Prof. Daniela Hensel is a professor of communication design at HTW Berlin and co-founder of the new master’s program Public Design. Her work operates at the intersection of design, society, and public administration. In her projects, design is not just about visual communication, but understood as a democratic cultural practice – for example, when she works with students to make official government letters more comprehensible or to increase voter participation at universities through co-creative processes.

She is also a partner at the service design consultancy why does robin, which supports organizations like Deutsche Bahn and BVG in developing user-centered public services.

Trained as a communication designer, she worked for many years in Berlin’s creative industries – as a creative director, consultant, and entrepreneur. Today, she brings this practical experience into her teaching, research, and public sector collaborations, with a strong commitment to making design more socially visible and impactful.

Daniela Hensel believes: Berlin is not just a hub for the design economy – it’s a laboratory for social innovation. Design must take place where change begins: in the city, at the heart of society.