gebrauchsspuren — a zettelkasten system for categorising, collecting and indexing objects and traces of their use

how do materials age, and what stories do their marks tell? taking this question as our starting point, we developed an analogue card index system that views signs of wear not as flaws, but as aesthetically valuable testimonies to the passage of time: for each object examined, we created a main card showing an overall view, as well as linked detail cards featuring close-up photographs of individual signs of wear, taken using a camera adapter we developed ourselves. a coding system and laser-cut tabs enabled the flexible sorting of the 225 cards, all of which were designed in figma and physically produced. the system was complemented by poster designs that highlighted the visual power of these signs of wear. my contribution included designing the entire card system in figma, photographing and editing the images of the objects, and designing the poster for the end-of-semester exhibition. the project demonstrates that signs of wear are an expression of history and authenticity – and offer a new perspective on the value of material ageing.