Activity
-
Anna Talley posted an articleThe Society has just launched our call for proposals for the 2021 DRS Festival of Emergence! see more
The Design Research Society has just launched our call for proposals for the 2021 DRS Festival of Emergence! The DRS Festival of Emergence (https://drsfestivalofemergence.org) optimistically looks towards a post-pandemic future. As we emerge from the emergency of these uncertain times into new ones, what have we learnt as a design research community? How has this challenge transformed our research interest areas? What do we need now? And where do we go next?
2020 and 2021 have overturned the formats of academic conferences and whilst papers can still be written and content can be shared digitally, the need for connection and the space to share, talk and connect with the wider community is stronger than ever. We are looking forward to DRS2022 in Bilbao which will be a physical and virtual hybrid event, while in the interim, our sense of a need to provide a platform for connection, and also a place to experiment with new formats within our community is strong. So with some time and space to have fun in 2021, we are proposing a new, and experimental format to explore together the current and future impact of design research.
The DRS Festival of Emergence is envisioned as a new type of DRS event. Not as formal as a conference, more interesting and unpredictable than a meeting, something which transcends timezones and geographies, allows people to ‘drop in’ when they fancy, and built upon novel, original and experimental participant-generated content.
We imagine a Festival, which runs over a series of weeks in September. The festival is made up of a series of ‘moments’ situated over space and time. Moments can be whatever the participants want them to be – lasting from between 1 hour to half a day. Formats might include: talks, presentations, showcases, debates, panel discussions, workshops, interviews, coffee breaks, social moments … whatever is possible with Zoom or other digital means!
Content is key, and we particularly encourage Moments which have the potential to probe into and create energy around new and emerging areas of design research. With the normal academic conventions of conferences removed, the Festival may therefore have particular appeal to those who are thinking of submitting a theme track to DRS2022, but want to explore their ideas in an informal way first. We hope that this Festival will generate key theme-tracks for the DRS2022 hybrid conference. With this new type of event we also seek to establish and experiment with pathways towards arranging future events and conferences, open up pathways for groups and local communities not quite yet at the stage where hosting a major conference is feasible, but where a Moment and a later theme track could be the first steps.
We invite participants to propose a format and a theme for a Moment, and to be provocative and experimental with their approach. Proposals will be reviewed by the Festival Production Team and will be selected based on their potential to engage, and the quality of the content. The Festival Production team will select the highest quality and engaging proposals and curate the programme.
The Festival will be hosted online through the DRS website and moments will take place using Zoom.
All events in the Festival will be accessed with a single Festival pass, which is £40 for DRS members, and £100 for non- members (includes 1 year DRS membership) and £80 for students and DAC country members (includes 1 year DRS membership). Note: you do not need to pay for a festival pass in order to submit a proposal for consideration.
Proposal
Proposals are submitted in the form a two-page extended abstract, using the template provided. Please submit your proposal here.
The template includes the following sections:
- Title
- Moment proposers; list of the people organising the Moment.
- Summary: a short (150 word) description of what the Moment is about and an outline of its format, aka ‘abstract’.
- Description of the Moment: meant to provide potential participants with a sense of the purpose, background, format and intended outcomes of the Moment, including its main theme, topic or big questions. Please include references if applicable. Please indicate if this is meant to become a theme track at DRS 2022.
- Digital tools needed to participate: short description of what technical means are necessary, including what platform will be used (the default is Zoom, but if other alternatives are preferred state them here).
- Practical details: such as language, time zone, maximum number of participants (if applicable – we encourage open sessions).
The deadline for proposals is midnight BST 20 June 2021.
The Festival will take place between 6 September - 17 September 2021.
-
Anna Talley posted an articleKatelijn Quartier, convenor of Retail and Services Futures SIG, on their upcoming colloquium. see more
The call for papers was recently launched for the inaugural Designing Retail and Service Futures SIG Colloquium, taking place in March 2023. We caught up with Katelijn Quartier, Convenor of the Designing Retail and Service Futures SIG to hear more about the SIG's work, her role as convenor and the upcoming colloquium.
Please introduce yourself! What is your research about and role as convenor of the Designing Retail and Services Futures SIG?
I am Katelijn Quartier of Hasselt University, Faculty of Architecture and Arts where I am also the academic director of the Retail Design Lab. My research is about the design of the store of today and tomorrow. With the Retail Design Lab we have developed a platform where designers and retailers can find scientific insights offered in a low threshold manner. We have developed design guidelines and tools to aid practise. We serve retailers and designers, big and small, to get to optimale store designs.
