities and design practice. You can find the platform on which all participating graduates can be found on the Website of the German Design Graduates.
This year, a number of graduates from the Gemstone and Jewellery Campus at Trier University of Applied Sciences are represented at the platform:
Dua Fatima Baig „The Theatre of Domesticity“ (Instagram)
Utilizing gender as a sieve, my work sifts through the blend of space, objects, and society — forces entangled in the hushed choreography of daily life at home, often sidelining critical analysis. Raised in Pakistan, I witnessed how traditions like dowry preparation predetermined a woman’s path. What hidden meanings lie within this custom or collection? My work scrapes the core determinants that reveal why women’s grounding in my society is the way it is, revealing how material and nonmaterial aspects of culture are bound — how physical objects carry invisible meanings that enforce societal expectations. These domestic items, through design, function, and embedded rituals, transcend their form. They become potent symbols — not just tools, but instruments of conditioning, extensions of the body. By decoding their symbolic weight, I reframe the domestic sphere as a charged site of power, where resistance can be formed and where the silent scripts of gender can be challenged and reimagined.
Arianaz Dehghan „Woven Self“ (Instagram)
In my work, personal breakage becomes a source of strength, beauty, and transformation. Inspired by Carl Jung’s concept of the Shadow and the journey of self-individuation, I turn toward the hidden, wounded, and often rejected parts of the self. My pieces become a medium for this inward journey. Fractured stones and strands of woven hair serve as metaphors for resilience, memory, and healing. Hair, though delicate, is incredibly strong — a symbol of the paradox between vulnerability and strength. Woven through broken materials, it becomes a thread of continuity, like DNA, binding stories, traumas, and identities together. Each knot and connection tells a story, not just of mending but of becoming. My jewelry speaks to moments of fragility and quiet transformation, inviting the wearer to see brokenness not as an end but as a beginning. In putting ourselves back together, we do not return to what we were. We carry the beauty of the fracture, and we become something entirely new.
Poras Dhakan „A Gift or a Theft“ (Instagram and Website)
This work considers the lingering echoes of colonial power, exploring how museums continue to shape narratives about India through the display of artefacts acquired during the era of imperial conquest. Questioning whether museums perpetuate “residual colonial legacies,” it examines the complex relationship between cultural representation, historical interpretation, and the enduring impact of colonial practices. It focuses on objects imbued with a history of both violence and appropriation, as presented in such spaces. It questions whether the narratives surrounding these artefacts glorify colonial pasts and reinforce prejudicial views of India, effectively “holding the pen” to control the story.
Grace Horton „From Scraps to Sculpture“ (Instagram)
I often search for materials from boxes in old garages or backyards, old tabletops, junkyards or objects discarded on the street, transforming what was broken into something whole again. By connecting these remnants with a silicone I have developed, I aim to give a new life to old objects. The stone I collect from stonecutting companies may have been discarded due to imperfections in its colour, quality or structure. A discarded stone alone can be overlooked, but when combined and used as building blocks, each stone plays a vital role in forming the structural sculptures which remain. The cost on the environment to transport stones or materials from mineral-rich lands in overseas locations is astronomical. Mining leaves landscapes barren and polluted, and for these stones to be brought to Germany and then discarded or deemed unfit for commercial use leaves a high environmental footprint. The technique I have developed allows these materials to represent something in a contemporary setting.
Niyoushasadat Moosavi „Reflection of mind on body“ (Instagram and Website)
This project explores the deep and complex relationship between mind and body through the lens of psychosomatic illness conditions, where psychological and emotional stress manifests as physical symptoms. These disorders often stem from childhood experiences and repressed emotions, revealing how powerfully the inner self can affect the physical body. In this project, jewelry is not merely decorative; it becomes a form of wearable communication, expressing the unseen, unspoken struggles within. The body, often the first surface on which psychological pain appears, becomes both the canvas and the message. As a jewelry artist committed to sustainability, I create all pieces with bio materials to avoid contributing to waste. This conscious choice adds another layer of meaning, reflecting not only emotional healing but also environmental responsibility. This project aims to raise awareness of psychosomatic illness by expressing the mind-body connection through jewelry.
Chidimma Omeke „MASK; THE CONTEXTUAL CRY“ (Instagram)
This Project challenges conventional definitions of adornment, positioning both masks and jewelry as tools for mediating identity transformation and self-expression. By considering jewelry as a wearable mask, this thesis explores how adornment can serve as a bridge between the physical and the immaterial, allowing the wearer to exist in a continuous state of metamorphosis. In a contemporary world constrained by time, space, and rigid social structures, jewelry, like the mask, allows its wearer the ability to defy these boundaries and better express unique identities. Materials used are gemstones, wood and gold.
Helena Renner „Mein Körper, die Körper der Anderen“ (Instagram and Website)
‘My Body, the Bodies of Others’ questions beauty standards, bodily taboos and the control of bodies read as female. In my work, I address fatphobia and the associated shame, the social pressure for self-optimisation, and personal body narratives. Showing ‘imperfect’ bodies and bare skin is not used as provocation, but as an act of visibility. I work with shapewear and underwear, which I reshape using embroidery, beads and gemstones to bring the intimate relationship with one’s own body into the public sphere and create identity-forming moments. Every seam, every bead is a silent act of resistance against the notion of what a ‘proper’ body should look like. Textile techniques serve as tools of feminist storytelling, honouring repressed bodily realities and opening up new narratives and paths towards self-acceptance.
Sara Heidary Totshamy „Women’s Visibility“ (Instagram)
In my work, I use fabric as a primary medium to challenge societal norms and explore themes of identity, equality, and personal freedom. By transforming a material often tied to control and conformity into jewelry, I reclaim it as a symbol of empowerment and self-expression.
Each piece I create reflects the resilience and strength of women throughout history, celebrating their fight for autonomy and equality. My work is not merely decorative — it is a narrative of resistance, a tribute to the marginalized, and an invitation to rethink the boundaries of personal and societal freedom.
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