Futuring Digital Cultural Heritage,
2026
School of Design, Arts, and Creative Industries – Northumbria University UK
Futuring Digital Cultural Heritage, Marco Mason, Raffaella Trocchianesi, Vince Dziekan, Ross Parry
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Design is playing an increasingly important role in relation to cultural heritage, with designers and design researchers at the forefront of reimagining how cultural organisations, such as museums and galleries, operate in a mediatized, networked, and digitally mature world. In this light, the tools and methods, practices, and cultures of design are helping GLAMs navigate their postdigital condition and social, cultural, and technological complexities that this entails. This track (Futuring Digital Cultural Heritage) seeks to open new territory for design researchers to respond critically and creatively to how design engages with digital culture and can be used to interrogate, reconfigure, …
Design For And With Values In Designing For Social Change (Design Ethics Sig),
2026
Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Design For And With Values In Designing For Social Change (Design Ethics Sig), Deger Ozkaramanli, Fatima-Zahra Abou Eddahab-Burke, Sine Celik, Geertje Slingerland, Michael Nagenborg, Natalia Gulbransen-Diaz, Leigh-Anne Hepburn
DRS Biennial Conference Series
This editorial introduces the theme track ‘Design for and with values in designing for social change’. Building on prior work that frame ethics as an invitation to care, the track focuse on values as a central construct in socially engaged design. It responds to a growing need to move beyond abstract value frameworks toward understanding how values are elicited, surfaced, negotiated, and enacted in practice. Drawing on 24 selected papers, we reveal a strongly interdisciplinary collection where participatory design emerges as a dominant method. The contributions are organized into four overlapping themes revolving around the concepts of power, methods, dignity …
Navigating Pluralism In Systemic Design: Global Perspectives And Diverse Vocabularies,
2026
Technische Universiteit Delft
Navigating Pluralism In Systemic Design: Global Perspectives And Diverse Vocabularies, Sine Celik, Hannah Goss, Jotte De Koning, Mari Suoheimo, Amina Pereno, Asja Aulisio, Silvia Barbero, Thomas Maiorana
DRS Biennial Conference Series
No abstract provided.
Design Education In Its Teenage Years: Growth With Tensions,
2026
The Open University, United Kingdom
Design Education In Its Teenage Years: Growth With Tensions, Nicole Lotz, Ricardo Sosa, Violeta Clemente
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Design education research is one of the largest clusters of contributions at the Design Research Society 2026 Conference. This editorial reflects on the thirty papers of this cluster presented across five sessions. It identifies emerging concerns and persistent tensions in the field. Drawing on a synthesis of themes including creativity and identity, systemic and situated pedagogies, reflective practices, cultures and knowledges, and AI in design education, the editorial characterises the field as being in a productive phase of transition. Like an adolescent discipline, design education research shows signs of rapid growth alongside enduring continuities and noticeable leaps. Across the papers, …
Reconfiguring Care: Envision Postpartum Support For Women In Southern China Through The Lens Of Home-Based Iot,
2026
Hunan University, China, People's Republic of
Reconfiguring Care: Envision Postpartum Support For Women In Southern China Through The Lens Of Home-Based Iot, Wentao Deng, Yunfei Chen, Yingying Luo, Ying Hu, Yiwen Wang
DRS Biennial Conference Series
This study explores design opportunities to support postpartum mothers during “zuòyuèzi,” a culturally significant confinement practice in southern China, through the lens of home-based Internet of Things (IoT) systems. Grounded in feminist ethics of care, the research employs a three-phase methodology combining digital ethnography, co-design workshops, and thematic analysis. Participants from multigenerational households shared experiences and envisioned the roles of IoT systems to facilitate postpartum transitions. Findings reveal that users expect technologies to function as empathetic intermediaries that foster emotional well-being, facilitate caregiving management and negotiate relationships. Distinct patterns emerged across care distribution, interpersonal communication, and interaction, underscoring the cultural …
Strategic Design In Practice: Mapping Strategy Formulation And Implementation In Nordic Design Job Advertisements,
2026
LAB University of Applied Sciences, Finland
Strategic Design In Practice: Mapping Strategy Formulation And Implementation In Nordic Design Job Advertisements, Paulo Roberto Nicoletti Dziobczenski, Tua Björklund
DRS Biennial Conference Series
This paper investigates strategic design in practice by analysing how organizations describe designers’ work in 232 job advertisements across the Nordic countries. Building on literature that positions strategic design as both strategy formulation (SF) and strategy implementation (SI), we identified explicit signs of SF and SI in the descriptions of designers’ tasks in the ads. Our findings show that Strategy implementation appeared in all ads, while strategy formulation was present in 104 roles (44.8%), mainly in senior-level positions. These SF activities included, for example, aligning design and product strategies with business objectives, leading product development and product management, driving strategic …