Regarding our SIG, I always felt that designing for the commercial sector falls in between chairs every conference, journal, etc. We had already set up a few events with a small group and noticed that there was interest in this after all. In a next step, we then applied for our SIG and with success. As convenor, I see myself as the initiator of the group. I facilitate the meetings and contribute ideas, just as other members do. If the group is excited about something then we move forward with it, just like the organization of this colloquium. We didn't have to think twice about this, everyone was on board from the beginning. We obviously want to have a bigger impact than organizing a colloquium. We want to be the network where everyone can go who are involved with retail and services.If we can gather all the knowledge at one point, then we can also share that knowledge and aspire to be a reference for both the academic field and for practice.What work is your SIG engaged in? How do you aim for the colloquium further the work of the Designing Retail and Services Futures SIG and retail and service design theory and practices more broadly?
Our SIG strives to get a better understanding of the value of design in the commercial sector, including closely linked disciplines, such as branding, marketing, and consumer psychology. Design and the value of it has been a subject of study for many years and from many different disciplines (ranging from product design to marketing, business economics, service design, environmental psychology, (interior)architecture, etc), but in a rather fragmented way, and with each their own research methods. The colloquium wants to add to that knowledge in the broad field of design but more importantly, bring such knowledge together and develop a common language. Indeed, there is a need to bring these disciplines and related knowledge and insights together to calibrate terms and meanings, to understand each other and to work together. All to be able to create more holistic and more encompassing stories (for the customer).
The theme of the colloquium is 'Reimagining the future for retail and service design theory and practices’. How did you settle on this theme and how do you hope it will be explored in the conference?
Recent developments, that have been accelerated by the pandemic, show that in practice services are becoming a part of retail and vice versa. It all starts from the need of the consumer and to be able to better serve him/her. Whether it be online or offline, for a product or a service or an experience, or all together… It is only natural that the research world follows this trend. So to mainstream this we came up with the theme as it is closely related to what the SIG stands for. It is our first colloquium so we felt that we had to keep it broad, yet linked to our work. We organised an online brainstorm session with all members. We started to fill in a Miro board one week in advance of the brainstorm session. All ideas gathered were grouped in themes and are now present in the sub themes of the colloquium. So the colloquium is also very exploratory in nature. We want to bring together as many people as possible so that we can have fine discussions in terms of content. Therefore, time has also been made in the program for these discussions. We also organize a special PhD event so that they too can have discussions with peers as well as seek feedback from professors and senior researchers. Of course, fun and inspiration should not be missing either. We are therefore organizing a conference dinner AND a retail safari through London's most inspiring examples.Finally, everything will also be published so that the knowledge can be further disseminated. In this way, we want to both increase our community and contribute to knowledge.
Where can people go to learn more about the activities of the Designing Retail and Services Futures SIG? Do you have any information that you’d like to provide for potential members interested in joining the SIG?
You can contact me at Katelijn.quartier@uhasselt.be if you're interested in joining the SIG, and visit our webpage to see our organising committee and current members.- Ghalia BOUSTANI likes this.
-
Anna Talley posted an articleSara Lenzi and Juan Sádaba on organising DRS2022Bilbao, and looking ahead to DRS2024. see more
The deadline for expressions of interest to host DRS2024 is just less than two weeks away! We sat down with Sara Lenzi and Juan Sádaba, two of the lead organisers of DRS2022Bilbao, to ask them about the process of organising the conference and tips they have for potential applicants. If you are interested in applying to host DRS2024, you can find more details about the call and how to submit here.
Could you introduce yourselves and give us a few details about your roles and responsibilities in organising DRS2022Bilbao?
SL: I am Sara (Lenzi), and I was the co-chair, together with Peter Lloyd, of DRS2022Bilbao. I also took part in the Workshops and Keynote Committees. In general, I represented the City of Bilbao, the DRS2022 host organisation, together with the University of the Basque Country, and within the Programme Committee I acted as the main contact point between the DRS and Bilbao.
JS: My name is Juan Sádaba. I am a vice-dean at the School of Architecture of the Basque Country. I was in charge of getting the ball rolling from the beginning by linking up the institutions and partners by involving Bilbaoekintza and the network of Universities and design teaching institutions of the Basque Country, led by the school of architecture. I was responsible for the management of the main venue (Bizkaia Aretoa). I also co-chaired the DRS2022Bilbao Labs, a new format that linked the academic world of DRS to the city challenges, and I acted as a member of the Program Committee.
