Barbara Glasner

Barbara Glasner is Creative Director of Verlag form, which she founded in Frankfurt am Main in 2011 together with her husband Prof. Dr. Peter Wesner. The qualified interior designer, design and architecture expert works as a freelance consultant, curator, lecturer and editor in Frankfurt am Main and Constance/Lake Constance.

About

As part of her collaboration with the German Design Council, from 2001 to 2007, she curated and managed the editions of the "ideal house cologne" design project for the international Cologne furniture fair imm cologne, where renowned designers such as Zaha Hadid, Hella Jongerius, Patricia Urquiola, Fernando and Humberto Campana, Konstantin Grcic, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Naoto Fukasawa, Stefan Diez and Dieter Rams presented their visions for future living. International press trips accompanied the exhibitions. For these, Barbara Glasner specifically developed an exhibition format that portrayed the respective designers and their work. Furthermore, she repeatedly developed and curated the exhibition forum for international young designers "inspired by cologne" as well as the interior design trend and lecture forum for imm cologne, each with accompanying publications.

In 2006, she was the curator responsible for the exhibition "Weltmeister Design Deutschland" (World Champion Design Germany) at the Haus der Gegenwart in Munich, a project by the German Design Council and the SZ Magazin of the Süddeutsche Zeitung, which focused on presenting everyday German product culture. The exhibition was documented as a catalog substitute with a special issue of the SZ Magazin.

Also in cooperation with the German Design Council, she conceived and managed various design expert workshops (e.g. BASF/Ultradur with Stefan Diez, Konstantin Grcic, James Irvine and Hannes Wettstein, 2006, or Dupont/Corian with Blocher & Blocher, Schneider + Schumacher, KSP Engel Zimmermann, 2005, among others), lecture formats, and the international touring exhibition of the "Bundespreis Produktdesign" (German Product Design Award, now German Design Award).

In 2008, together with Petra Schmidt and Ursula Schöndeling, she published the book "Patterns 2. Muster in Design, Kunst und Architektur" (Patterns 2. Patterns in Design, Art and Architecture), in 2009, in collaboration with Petra Schmidt, the book "Chroma. Design, Architektur und Kunst in Farbe" (Chroma. Design, Architecture and Art in Colour), and in 2012, with Stephan Ott, the book "Wonder Wood – Holz in Design, Architektur und Kunst" (Wonder Wood – Wood in Design, Architecture and Art) (all Birkhäuser Verlag). All publications have appeared in German and English.

In 2013, she was responsible for the conception, planning and execution of the relaunch event for form Design magazine at the MAK Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt with guests of honor Ralf Groene, Head of Industrial Design Microsoft, and Prof. em. Dr. h.c. Dieter Rams.

Since 2015, she has been publishing the form Designeditions, which she developed as limited-edition objects with renowned designers such as Katrin Greiling, Uli Budde, Relvao Kellermann, and Kai Linke.

In 2017, to mark the 60th anniversary of form Design magazine, she curated and managed the exhibition "1957 – 2017" and the anniversary event at the MAK Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt.

Since 2018, she has been the editor of the reissued book series form Designklassiker: "USM Möbelbausystem Haller" / "USM Haller Furniture System" (Author Klaus Klemp), "Clic System von Burkhardt Leitner Modular Spaces" / "Clic System by Burkhardt Leitner Modular Spaces" (Author Georg Vrachliotis), "Türlinke FSB 1144 von Jasper Morrison" / "Door Handle FSB 1144 by Jasper Morrison" (Author Jasmin Jouhar).

For the long-established fitting manufacturer FSB Franz Schneider Brakel, she realized, among others, the corporate publishing projects "Türlinke FSB 1144 von Jasper Morrison" / "Door Handle FSB 1144 by Jasper Morrison", 2019, "An der Oberfläche: Metalle in Architektur und Design"/"On the Surface: Metals in architecture and design", 2020, and "Griff zum Himmel"/"Handle to Heaven", 2021.

In 2023, she published the book "Most Touched" with Verlag form, a compendium with over 1,000 photographs of door handles from around the world. The book was featured, among other things, with a detailed article in the F.A.Z. (12/2023) and in an interview in Fallstaff Magazine (07/2023), and was awarded the German Photo Book Prize 23/24. Barbara Glasner regularly gives lectures on the publication and the design and architectural-theoretical and historical context of door handles (Dopo/I Saloni/Milan 2023, Artek/Gallery Weekend/Berlin 2023, Luitpoldblock/MCBW Munich Creative Business Week/Munich 2023, Studio Eric Degenhardt/imm cologne/Cologne 2023, DDC Women, Deutscher Design Club/Frankfurt International Book Fair 2023, Kunstgewerbeverein Frankfurt/Frankfurt 2023, Werkraum Bregenzerwald 2024). "Most Touched" was also shown in the following exhibitions: "Das Haus im Buch", Nidus Galerie/Düsseldorf 2023, "Art Book Fair", Portikus/Frankfurt 2023, "Wir sammeln", Museum für Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt/Frankfurt 2023.

For the book "Was ist gut 2023?" by DDC Deutscher Design Club, published by Verlag form in 2024, she was involved in conception, editing, and consulting.

