The Rumor Mill or “How Rumors Evade the Grasp of Research”

Jimmy Schmid graduated as a graphic designer from the School of Design in Luzern and studied at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. As an experienced communication designer he was in charge of complex projects at the interface between two- and three-dimensional design, and he received several international awards. Since 2011 Jimmy has been professor for visual communication at the Bern University of the Arts HKB; and since 2008, he has directed the further training program “Signaletics—Environmental Communication Design.” Jimmy teaches as a guest professor at several national and international universities. His research is currently focused on “spatial orientation and communication.” Email: [email protected]

Harald Klingemann studied at Cologne University where he received the degree of Doctor of Economics and Social Science. He has taught at the University of Bonn, and has been research director at the Swiss Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Problems. At present, he is research professor at the Bern University of the Arts HKB–Research Unit Communication Design. Harald's main research interests include the natural history of addiction careers use for which he received the honorary doctor of the University of Stockholm in 2003, temporal aspects of public art and public space and the cross-cultural analysis of treatment systems. Email: [email protected]

Boris Bandyopadhyay studied design at the Köln International School of Design (KISD) and cultural studies at the Humboldt University of Berlin. As a design researcher, he worked at Bern University of the Arts HKB where he was involved in the field of social communication research. Boris is also a professional product- and communication designer and develops interior design, furniture, and its process of customization. His research focuses on the changing relation between the user and the artifact. His work has been nominated for several design prizes, among them the German Federal ECODESIGN Award.

Arne Scheuermann is professor for theory of design at the Bern University of the Arts and head of the Research Unit Communication Design. His research interests embrace the theory, practise and history of visual rhetoric in the areas of art, film and design, and the impact of communication design in today's society. His recent research explores the implications of visual rhetoric in areas of health care and counter terrorism.