What did you find most rewarding about organising DRS2022Bilbao?
SL: Without any doubt, the conference days were the most rewarding. The feedback from participants and all the happy faces we saw around were the most fulfilling moments of a very, very intense full year of preparation. And, working together with the DRS members of the Programme Committee and getting to know the DRS better has been a really awesome human journey.
JS: It is not easy for me to point out something specific as 'the most rewarding'. The general feeling is that everything worked out smoothly and that the venue came out as kind of a perfect fit. Even more important than that is the intangible part of it; the feeling that there were no tensions during the organising process nor during the event, and the subjective feedback data tells us that people were really happy about the experience. Personally, I´m very proud of being of having built a team with different institutions and making it move forward smoothly.
What was most challenging about organising the conference?
SL: You have to take into account all sorts of needs and expectations from a very diverse community, try to be as inclusive as possible, and accept that most likely you won't be able to make everybody happy while keeping the budget under control and ensuring that all technical stuff is delivered on time and robustly (read: the hybrid platform). This really makes the organisation of the conference extremely challenging. Also, it is a long process that speeds up close to the conference. You need to keep the right tension but save energy for the last mile!
JS: The most challenging of it all was dealing with a conference of such a size with limited human resources and keeping things on time while meeting expectations, before and during. On top of that, despite the congress being a high-level academic gathering, there are other sensitivities, more down to earth, coming from the city and other agents involved. Blending together all these tacit and explicit demands is kind of challenging.
What tips do you have for prospective DRS2024 applicants?
SL: DRS2022Bilbao was really a shared effort from the entire city. All stakeholders felt engaged (public and private universities, museums, design professionals, grassroots associations to name a few) and really went the extra mile to welcome the DRS community. DRS2022 was a shared endeavour for Bilbao, and this is having a long-lasting effect in the city. It has increased awareness about what design research is and the impact it can have on design practice across all stakeholders. I hope applicants to DRS2024 share the same vision of a conference that is hosted not by a single institution but by a wider network of actors. This makes the organisation easier and design research more impactful!
JS: I think that the Advisory Board of DRS made a clever decision by proposing a renewed fresh vision for the conference by opening up the strictly academic side of DRS to a format that embraces and engages city actors, local stakeholders, and a wider version of the Design Research community. I think this is the future of Design and Design Research and therefore the future of the home to Design Research which is no other than the DRS and DRS conferences.
-
Anna Talley posted an articleJoin us at the Guggenheim in Bilbao for DRS2022! see more
DRS2022 BILBAO ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL
Extended Programme: 25th June - 3rd July 2022
Main Conference: 27th June – 1st July 2022
We are living through extraordinary times where design in many forms is necessary to counter the enormous problems we face in the challenges of our coexistence.
How has the discipline of design research responded? Can design and design research bring the insights and methods needed for transformation and collaboration?
Join us at the Guggenheim in Bilbao for DRS2022, a hybrid conference with unique participation opportunities and a showcase for the best in design research. Whatever your orientation to design research we encourage you to participate, to show the true diversity and potential of our discipline.
DRS2022 is hosted by the city of Bilbao, in Northwest Spain, in association with the University of the Basque Country (Universidad del País Vasco) and the wider ecosystem of local academic and design institutions. In 2014 Bilbao became a member of the UNESCO City of Design network. As such, it hosts a permanent Design and Creativity Council with a mission to promote design-oriented urban policies and to integrate goals related to the cultural and creative industries into local development plans. Bilbao recently joined the Global Destination Sustainability Index with a commitment to meet specific guidelines for the development of more sustainable conferences.
DRS2022 is also hosted online in a hybrid mode, with opportunities for new interactions between the place-based and online conferences. The extended conference format will give you the chance to experience the energy and creativity of Bilbao wherever you choose to participate from.
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION
Participation for DRS2022 takes a number of different formats. Theme Tracks aim to capitalize on emerging and specialized research networks. Research Papers can be submitted to an open call or theme-track. Conversation Sessions provide an opportunity for structured discussion exploring emerging themes. Workshops provide practical experience of methods and research outcomes, and Labs offer an opportunity to conduct design research through engagement with local organisations. A PhD Researcher event will help develop the next generation of design researchers through building new capabilities and critical thinking.