What Can't Be Confessed: The Structural Absence Of Value Accountability In Design Culture,
2026
RMIT University, Australia
What Can't Be Confessed: The Structural Absence Of Value Accountability In Design Culture, Michael Dunbar, Liam Fennessy, Chris Speed
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Design culture has proliferated aspirational value frameworks, from manifestos championing social justice to ethics toolkits, yet lacks meaningful accountability infrastructure when values are violated or conflict. This paper examines a transgressive design research intervention: a mobile confessional booth at a city Design Week in 2025 that invited designers to anonymously confess professional compromises and ethical failures. The 125 confessions revealed patterns of deflection (blaming systems over individual agency), superficiality (focusing on technical mistakes rather than methodological rigour leading to ethical violations), and conspicuous absence of admissions regarding exploitation, greenwashing, or designing harm. Unlike medicine, law, or journalism, design has implemented …
Participatory Design As Emotional Infrastructure: Supporting Collective Reflection And Resilience After The Pandemic,
2026
University of Southampton, United Kingdom
Participatory Design As Emotional Infrastructure: Supporting Collective Reflection And Resilience After The Pandemic, Xinyu Zhang
DRS Biennial Conference Series
COVID-19 has left enduring emotional distress for many citizens even as public attention to the crisis has faded. In this context, participatory design (PD) is increasingly recognised as a dialogic and restorative practice that enables collective reflection and emotional recovery through shared meaning-making. This study examines how participatory design supports citizens in reflecting on pandemic-related psychological distress, with particular attention to war metaphors widely used in governmental and media communications during COVID-19. While these metaphors mobilised collective action, they also intensified perceptions of risk and vulnerability. The research is based on a year-long participatory design project, W&M, involving nine participants, …
Locality As A Driver For Transitional Materialities,
2026
Atilim University;
Middle East Technical University
Locality As A Driver For Transitional Materialities, Gökçe Deniz, Owain Pedgley, Camilo Ayala-Garcia
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Material designers worldwide are transforming how innovation emerges through local engagement, moving beyond conventional material selection to create materials that reflect and embody their originating contexts. This research examines how locality influences design motivations, resource utilisation, and collaborative approaches through a systematic analysis of 635 material design projects across 56 countries, complemented by questionnaire responses from 19 practitioners across 14 countries. The mixed-methods research establishes the state of the art by mapping ingredient sourcing patterns, fabrication processes, and stakeholder engagements across diverse geographical contexts, while illuminating designers' conceptual frameworks regarding the role of locality in material development. The research reveals …
Ai-Enhanced Chinese Style Furniture Design: Integrating Cnn Cultural Recognition With Latent Diffusion Generation,
2026
School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, 710072, China;
Key Laboratory of Ministry of Industrial Design and Ergonomics, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China;
Shaanxi Engineering Laboratory for Industrial Design, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China
Ai-Enhanced Chinese Style Furniture Design: Integrating Cnn Cultural Recognition With Latent Diffusion Generation, Yupeng Jiang, Jiayong Zheng, Bingchen Gou, Jie Song, Jianing Kang, Zhaoxian Ren, Ying Liu, Lingwei Lyu, Junyan Lin, Suyao Wei, Weilan An
DRS Biennial Conference Series
In the wave of artificial intelligence development, employing computer technology to advance the innovative design of Chinese-style furniture and optimize the intelligent development of cultural products is crucial for revitalizing the industry and strengthening cultural confidence. This study identifies issues of homogenization and cultural dilution in intelligent furniture design and proposes an intelligent design model based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and a latent diffusion model (LDM). CNNs are used to recognize cultural features in Chinese-style furniture, while the LDM generates design schemes, rapidly producing Chinese chairs that meet contemporary aesthetic preferences while retaining traditional cultural attributes. The study enhances …
Drawn To Think: A Step Toward Decolonising Design Visualcy,
2026
UAL - Central Saint Martins, United Kingdom
Drawn To Think: A Step Toward Decolonising Design Visualcy, Ellen O'Gorman
