Paul Heinicker is design researcher and currently research associate at the design department of FH Potsdam, where he co-leads the research project border values: operational relationships between climate and migration funded by the Volkswagen foundation. Linking theory and practice, his research focuses on the culture and politics of data- and rule-based images and diagrams.

He has an academic background in media informatics and interface design. In 2023 he received his PhD in media studies from the Institute for Media and Arts at the University of Potsdam. He then coordinated the research project media practice knowledge at the Institute of Media Studies at Ruhr University Bochum. Previously, he participated in post-graduate programs at Malmö University and at Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture, and Design.