THEME TRACKS
To capitalize on emerging research networks we welcome proposals for theme-track sessions of full papers related to any area of design research not already covered by existing Special Interest Groups. These sessions will be managed individually by sub-chairs as part of the general paper submission, peer-review, and final programme. Sub-chairs will be responsible for suggesting and allocating reviewers and curating conference sessions.
Proposals should consist of a title, a proposed sub-chair for the session, a list of 2-3 key people who will oversee the review process for theme-track submissions, a theme context and outline (up to 250 words), and a small number of references to indicate theme scope.
To allow us to publicise additional theme-tracks prior to the full-paper deadline, theme-track proposals should be submitted to the conference submission system by the deadline of July 26th 2021.
Theme-track proposals will be reviewed by the programme committee with sub-chairs informed of outcomes within two weeks of the deadline. Successful proposals will be publicised as part of the conference call.
Paper submissions for successful theme-tracks will take place via the online submission system alongside the open call for paper submissions.
RESEARCH PAPERS
DRS2022 invites new paper submissions in an open call or theme-track. We embrace research looking at and using design in the widest possible sense, with interdisciplinary work particularly encouraged. Further details about theme-tracks will be announced in due course.
Submission is for full papers only up to 5000 words, including abstracts and references, and should adhere to the conference paper submission guidelines, available in August on the conference website. All submissions must be in the English language.
Authors of accepted papers are required to register and present their work at the conference, either physically or virtually according to the hybrid nature of the event. All accepted papers will be published in the DRS Digital Library and available to view approximately one month before the beginning of the conference.
Paper submission system will be open from 1st September 2021 and full papers must be submitted by 24th November 2021.
DRS CONVERSATIONS
In past conferences the DRS Conversation format has proved a valuable and high quality format for structured discussions that advance emergent forms of design research and will form part of DRS2022. DRS Conversations provide an innovative venue for work that is not easily captured or conveyed by the scholarly paper. Proposals will be peer-reviewed with accepted Conversations becoming published in the DRS Digital Library Further details about the submission of proposals for Conversations will follow in the coming months with deadlines in February 2022.
WORKSHOPS
DRS Workshops have become one of the most valued aspects of DRS conferences, providing a space for practical engagement and experimental sessions for conference participants to experience. Workshop proposals will be peer reviewed. Further details about the submission of proposals for Workshops and Experimental sessions will follow in the coming months with deadlines in February 2022.
DRS LABS
A new format for DRS2022 is DRS Labs. With this format we would like to encourage design researchers to engage with local organisations in a defined project. In this way the conference can bring direct benefit to the local region and demonstrate the potential that design research can bring.
DRS labs can be projects of any size. Partner organisations will list potential projects at the beginning of 2022. These can range from architecture and planning to societal and sustainability problems, governance or product/service design. A number of longer term residences for more sustained local engagement will also be available.
Further details about the DRS Lab projects and residences will be available at the beginning of 2022.
PHD RESEARCHER EVENT
DRS2022 will feature an innovative PhD Researcher event with the objective of vocalising and discussing theoretical and practice-based doctoral work through many of the topical issues of conducting a PhD in design research. The event activities will be designed to generate knowledge about cutting-edge practices and resources for doing a PhD, and will feature mentoring by research leaders. The event aims to provide a supportive and engaged environment in which to share practices, experiences, dilemmas, failures and doubts in order to contribute to the wider PhD design research community.
TIMETABLE TO DRS2022
Deadline for theme-track session proposals: 26th July 2021
Deadline for full papers: 1st December 2021
Notification of accepted papers: February 2022
Deadline for Conversations, Workshops, Labs: February 2022
Conference Dates: 25th June - 3rd July 2022
CONTACT
Any queries about the conference should be directed to: info@drs2022.org
Conference website: https://www.drs2022.org
For regular updates follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/drs2022bilbao
The Design Research Society is a multi-disciplinary learned society for the design research community worldwide. DRS was founded in 1966, and since then has established a record of significant achievements in contributing to design knowledge.
You can visit the DRS website at: http://www.designresearchsociety.org
-
Anna Talley posted an articleSubmit your theme track proposal for DRS2022 by 26 July! see more
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
Extended Programme: 25th June - 3rd July 2022
Main Conference: 27th June – 1st July 2022
We are living through extraordinary times where design in many forms is necessary to counter the enormous problems we face in the challenges of our coexistence.