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Design students often hesitate to use drawing as a thinking tool, wary of expectations for figurative outcomes and the evaluative traditions that shape the status quo in product design. This study draws on object-oriented ontology (OOO) and vibrant materialism to explore how a drawing tool—specifically the pencil— might act as an agent in rethinking the pedagogy of semiogenic design visualcy. The study proposes micro-camera activities that capture the pencil’s perspective to produce a radically altered visual and auditory encounter with drawing. Tracing the pencil’s entanglements reveals drawing not simply as representation but relation. The line becomes both a mark and …
Design For Adversarial Growth: Post-Traumatic Growth, Resilience And Subjective Wellbeing,
2026
School of Design, Southern University of Science and Technology
Design For Adversarial Growth: Post-Traumatic Growth, Resilience And Subjective Wellbeing, Xueliang Li, Haian Xue, Siyuan Huang
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Adversity is an inherent part of human life. This paper adopts a transformative approach to adversity, viewing it as fertile ground for personal growth. Through a theory-driven narrative review, we synthesise insights from positive psychology, post-traumatic growth, resilience, and wellbeing-driven design to introduce the Design for Adversarial Growth (DAG) framework, a guide for shaping designers' motivations and cultivating their sensibilities when designing for adversarial growth. This framework encompasses three key components of adversarial growth, each illustrated through design examples. We further discuss its contributions to design research and practice, as well as the ethical considerations for its application. With this …
‘Can I Cut The Big Box?’: Exploring Doubt And Material Hierarchies In Child-Centred Design,
2026
Kolding School of Design, Denmark
‘Can I Cut The Big Box?’: Exploring Doubt And Material Hierarchies In Child-Centred Design, Cecilie Ann Alveniz
DRS Biennial Conference Series
This paper offers a practical representation of evolving research within a PhD project, exploring play in a child-centred design process. During a workshop with children aged 6–8, the question "Can I cut the big box?" created a moment of tension that became a site of emerging knowledge. Drawing on abductive reasoning, the paper uses doubt as a generative method to explore uncertainty in fieldwork. Through writing and the notion of emplotment, the concept of Material hierarchies emerges - first grounded in material methods that position materials as active agents, then through the notion of playables - as a lens for …
Longing For: Designing Activities To Break The Taboo Of Female Sexuality In Care Homes,
2026
LUCA School of Arts, KU Leuven, Caring and design research, Genk, BE;
Edinburgh College of Art, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Longing For: Designing Activities To Break The Taboo Of Female Sexuality In Care Homes, Yoni Lefévre, Niels Hendriks, Heather Wilkinson, Andrea Wilkinson, Arno G. Verhoeven
DRS Biennial Conference Series
An effort to co-explore later life sexuality with older adults, this study critically reflects on a series of intentionally designed activities to discuss intimacy and sexual pleasure in a care context. Five activities were organised in a Belgian care home, involving four to six female residents, that gradually introduced a more explicit language about sexual health. The results highlight that: 1) taboos are difficult to discuss, therefore storytelling is crucial, 2) feeling vulnerable is confronting, but also enables genuine connections, and 3) co-exploring taboos through playfulness, while enabling self-expression. This paper provides a more in-depth understanding of designing collective dialogues …
Optimizing Design Processes Through Data Intelligence Under Resource Constraints: A Qualitative Interview Study In Industry,
2026
College of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University
Optimizing Design Processes Through Data Intelligence Under Resource Constraints: A Qualitative Interview Study In Industry, Aoyi Shen, Jinyu Gu, Yang Yin, Xiyuan Zhang, Yan Dong, Yuchen Hong, Aitian Fan, Boyi Lian, Hao Fan, Chunlei Chai
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Enterprises operating under resource constraints often struggle to maintain efficient and innovative design practices. Data intelligence (DI) offers new opportunities to overcome design challenges and process optimization. However, research on how DI is practically integrated into real-world design workflows under such constraints remains limited. To address this gap, qualitative interviews were conducted with 21 industry designers from 14 companies. Using grounded theory, the interview data were coded to examine how DI supports the optimization of existing design processes and to identify its key intervention points and values. The study further investigates how DI interacts with design practices from multiple perspectives, …
Pro-Des. Localising Design Research For Scientific Publishing. A Case Study Of Research And Experimentation In Italy,
2026
Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna
Pro-Des. Localising Design Research For Scientific Publishing. A Case Study Of Research And Experimentation In Italy, Elena Formia, Eleonora Lupo, Lorela Mehmeti
DRS Biennial Conference Series
