For the students of the Department of Design Film Art at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, the exhibition is the last highlight of their studies before the graduation ceremony. This year, the final exhibition will take place from June 21 to 29 on the Lucerne-Emmenbrücke campus. It is clear that the topic of health is of great interest to the students.
Around 300 design, film and art students are currently working on completing their Bachelor’s and Master’s theses. The results will be on display in Viscosistadt 745 from June 21 to 29. From animated film to design management, from textile design to illustration, the exhibition will be a diverse showcase of what the graduates are working on and what they are taking away from their training.
"For our students, the final project is a calling card for their career, whether as a data designer, illustrator or spatial designer with a degree in Spatial Design," says Jacqueline Holzer, Director of the Department of Design Film Art. All departments at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts are concerned with the topic of health. This year’s graduation projects show that this also applies to all areas of study in Emmenbrücke, as the following examples show.
Reducing stress
How can we better deal with the stress of everyday life? What does it take for relaxation to become tangible rather than just a wish? Meline Sager from Sursee provides answers in her bachelor’s thesis in object design with "Forms of relaxation". She has created various objects that can help with physical stress management.
"Many people encounter situations that trigger stress every day," explains Sager, "and there’s nothing wrong with that, provided there is a healthy balance between activation and relaxation. A conscious approach to stress and relaxation is important for our health." While many methods are mental, Meline Sager wants to use her skills as an object designer to create an approach that makes relaxation more intuitive, more tangible and more commonplace.
To find out why people find it difficult to relax during stressful periods, Meline Sager conducted an online survey in which over 110 people took part. Her main findings: Lack of time, recovery is forgotten or respondents have not yet found a method that suits them.
Reducing stress through physical experiences
This is where the object designer comes in, drawing on findings from behavioral economics, psychoanalytics and sensory design. She develops objects that can be used in different places and times in everyday life and help to reduce stress through physical experiences: The all-rounder for everyday life is small, light and unobtrusive, while hands busily move a metal ball in a fabric tunnel. When moving from work to leisure, a movable acupressure surface for the feet literally relaxes when placed in the right position. When falling asleep, a warming pillow on the side provides relaxation and helps the body to regenerate during the night.
Sager attaches great importance to regionality and sustainability when selecting materials. The Swiss linen fabric for the pillow comes from the neri brand, which is backed by textile designer Mira Durrer. She develops and tests the fabrics herself in her Lucerne-based neri studio. Sager would also like to see regional collaborations and new creative impulses in the future. And at the exhibition? "I’m looking forward to exciting encounters and would like to motivate people to try out my objects and feel what relaxation might feel like."
Stärneschii - when memories become stars
How does it feel to work in a closed dementia ward? Day after day, in the tension between closeness, responsibility and farewell? With his film Stärneschii, Jérémie Jayraj Itty from Lancy, GE approaches this question in a personal and poetic way as he completes his bachelor’s degree in animation. The 6:40-minute animated short film is based on Itty’s own experiences as a community service worker and as a relative. It was created in collaboration with a team of four Bachelor students with different specializations in animation work.
"I wanted to show what happens inside a person who wholeheartedly cares for others," says Itty. "And how reality changes for them." Inspired by his time in dementia care - first at home with his grandmother, later as a community service worker in a closed facility - Stärneschii tells of the inner life of a caregiver. The film builds a bridge between documentary everyday life and artistic processing.
A look into the past
Instead of sober hospital corridors, the film opens up an opulent observatory: a magical world in which the residents appear as star beings. Each character looks different depending on how they are affected. The starlight stands for hope and constancy, is unique and yet part of a larger whole. This visual language stems from magical realism and serves as a visual metaphor for the state between the present and memory.
"What we see of stars is long gone," explains Itty. "Just as people with dementia often live in their past, but are still there in their own way."
Despite the fantastic setting, Stärneschii remains grounded. The dialog and movements are based on real situations. The everyday life of the carer, his constant thinking, his emotional involvement even during breaks, is symbolized by a long pier that connects the dream world of the observatory with the real working world.
Central scenes of the film, the character design and the first animations and backgrounds can already be seen at the retrospective. Visitors will gain a direct insight into the creation of this sensitive work and a very unique perspective on life with dementia.
The completion of the film is planned for the fall - followed by festival participations and a multilingual release. Stärneschii is co-produced by SRF and will be shown on live TV and available in the media library. Supported by
Sugar rush - between indulgence and mental strain
How much sugar do we actually consume and what does it do to us, beyond calories and tooth decay? In her final thesis in Data Design + Art, Christine Benz from Zurich dedicates Zuckerrausch to the daily consumption of sugar and its lesser-known effects on cognitive and mental health. The immersive data installation invites visitors to take a fresh look at the seemingly mundane and reflect on the interactions between body, mind and sugar consumption.
"Sugar is omnipresent and has a similarly negative effect on the brain as alcohol, but is treated very differently in society and politics," says Benz. "I am interested in how nutrition not only affects the body, but also the mental state." Current studies show: A permanently high consumption of free sugars can disrupt cognitive processes, promote inflammation and affect the balance of intestinal flora, with consequences for our mental well-being.
The project focuses on the question of how scientifically sound health data can be communicated in an immersive, sensory environment without distorting or lecturing. Zuckerrausch uses visual and auditory elements and combines projections with mirror materials. Visitors move individually through a room, isolated from their surroundings by headphones. The reflections are a metaphor for the interplay between sugar consumption and mental effects. Data from the Swiss Nutrition Atlas and current studies on the effects of free sugar on health were used for the installation.
Zuckerrausch is intended to be both an enlightenment and an experience. And as a starting point for further work at the interface between design, science and individual perception. "I hope that my work will contribute to communicating health issues in a different way. More emotional, more accessible and more sustainable."
You can experience Christine Benz’s immersive data installation Zuckerrausch at the exhibition in the yoga room at the HSLU Viscosi site in Emmenbrücke.
From Thursday, June 12 to Sunday, June 15, the final projects of the students of the Master Art Lucerne with the focus on Critical Image Practices, Art in Public Spheres and Art Teaching - Teaching Diploma in Fine Arts at grammar schools can be seen at the Kampus Südpol.
Location: Kampus Südpol, Arsenalstrasse 28, 6010 Lucerne-Kriens
Vernissage: Thursday, June 12, 2025, 17:00, Finissage Sunday, June 15, 2025, 17:00
Program: https://www.master-kunst-luzern.ch/veranstaltungen/studiolab-days-2025/
Test: Andrea Geile
Pictures: Graduates Published on June 12, 2025