How has the discipline of design research responded? Can design and design research bring the insights and methods needed for transformation and collaboration?
Join us at the Guggenheim in Bilbao for DRS2022, a hybrid conference with unique participation opportunities and a showcase for the best in design research. Whatever your orientation to design research we encourage you to participate, to show the true diversity and potential of our discipline.
DRS2022 is hosted by the city of Bilbao, in Northwest Spain, in association with the University of the Basque Country (Universidad del País Vasco) and the wider ecosystem of local academic and design institutions. In 2014 Bilbao became a member of the UNESCO City of Design network. As such, it hosts a permanent Design and Creativity Council with a mission to promote design-oriented urban policies and to integrate goals related to the cultural and creative industries into local development plans. Bilbao recently joined the Global Destination Sustainability Index with a commitment to meet specific guidelines for the development of more sustainable conferences.
DRS2022 is also hosted online in a hybrid mode, with opportunities for new interactions between the place-based and online conferences. The extended conference format will give you the chance to experience the energy and creativity of Bilbao wherever you choose to participate from.
THEME TRACKS
To capitalize on emerging research networks we welcome proposals for theme-tracks of research papers related to any area of design research not already covered by existing Special Interest Groups. Chairing a theme-track provides a leadership opportunity to develop a profile for an emerging area of research and bring together a community of researchers.
Theme tracks will be managed individually by sub-chairs as part of the general paper submission, peer-review, and final programme. Sub-chairs will be responsible for suggesting and allocating reviewers, writing an introduction to their theme-track sessions to be published in the conference proceedings, and curating and chairing sessions at the conference.
DRS2022 will be hybrid conference enabling both in-person and online presentation and participation, including within theme-track sessions.
Proposals should be submitted as a 1-2 page Word or pdf document and should consist of:
• Theme-track title;
• Names of proposed sub-chair/s for the session;
• Up to 5 people who could be involved in the review process for theme-track paper submissions;
• Theme-track context and outline (up to 250 words);
• A small number of references to indicate theme-track scope.To allow us to publicise additional theme-tracks prior to the full-paper deadline in November, theme-track proposals should be submitted to the conference submission system by the deadline of July 26th 2021.
Theme-track proposals will be reviewed by the conference programme committee with sub-chairs informed of outcomes within three weeks of the deadline. Successful proposals will be publicised as part of the DRS2022 conference call and invited to optionally develop their ideas and network at the DRS Festival of Emergence in September 2021.Paper submissions for successful theme-tracks will take place via the online submission system: https://www.conftool.pro/drs2022/
For examples of theme-tracks at previous DRS Conferences please visit the DRS Digital Library.
-
Isabel Prochner posted an articleDRS conference session at CAA 2021 see more
What is Design Research in 2021?
The DRS is hosting a session at the CAA 2021 Conference entitled What is Design Research in 2021? The College Art Association (CAA) is a well known visual arts organisation in the USA. Their large annual conferences are an opportunity to share research and creative work in art and design. CAA 2021 will take place 10-13 February as an online or hybrid event with potential activities in New York City. There are multiple sessions on design and design research including our event.
The DRS session explores the meaning and scope of design research in 2021:
The Design Research Society (DRS) is a learned society committed to promoting and developing design research. Founded in 1966, the DRS is the longest established international and multi-disciplinary society for the design research community. Despite this history of activity, the DRS typically avoids defining the field of design research, viewing this openness as a strength.
Of course, there is a long history of writing on the definition and scope of design research and its shifting focus over the years. This includes work by authors like Nigel Cross, Bruce Archer, Richard Buchanan, Kees Dorst, Rachel Cooper, and Clive Dilnot as well as more recent writing in Design Studies, the journal of the DRS, such as “Developing Theory-Driven Design Research” by Philip Cash (2018).
Despite its strengths, there are limits to this canon of writing and contemporary design research includes many practices and approaches. For instance, on decolonization (Ansari), governmentality (Tunstall), women’s perspectives (Prochner) and writing from different linguistic and cultural traditions represented in the recent DRS special interest group conference PIVOT. The current Chair of the DRS, and Editor-in-Chief of Design Studies, recently called for more critical, detailed, and discourse analytic approaches to the design research field (Lloyd 2019).
This session calls for proposals that explore the meaning and scope of design research in 2021. This includes both presentations that explore the canon and those that push its boundaries. We are especially interested in presentations that explore lesser-known theory, contradictions in design research and critical contemporary issues.
