Designer Basse Stittgen was born in 1990 in Hannover, Germany. He attended the University ofDesign (Hochschule für Gestaltung) Schwäbisch Gmünd, earning a bachelor's degree in Product Design in 2015. He went on to study Social Design at the Design Academy Eindhoven, graduating with a master’s degree in 2017. He lives and works in Amsterdam.
“Since all our workshops and activities were group activities we had a lot of moments to discuss and test our views and get closer as a group.”
Stittgen’s work tackles the development, potential application, and symbolic meaning of unexpected biomaterials. He transforms discarded materials and waste from production processes into aesthetically pleasing design objects. By providing fresh contexts for these raw materials—ranging from blood leftover from the meat industry to egg shells—he imbues them with new value. His experimental practice aims to provide information and spark conversation about the ethics of production and consumption for all stakeholders, noting that ultimately both, producers and consumers share responsibility.
His designs have been presented broadly. Select exhibitions include Being Human at the Wellcome Collection (London, 2019), Food at the Victoria and Albert Museum (London, 2019), Co-Machines at Onomatopee (Eindhoven, 2019), Animals Made to Measure at the Design Museum Ghent (2019), Waste at the Palais de Hollande (Istanbul, 2018), Why Materials Matter at London Design Festival (2018), Blood at the Science Gallery Melbourne (2017), and Activating the City at the MMCA (Seoul, 2017).
Basse Stittgen
supported by
