Nitzan Cohen

Biography

Nitzan Cohen: Designer, Researcher, Educator

Nitzan Cohen is a distinguished professional in design, research, and education. With a background from Eindhoven Design Academy and experience at Konstantin Grcic Industrial Design, and running his own successful multi-disciplinary design studio.

Since 2015, Cohen is a full professor at the Faculty of Design and Art at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, serving as the faculty's vice dean for research (2015-19) and as the faculty Dean since 2019.

In Bolzano, Cohen founded the 'Design F(r)iction Lab,' focusing on innovative sustainable solutions for industrial and societal transformation. The lab explores areas like growing materials, open-source production, Nano Electronics, and the fusion of traditional crafts with new technology.

Cohen's designs and art direction have won international awards and are featured in prestigious design collections like CNAP and 'Die Neue Sammlung' - The International Design Museum, Munich.

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Main research topics:

Cohen’s research lay at the intersection of science, society and industry, of reality, vision and fiction; innovative solutions are developed that push conventional boundaries and induce reflexivity. Through exploring speculative scenarios and a critical approach to design, preferable visions and products are prototyped that always strive to meet real-world needs with a glocal perspective. Undulating between the digital and the analogue, craft and industry, current research focuses on crafted electronics and DIY culture, on distributed manufacturing and open-source production as well as on nano-electronics, biodegradable sensors, growing materials and technology for circular production exploring new ways of glocal and more holistic production with new materials and material use perspectives.