The task stays the same: Design a Yoyo! Close to 100 PHOENIX Academy trainees tackled this task since 1989, and each time the Yoyo idea was interpreted in a surprisingly new way: no two Yoyos are alike. What differentiates them? The material, form, the idea behind it – and – the task they receive from their mentor Sven Feustel, Principal Designer. This year’s results from Adrian, Anna, Felix, Dominic, Manav could not be any more different. The topic: create a Yoyo out of ceramics. The interns had to learn, that this material is an own craft and to deal with the materiality has to be learned.
At the concept of Adrian, FH Johanneum, the casting process is celebrated and thus combines craftsmanship with mass production. Also for Felix, FH Hannover, the design process of ceramics was a special challenge as the material contains of different properties that had to be considered during manufacture and design. Manav, ISD Rubika, dealt with the heritage of a Yoyo, that literally means “coming back”. For him personally, it was important to not only dive into the PHOENIX ocean during his internship, but also creating a wave back. Also for Dominic, HfG Gmünd, the contrast of ceramics reflects the personal challenge he sees in the working environment when it comes to the intersection of humanity but also the drive to perfection.
