Petra Eisele

Petra Eisele is a Professor of Design History and Design Theory at Mainz University of Applied Sciences, where she has taught since 2006. She is a prominent member of the Gutenberg Design Laboratory Institute, leading major research projects like UN/SEEN: Innovative Women in Graphic Design and Typography 1865–1919 and Today, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Eisele is also a member of the Design History Society (UK) and has held visiting roles at institutions including the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation and Zurich University of the Arts (zhdk).

• Education: Art History and German Studies; PhD from Berlin University of the Arts (UdK) on postmodern design since the 1960s (funded by IKEA Foundation)
• Research Focus: Bauhaus reception in media, gender in design, participatory design, typography, and the societal impact of design practices
• Projects: Moholy-Nagy and the New Typography (2016–2019), FUTURA typeface studies, and multiple exhibition/publication collaborations with institutions like Vitra Design Museum and Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
• Publications: Over 15 recent works including Design for Participation, Futura. The Typeface, and Texte zur Typografie
• Awards: German Design Award (2021), Rhineland-Palatinate Design Prize (2020), Red Dot Award (2019), and multiple Type Directors Club honors