This paper deals with the issue of scientific publishing of design research basing on a national scale approach, that can become a reference and be transferable and replicable in other contexts. In 2023, within SID -Società ltaliana di Design (Italian Design Society), the national research group Pro-Des.Scientific production of Design has been established, committing with the aim of researching and experimenting the complex phenomenon of scientific publication of design. Over the last two years, the group has coordinated and developed several activities to position the topic and set the discussion at the national level by looking at the international panorama …
Design Games As Rehearsals For Collaborative Innovation: Playing Out The Future System To Learn The Collaborative Game,
2026
KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
Design Games As Rehearsals For Collaborative Innovation: Playing Out The Future System To Learn The Collaborative Game, Diana Saleh, Mia Hesselgren
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Moving across time horizons and system levels is challenging in collaborative innovation, where multiple agendas amplify complexity. As designers increasingly engage in processes aimed at transforming systems and fostering collaboration across boundaries, questions arise about how to navigate such complexity and orchestrate collaborative innovation. Situated within a collaborative innovation research project, this study draws on two empirical components: interviews with experienced design practitioners leading the multi-actor innovation processes, and the development and testing of a parallel design game. Design activities used for orchestrating collaborative innovation, identified through the interviews, informed the principles of the design game. The study presented here …
Conversing With Scenario Data: Exploring Experienced Designers’ Data-Informed Reasoning Strategies In Smart Product Concept Exploration,
2026
School of Design, Hunan University, Changsha, China
Conversing With Scenario Data: Exploring Experienced Designers’ Data-Informed Reasoning Strategies In Smart Product Concept Exploration, Yaqin Peng, Xiang Yuan, Yuxuan Tan, Zikun Song
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Smart product concept exploration unfolds in dynamic and diverse use situations (DDUS) that yield fragmented, multimodal scenario data, yet how experienced designers organise design reasoning in data-intensive environments to support problem framing remains underdescribed. We used a Scenario-Data-Informed (SDI) Canvas to make designer-data conversations visible and ran task-based sessions with 18 designers. From coded think-alouds and canvas inscriptions, we report three findings: first, three reasoning stances that structure work with scenario data; second, three language-in-use strategies and an actor-network mapping that renders translations among contexts, artefacts, and intentions as a traceable network; third, shareable cues that support collaboration and surface …
A Hierarchical And Ontology-Based Taxonomy Of Stimuli–Smart Materials–Transformation Effects In 4d Printing As A New Interactive Modality,
2026
Brunel University of London, United Kingdom
A Hierarchical And Ontology-Based Taxonomy Of Stimuli–Smart Materials–Transformation Effects In 4d Printing As A New Interactive Modality, Jiayue Qin, Eujin Pei, Abdusselam Selami Cifter
DRS Biennial Conference Series
4D printing functions not merely as a smart manufacturing technique but as an interactive material technology: materials respond to human or environmental stimuli and generate a direct feedback loop. This study proposes a taxonomy that links Stimuli, Smart Materials, and Transformation Effects, developed through a combined Hierarchical Classification and Ontology-Based Classification approach grounded in a systematic literature review and ontology mapping. By organising complex stimulus–material–effect relationships into a designer-accessible structure, the taxonomy supports non-technical designers in identifying feasible pathways from intended interactions to material outcomes. It also provides a structured data foundation for developing 4D printing design guidelines and toolkits, …
Enquête D’Âme: A Participatory Visualisation Of Wellbeing Through Embodied Reflection,
2026
Loughborough University
Enquête D’Âme: A Participatory Visualisation Of Wellbeing Through Embodied Reflection, Ricardo O'Nascimento, Bruna Petreca
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Enquête d’âme is an interactive installation and research instrument that reimagines design impact assessment by shifting from affect detection to wellbeing articulation. A textile-covered keyboard allows participants to select from sixteen wellbeing dimensions; each input generates a coloured circle within a shared projection, forming an evolving visualisation of collective resonance. Three public deployments—a cultural event, arts festival, and university showcase—combined observations, brief interviews, and log analysis. Findings show that slow, tactile interaction fosters mindful engagement; participants treat the dimensions as reflective anchors rather than diagnostic labels; and aggregate patterns vary contextually (e.g., Optimism/Future-self in policy discussions, Playfulness/Participation in festival settings). …