Conference and submission details are available at https://caa.confex.com/caa/2021/webprogrampreliminary/meeting.html
We are accepting proposals until 16 September 2020. Complete the CAA proposal form and send submissions to Isabel Prochner editor@designresearchsociety.org
-
Isabel Prochner posted an articleLearn X Design 2021 will take place 24–26 Sept. 2021, hosted by Shandong University of Art & Design see more
Learn X Design 2021 Announcement
The DRS Special Interest Group in Design Pedagogy (PedSIG) is delighted to announce that Learn X Design 2021 will take place 24–26 September 2021, hosted by Shandong University of Art & Design, China.
Learn X Design: International Conference for Design Education Researchers is a biennial conference series from PedSIG. This will be the 6th Learn X Design conference. It follows the 2019 event hosted by METU in Ankara.
Full Paper, Workshop, and Case Study submissions for Learn X Design 2021 are due 23rd March 2021. More details will be available on the conference website as the event approaches: https://learnxdesign.net/lxd2021/
-
Isabel Prochner posted an articleThe Design Research Society biennial conference DRS2020 will take place 11-14 August 2020 see more
Announcing DRS2020 in Brisbane, Australia
The Design Research Society biennial conference DRS2020 will take place 11-14 August 2020. The conference will be hosted by Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. As with previous DRS conferences, DRS2020 will be a major global forum to present and discuss design research.
The conference theme is Synergy, a powerful force where voices in design research become stronger together. We invite research papers and conversation and workshop proposals related to this theme. DRS2020 will also host a PhD Day, a forum for PhD students to discuss their work and get feedback from senior researchers.
Peter Lloyd, Acting Chair of the DRS Interim Advisory Council, said "DRS2020 promises to be another high-quality design research event for the community and I’m very much looking forward to it. The conference will also be important for the Society as we hope to bring in a new governance structure for the DRS to allow us to develop into a more international organisation and better meet the needs of our members."
DRS2020 Conference Chair Ming Cheung spoke about the host city, conference theme and conference goals: "With some of the world’s most talented researchers and practitioners from around the globe and across disciplines expected to meet in Brisbane and address synergy in design research, DRS2020 will see the city and Griffith University take the lead in promoting research excellence. The conference delegates will appreciate the city’s commitment to innovation and a strong knowledge economy on the one hand and experience its welcoming nature and leisure appeal on the other.”
See below for more information about the conference theme and calls for participation.
DRS2020 Conference Theme
DRS2020 explores Synergy – the coming together of people and disciplines in design research to create positive impact. While we champion the uniqueness of disciplinary knowledge and creativity, we are also optimistic about how the coming together of different mindsets, backgrounds and perspectives can realise transformative visions of the future. Synergy in design research provides exciting possibilities for answering multi-faceted problems, supporting stakeholder initiatives and participation, and transforming existing situations into desirable ones.
As the influence of design research grows in academia and society globally, we question what new opportunities there are for us to work together, within and beyond our field. How do disciplines work together in design research? What new methods and tools of design do we need to realise synergistic working? But also, when might Synergy not be desirable? How do we balance the tension between design research specialisms and the new experience design, interdisciplinary design and transdisciplinary design research spaces we find ourselves working in?
While design research is always future focused, 2020 is also a time for us to reflect on what social, cultural, economic, environmental, technological and policy impact the Synergy within and beyond disciplines has had on our evolving field. DRS2020 invites contributions including, but not limited to, the following sub-themes:
Co-Creation
Design researchers increasingly collaborate and co-create with other fields such as healthcare, engineering, political science, social sciences and with a wide variety of societal stakeholders and issues such as wellbeing, as well as addressing developments such as networked, embedded and intelligent technologies. How does design research engage with other fields and support new interdisciplinary ways of working?
Processes
Topics of interest include roles, expertise and multiple voices, inclusion, experience, participation and power distribution, the role of communities and public and private organisations, innovation and management, and the building of partnerships in and for design research.
Situations
How is design research situated in cross-disciplinary collaboration, navigating cultures, diversity, ethics, sense of place and sense of materials, and the habits of different design communities? Under which conditions does design research flourish and is it able to help create positive impact? What are the dynamics between design research, governments and industry contexts?
Impacts
Topics include the value, significance and dimensions of design research and design efforts and how to increase, assess and measure them, responsibility among stakeholders including users, types of impact such as sustainability or economic impact, and scale and locus of impact such as human-object interactions.
