HNU students develop digital identity for the Barbara Austel Foundation

22.07.2025, Study:

Creative project with a social impact: In the Media Design 3 course, students at Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences (HNU), led by Prof Danny Franzreb and Maja Weise, created a comprehensive website concept and a new corporate design for the Barbara Austel Foundation. The foundation supports young people with social disadvantages and promotes their personal development through educational initiatives in the skilled trades.

Equal opportunities, self-efficacy and social commitment - these are the values of the foundation. The aim for the students of the Information Management and Corporate Communication (B.A.) programme was to convey precisely these values visually and functionally in the digital identity. The new website provides information about funding programmes, foundation goals and opportunities to get involved and is aimed at young people, educational institutions and supporters.

"The foundation stands for the idea that everyone has the potential to shape their own lives - regardless of their social background," said Prof Danny Franzreb. "We wanted to make this vision visible through an accessible design and a clear, emotional visual language."

Inspiring collaboration

In addition to the website, a consistent corporate design was created that strengthens the foundation's identity and emphasises its mission "Forging happiness for yourself for more opportunities". The project shows how design can be used as a tool for social impact - and how students can take responsibility. At the end of the project, the students presented their designs to Barbara Austel.

Barbara Austel was impressed: “The collaboration with the students was extremely inspiring. They translated the foundation's content into an expressive design language with a great deal of creativity and commitment.”