As a designer and design researcher, my work is driven by an interest in the possibilities and consequences of design, and by an attention to what design enables, obscures, or leaves unresolved. I approach design with a fundamental skepticism toward pure euphoria, remaining equally attentive to moments of opacity and to conditions of clarity.
My theoretical work engages with the social and political dimensions of design and with questions of how sustainable and desirable futures might be imagined and negotiated. Central to this is an interest in decentering the human, in examining structures of privilege, and in critically reflecting on design methods, processes, and their potential failure
Current Publications
2026
Journal Paper
Vogel, Caroline; Quadflieg, Sven: Designing from Some-Where: Generative AI and Foreclosed Futures in Design, in: Base Diseño E Innovación, 11(13).
2025
Conference Paper
Sametinger, Florian; Quadflieg, Sven; Augsten, Andrea: Exploring situated knowledges. Relational Practices for transdisciplinary Research, in: Unteidig, Andreas; Herlo, Bianca, & Pierri, Paola (Eds.): Reassessing the Social – Understanding Transformation. Proceedings of the Social Design Network Conference 2025. Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Art, p. 104–116
2025
Journal Paper
Mehl, Johanna; Quadflieg, Sven; Hamed, Satu Samira; Gatz, Sebastian: Designing-With, in Company, in: Interactions (32, 4). ACM: 66–69
Current Talks and Workshops
2026
Conference
Relational Transition as Democratic Inquiry: Mapping Epistemic Regimes in Design Futures. DGTF Conference: Shifting Regimes – Changing Orders, Goethe University, Frankfurt — with Florian Sametinger and Andrea Augsten
2025
Conference
Designing with Local and Indigenous Knowledges. Social Design Network Conference, HSLU, Lucerne — with Florian Sametinger and Andrea Augsten