Education
How does design education change and need to change? How do working designers and design researchers update their skills to meet the challenges of the present and future?
Calls for Participation
There are lots of ways to participate in DRS2020. See below for details on submission types and deadlines.
Call for Papers
Extended submission deadline:
9 December 201916 December 2019Full original papers (up to 5000 words) are sought that respond to the DRS2020 conference theme of Synergy and its sub-themes, or present emerging design research.
Call for Conversation Proposals
Submission deadline:
17 February 202029 February 2020Conversations engage a limited number of attendees in open exchange in arriving at new understandings about a particular topic. Conversations provide an environment where a constructive dialogue can take place about issues of importance in design research, particularly to promote exchanges about topics not easily captured by the scholarly papers.
Call for Workshop Proposals
Submission deadline:
17 February 202029 February 2020Workshops are half or full day interactive sessions aiming to convey research results hands-on and to bring together design researchers and practitioners in academia, in the public sector, and in business and industry.
Call for PhD Day
Submission deadline:
17 February 202029 February 2020DRS2020 will comprise a participatory event offering PhD students a forum to present, share and discuss with each other and with senior academics the issues they encounter in doing a PhD in design research.
Need more information? Visit the DRS2020 website at http://drs2020.org/ or follow the conference on Facebook and Twitter.
Contact the program team at submissions@drs2020.org if you have questions about submissions. Contact the conference team at admin@drs2020.org with other enquiries about the conference.
-
Isabel Prochner posted an articleDRS2020 statement on bushfires and the impact of the coronavirus & extended deadline announcement see more
DRS2020 Extended Deadlines: 24 February 2020
The Design Research Society biennial conference DRS2020 will take place 11-14 August 2020. The conference will be hosted by Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. As with previous DRS conferences, DRS2020 will be a major global forum to present and discuss design research.
Conference organisers have issued an announcement:
"The bushfires in Australia and the coronavirus outbreak in China have recently received ample media coverage and captured global attention. These natural disaster and global health events have raised our concerns once again about what we can do to assist in preventing and combating them. In light of this, DRS2020 would like to encourage design researchers to consider submitting proposals to convene Conversations or Workshops at DRS2020 that address, among other topics, the challenges of and solutions for climate change as well as global health and safety. To provide our design research community with more time to prepare their proposals, DRS2020 is now extending the submission deadline to Monday, 24 February 2020. For details on how to submit your proposal, please visit http://drs2020.org/participation/
At the same time, the deadline for submitting an expression of interest to participate in activities of the DRS2020 Postgraduate Research Day (PG Day) has also been extended to Monday, 24 February 2020."
-
Isabel Prochner posted an articleAttention—the paper deadline has been extended one week! see more
The Design Research Society biennial conference DRS2020 will take place 11-14 August 2020. The conference will be hosted by Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. As with previous DRS conferences, DRS2020 will be a major global forum to present and discuss design research.
ATTENTION—the paper deadline has been extended one week. Conference Chair Ming Cheung said “DRS2020 received a significant number of requests for paper deadline extension. We are happy to extend it until 16 December 2019, midnight AEST! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for updates!”
Visit the DRS2020 website for submission information.
-
DRS Administrator posted an articleCall to Host Learn X Design 2021, the DRS Pedagogy SIG Conference see more
Call to Host Learn X Design 2021
The Design Research Society Pedagogy Special Interest Group (PedSIG) invites proposals to host the next PedSIG biennial conference Learn X Design 2021. For an application pack and guidance on making a proposal, please email the PedSIG Convenor Derek Jones (derek.jones@open.ac.uk).
+++UPDATED+++ The updated deadline for proposals is 12:00 noon BST on 14 November 2019.
The PedSIG Convening Group will review proposals and schedule interviews (if required) by late November. A final decision will be announced in early December.
Above: Photo at the closing of Learn X Design 2019
PedSIG is the largest SIG in the DRS and includes members from institutions around the world. The SIG has held biannual conferences since 2011. The 2019 conference took place in Ankara and welcomed over 150 delegates from 81 institutions and 31 countries. Read more about the DRS Pedagogy SIG here. Further information on past conferences is available in the application pack.
Contact Derek Jones (derek.jones@open.ac.uk) with any further questions.