Barbara Glasner is regularly invited to serve as a jury member for various design competitions.

Since early 2023, Barbara Glasner has been teaching courses at HSPF Hochschule Pforzheim, Faculty of Design, in Accessory Design/Product Design/Fashion Design/Visual Communication on "Color" and "Presentation," as well as teaching assignments/workshops at KHK Kunsthochschule Kassel, htw saar, and HTWG Konstanz. In addition, she offers freelance workshops and lectures on color theory, color systems, color perception, and color as a design tool.

In April 2025, Barbara Glasner initiated and organized the HSPF Colour Summit, a one-day, public conference with an exhibition, specialist book selection, and keynotes from the fields of industry, sustainable materials, and design on the topic of color at Pforzheim University. Accompanying the conference, color workshops were held with 80 students, conducted by cooperation partner RAL Farben with Studio farbkultur.

Selection 2024 to 2026
Moderation of the talk "Design on Stage", Stage Bregenz, Fair for Contemporary Art and Design, curated by Matylda Krzykowski, February 2024
Lecture and private evening event "DDC Women's Table" with 80 female designers from the German Design Club, Frankfurt am Main, June 2024
Jury member and young talent coach "Hessen Design Competition", Hessen Design e. V., Darmstadt, August 2024
Moderation of panel discussion and workshops "Sacred Spaces - New Concepts - Rescued Future?", Weißfrauen Diakonie- und Kunstkirche Frankfurt am Main, September 2024
Jury member "Circular Design" Young Talent Award, KGV Kunstgewerbeverein Frankfurt am Main e. V., October 2024
Lecture "Most Touched", Werkraum Andelsbuch, Bregenzerwald, October 2024
Seminar "Color Tools", Hessen Design e. V., Darmstadt, December 2024
Jury member "Konstanzer Designpreis", HTWG Hochschule für Technik, Wirtschaft und Gestaltung, Konstanz, February 2025

Lecture "The (Second) Weißfrauenkirche as a Church and Art Venue in Frankfurt am Main" in the Weißfrauenkirche, Freunde Frankfurts e. V., February 2025

HSPF Colour Summit, conference, workshops, exhibition, book selection, keynotes on the topic of color, Pforzheim University, April 2025

Interdisciplinary teaching assignment at HSPF Hochschule Pforzheim, Faculty of Design, on the topic of color as a powerful design tool, with excursions to the "Egon Eiermann Church" in Pforzheim (in-situ event in the church on the topic of color and light), Vitra Campus Weil/Rhine (guided tour of the Vitra Schaudepot by collection manager Susanne Graner and visit to the Colour & Material Studio), visit to the Antoniuskirche Basel (topic of light and color), RAL workshop/color acceptance in the "Panton" corridor of the Basel Hospital, guided tour of the Atelier Rupprecht Geiger, Munich, guided design tour with the design studio OHA through the newly staged exhibition Glass and Color in the Neue Sammlung–The Design Museum Munich, visit to Kremer Pigmente Showroom Munich, exhibition of the work results for the Werkschau PF, summer semester 2025

Jury member and young talent coach "Hessen Design Competition", Hessen Design e. V., Darmstadt, August 2025

Master Class "Political Color – Create your Personal Colour Code", Form Future Conference, ICC International Congress Center Berlin, September 2025

Short impulse lecture "Colour Rush", Members' Meeting DFZ Deutsches Farbenzentrum, Dresden, September 2025

Teaching assignment "Colour & Design", KHK Kunsthochschule Kassel, October 2025

Teaching assignment Color Concept/Development of a Color Combination Tool for "Weaving Silaturahmi – Recycling Project of Recycled Plastic Shopping Bags from an Indonesian Cooperative", HSPF Hochschule Pforzheim, October 2025

Guest lecture "Colour Walk" – Lecture and installation of color systems, color literature, rare color sample books and color objects, htw saar, Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Saarbrücken, November 2025

Jury member "Great Good Place" for the redesign of the art and diaconal church Weissfrauenkirche (Frankfurt Bahnhofsviertel) – a WDC World Design Capital Frankfurt Rhein Main project in cooperation with the Ev. Akademie Frankfurt, the BDA Hessen and the Hochschule Darmstadt, Department of Architecture, February 2026

Teaching assignment "see colour – use colour", HSPF Hochschule Pforzheim, Department of Accessory Design, March 2026

Book Release at the Leipzig Book Fair Dialog Beyond Disciplines by Corinna Gratzl and Julia Klass, edited by Barbara Glasner, Galerie Jochen Hempel, Baumwollspinnerei Leipzig, March 22, 2026

Memberships and honorary positions
DDC Deutscher Design Club / Advisory Board Member
Deutsches Farbenzentrum e.V. / Member
Deutsches Ledermuseum / Member of the Friends' Association
EKHN Stiftung (Cultural Foundation of the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau) / Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees
ernst-may-gesellschaft e.v / Member
GfDg Gesellschaft für Designgeschichte e.V. / Member as Verlag form
Hessen Design e.V. / Member as Verlag form
Kunstgewerbeverein in Frankfurt am Main e.V. / Member
MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt / Supporting Member of the Friends' Association

Contact
barbara.glasner@form.de