Design Research Lab

What Design Research Lab does

Design Research Lab (DRL) is an academic research network established on 2020-11-06 within Berlin University of the Arts (UdK Berlin), operating from Einsteinufer 43, 10587 Berlin, Germany. It is led by Prof. Dr. Gesche Joost and staffed by a 16-person interdisciplinary core team, with a broader alumni network of 182. The lab's research agenda spans Digital Sovereignty, Digital Studies, Gender Studies, Material Interactions, Social Design, and Visual Cultures, supported by 124+ ongoing research projects and signature initiatives including ToCaro, INNOVADE, Change Agents, LaLaMo, SignReality, Data Physicalization, The Ecological Self, and Critical Making + Designing.

Its research outputs comprise 100+ authored publications and 328 publications referenced on the platform, disseminated through a standing Virtual Colloquium Series and 193+ listed events. AI-related work is conducted from a design-critique posture: LaLaMo investigates large language models with a humans-in-the-loop framing, SignReality explores augmented-reality interfaces for sign-language interaction, and affiliated researchers such as Daniel Irrgang engage critically with generative AI. The lab holds long-standing structural affiliations, in place since 2017, with the Berlin University of the Arts, the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), the Weizenbaum Institute, and the Einstein Center Digital Future (ECDF).

DRL operates as a non-commercial academic research unit rather than a revenue-generating business. It does not disclose a pricing model, customer base, or go-to-market strategy; outputs are free or open-access, and funding flows from institutional budgets and third-party grants via its partner institutions. The lab's strategic posture is therefore best understood as research-agenda expansion within European academic and AI-policy ecosystems, not as commercial scale-up.

Name

Design Research Lab

Legal name

Design Research Lab

Website

https://drlab.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Design Research Lab is an academic research network at Berlin University of the Arts, led by Prof. Dr. Gesche Joost, conducting interdisciplinary design research across digital sovereignty, social design, AI critique, and accessibility, serving academic and policy audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Design Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Makerspace, Innovation Lab & Fab Lab Operations (Tools, Safety, Programming) (EDAEAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Lab & Science Virtual Labs (Chemistry, Biology, Physics) (EDAFAJAE), Makerspaces & Fab Labs (Open Build Studios) (EDAMADAC), Additive Manufacturing Research & Innovation Labs (IMAAAJAA), Research Collaboration & Joint Labs (International Partnerships) (EDAIABAC), Scientific & Laboratory Reference (Chemistry, Biology, Physics; Methods & Protocols) (EDAGAGAG)

Keywords

• Academic design research
• Digital sovereignty research
• Social design practice
• Material interaction design
• Critical making

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional Research Funding: The lab operates as an academic research unit funded through institutional partnerships with Berlin University of the Arts, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Weizenbaum Institute, and Einsteincenter Digital Future. Revenue comes from research grants and institutional support rather than commercial operations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Design Research Lab is an interdisciplinary academic research network that conducts design research at the intersection of technologies, materials, and social practices, producing research projects, educational programs (Virtual Colloquium Series, semester courses), and open-access academic publications. Its work spans Digital Sovereignty, Digital Studies, Gender Studies, Material Interactions, and Social Design, and is disseminated through seminars, books, and international collaborations with Berlin University of the Arts, DFKI, Weizenbaum Institute, and Einsteincenter Digital Future.

Product overview

The Design Research Lab operates as an interdisciplinary research network rather than a commercial product company, offering a portfolio of research projects, educational programs, and publications. Core offerings include design research projects spanning Digital Sovereignty, Digital Studies, Gender Studies, Material Interactions, and Social Design. Key research initiatives include ToCaro (emotional experiences through shared interaction), INNOVADE (digital democracy), LaLaMo (human-in-the-loop LLM capabilities), and SignReality (AR for sign language). Educational offerings feature the Virtual Colloquium Series and specialized courses like Liquid Commons and Radical Kindness & Critical Hope. Publications include academic books such as Re/Embodied Data: Ambiguities of Knowing and the NERD series. The lab's work is disseminated through video content, teaching programs, workshops, and international talks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Virtual Colloquium Series
• Liquid Commons: Bringing Ocean Science into Global Media Architecture
• Radical Kindness & Critical Hope Colloquium
• Re/Embodied Data: Ambiguities of Knowing

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 328 publications referenced on the platform
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Berlin University of the ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Primary institutional host of the Design Research Lab. One of the largest and most diversified universities of the arts in the world, with full university status in Germany. Provides teaching, research facilities, and degree programs across fine arts, architecture, media, design, music, and performing arts.
• German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017The largest Research Center for AI in Europe, founded in 1988 as a non-profit public-private partnership. Conducts application-oriented basic research in information and communication technology across 20 research departments and 9 competence centers.
• Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017German Internet Institute funded by Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Investigates ethical, legal, economic, and political aspects of digital change to create empirical basis for responsible digitalisation.
• Einsteincenter Digital Future (ECDF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Center for digitalization research in Berlin established in 2017. Large-scale public-private partnership between 30+ companies, all four Berlin universities, Charité, and 10+ research institutions.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI): DFKI is one of DRLab's core institutional partners and Europe's largest AI research center, with application-oriented research across many domains. Comparable as a German public-funded research partner with overlapping projects in human-AI interaction and design.

Direct peers

• Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture: Aalto's design school combines research-led education with practice-based design research across digital, material, and social design domains. Comparable to DRLab as a European university-hosted interdisciplinary design research unit.
• MIT Media Lab: An interdisciplinary research lab at MIT that prototypes technologies at the intersection of design, society, and emerging tech. Directly comparable as a university-hosted, transdisciplinary design/tech research lab producing open outputs and training students.
• Royal College of Art (RCA) School of Design: RCA hosts interdisciplinary design research programs (including Computer Science Research Centre and Design Research initiatives) producing publications, exhibitions, and applied projects — directly comparable mission and academic-research model to DRLab.
• Carnegie Mellon School of Design: CMU's School of Design emphasizes design research, human-computer interaction, and socially engaged design practice. Directly comparable as an academic design research unit producing publications and applied projects.
• Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society: A Berlin-based BMBF-funded institute studying ethical, legal, economic, and political aspects of digitalization. Directly comparable as a DRLab partner and a German public-funded research institute with a digital-society mandate.
• Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (Stanford d.school): Stanford's design school runs interdisciplinary, project-based research on design for society, technology, and systems. Comparable to DRLab in its university-hosted design-research identity and emphasis on transdisciplinary practice.
• University of Applied Arts Vienna (die Angewandte): A leading Austrian arts university with a strong design research tradition, including work in social design, material interactions, and digital cultures — overlapping DRLab's themes and operating within a German-speaking academic ecosystem.
• The Bartlett (UCL) — Interactive Architecture Lab: The Bartlett hosts interdisciplinary design research labs (e.g., Interactive Architecture, Situated Computing) producing publications and prototypes at the intersection of design, technology, and society. Comparable in academic-research model and social-design orientation.

Emerging players

• Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID): CIID focuses on interaction design research, education, and applied projects, often at the intersection of technology and social practice. Comparable to DRLab in its design-research-meets-prototyping orientation, though more commercially oriented.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/drl_berlin
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/design-research-lab-berlin

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Design Research Lab