-
Derek Jones posted an articleLearnXdesign Call for Papers now OPEN! see more
Call for Papers: LearnXdesign 2019
The call for papers for the LearnXdesign 2019 conference in now open and the submission deadline has been extended to 30 December 2018. The call follows confirmation of the final 18 tracks themes, covering an incredibly diverse range of topics in design education and pedagogy. These range from 'Intercultural collaboration' right through to 'More than human prototyping', highlighting the range and diversity of contemporary design education research.
You can find details of each track theme and instructions for submission here.
This will be the 5th International LearnXdesign conference and will be hosted by Middle East Technical University (METU). The year 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the first course on industrial design offered in Turkey at METU Faculty of Architecture by the American industrial designer David K. Munro. 2019 also is the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Department of Industrial Design as a separate undergraduate programme at METU.
Past events have established LearnXdesign as one of the key conferences in design education research. It hosts a particular intersection of educators, practitioners, and researchers across all levels of education and practice, and it’s unique character emerges from this passionately engaged community.
The Conference theme for LearnXdesign 2019 is Insider Knowledge and major track themes are Learning Spaces; Learning Cultures; and Emerging Skill Sets and Mindsets. This firmly places the discussion within the discipline of design pedagogy itself reflecting the continued emerging confidence of design education researchers across the globe.
Informed discussion around the purposes, modes, and motivations of design education have (arguably) never been more important. There is an emerging confidence in design pedagogy research - not simply as a different subject of study, but as a form of study in itself: one that has particular ways of knowing. Recent works are tackling the ‘messy space’ between the subjective and objective, demonstrating that it is possible to make progress in such areas and establish a growing knowledge base.
-
ArticleNext LearnXdesign conference see moreFollowing the successful Ravensbourne LearnXdesign Conference we are seeking a host for the next conference. This would be scheduled for 2019.
We have had very successful conferences in Paris, Oslo, Chicago and now London. Each of them has focused on design education research and been supported by the DRS Design Pedagogy Special Interest Group. Throughout they have also been supported by CUMULUS and the last two have also enjoyed the support of DESIGN-ED.
If you are interested in hosting the next conference, then please contact Mike Tovey (m.tovey@coventry.ac.uk), so we can discuss it.
-
Derek Jones posted an articleThe call for DRS2018 Track Sessions is now open! see more
The DRS2018 organisers are seeking Track Session Proposals that will act as a Catalyst for Change, the main theme for the conference.
In DRS2018: ‘Design as a catalyst for change’ we will critically engage with our key research questions: How can design research help explore the changing territorial contexts of design practice and/or policy? How can design, as a catalyst, shape the relationship between research and practice? How can design, and social, economic and political change, shape each other?
Track sessions
To capitalise on emerging research networks, as well as existing networks not already covered by SIG areas, we welcome proposals for track sessions of full papers related to any area of design research.
The aim of track sessions is to provide specific research themes for paper submissions. These sessions will be managed by sub-chairs as part of the general paper submission and final programme.
Sub-chairs will be responsible for promoting their track to potential authors, identifying and allocating reviewers, curating conference sessions, and sub-editing their specific track section for the proceedings. Tracks will require a minimum of four accepted papers.
Proposals should consist of a title, proposed sub-chair/s for the session, a list of 2–3 key people who will assist in managing the track submissions, track context and an outline (up to 250 words), and a brief list of references (up to 5) to indicate the track scope.
Submission
To allow us to publicise additional tracks prior to the full-paper deadline, track session proposals should be submitted to https://www.conftool.pro/drs2018/ on or before the deadline of 16th May 2017.
Track session proposals will be reviewed by a subset of the programme committee with sub-chairs informed of outcomes within two weeks of the deadline. Successful proposals will be publicised on the website as part of the conference Call for Papers.
Submissions for successful track sessions will take place via the online submission system along with standard paper submissions.
-
Derek Jones posted an articleRecent Call for Track Session Themes attracts record submissions from the design research community. see more
With 85 proposals for Theme Tracks, DRS2018 is off to a great start!
The volume and range of topics submitted suggests that DRS2018 in Limerick will build on the success of last years 50th Anniversary conference in Brighton. There have been three times as many theme track proposals compared to 2016!
The topics are spread across the entire design research spectrum - often overlapping but offering subtly distinctive framings of familiar themes and demonstrating the scale, depth and variety of design research around the world.
The DRS2018 programme committee are currently reviewing all proposals and the outcomes will be made public in the coming weeks.
- Emma Dewberry likes this.
