The Faculty of Design at the Hochschule Niederrhein (HSNR) enjoyed multiple successes at the ADC Talent Award 2026. Student projects from the Communication Design degree programme were honoured with one Golden Nail, three Silver Nails, one Bronze Nail and several other distinctions.
The ADC Talent Award is one of the most important competitions for emerging talent in creative communication and design in the German-speaking world. In 2026, it was held for the 41st time. A total of 71 universities from the DACH region took part in the competition, submitting 531 student projects. The awards ceremony took place as part of the ADC Festival of Creative Excellence on the main stage at Schuppen 52 in the Port of Hamburg.
Particularly successful was the semester project “Anadolukraft” by Seymar Kilic, created as part of the project course “Art Direction / Shake Your Money Maker” taught by Prof. Richard Jung, Professor of Communication Design and Brand Identity. The project was awarded one ADC Gold Nail, two ADC Silver Nails and a further distinction.
The assignment for the course was to develop one’s own brand, design products, establish a communication strategy and launch the brand on the market. Seymar Kilic developed ‘Anadolukraft’ from this, a fashion and merchandise brand that brings German-Turkish everyday culture to the fore. A mix of languages, humour, pop culture, family codes and shared experiences come together to form a self-assured brand system. From the often-described ‘between two cultures’ emerges a cultural force of its own.
Sirin Ezgin’s Bachelor's thesis, “Anti-Bias AI Project”, has also received multiple distinctions. The thesis was produced as part of the Communication Design degree programme under Prof. Richard Jung; the co-supervisor was Inseeyah Stieldorf, Executive Creative Director at Scholz & Friends Hamburg. The project received a bronze ADC Nagel, as well as three further distinctions.
The Anti-Bias AI Project addresses one of the key technological issues of our time: artificial intelligence (AI) and societal biases. Generative AI often appears neutral, yet it can reproduce existing biases. Sirin Ezgin not only highlights this problem but also allows it to be experienced interactively. Posters in public spaces link via QR code to a platform where users can test for themselves how different prompts alter the results of generative AI. This makes an abstract topic concretely understandable.
Three projects from semester-long courses taught by Prof. Nora Gummert-Hauser and Jens Könen (acting professor) in the field of typography and editorial design were also awarded a distinction.
Charlotte Finzel’s project ‘Algorithms Without Fascism’ was awarded an ADC Silver Nail and a further distinction. The project explores the relationship between digital systems, algorithmic logic and social responsibility. In doing so, this work addresses a highly topical issue: the design and critical reflection on digital technologies that are increasingly shaping everyday life, perception and public communication.
The “Haaralarm” project by Vivian Assmann, Lena Bothe and Conor Doherty was entered in three categories and received a distinction. This semester project focuses on the seemingly mundane topic of hair, using it as a starting point to develop a multi-layered editorial project exploring identity, beauty standards, personal stories and cultural codes. Texts, interviews, photographs, illustrations and experimental photo spreads are brought together to form a book. The editorial structure is particularly compelling: alphabetical order, cross-references and thematic pathways translate the logic of digital linking into an analogue medium.
Nadia Radau’s semester project was also honoured; submitted in two categories, it received a distinction. The starting point was a free-form editorial work on the theme of ‘farewell’. Nadia Radau interprets the concept as a farewell to trust in photographic images. Her experimental book explores how AI-generated images, deepfakes and algorithmic aesthetics challenge the credibility of photography. Visually, this sense of uncertainty is conveyed through red threads, strikethroughs, black bars, and sequences of images and text.
Further information and videos on the works can be found at: https://www.adc.de/wettbewerb/adc-gallery/talents/year/2026/
