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Sustained Memory For Public Design In Latin America, Sofia Bosch Gomez, Luca Gaspari, Tina Rosado Jun 2026

Sustained Memory For Public Design In Latin America, Sofia Bosch Gomez, Luca Gaspari, Tina Rosado

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Public-sector innovation units across Latin America increasingly use design methodologies to reimagine policymaking and service delivery. However, fragmented and inconsistent documentation continues to limit institutional learning and sustained impact. This study maps how public design is practiced through a multilingual literature review of 84 sources (from an initial corpus of 700 sources) analyzed across English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French. Coding findings at institutional, project, and individual levels reveals four critical patterns: inconsistent terminology hindering synthesis, uneven geographic coverage leaving vast regions underrepresented, superficial methodology documentation describing tools without unpacking adaptation or context, and striking temporal gaps with minimal longitudinal evidence …

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Inter-Poly-Creation (Ipc): Unifying Mass Customisation And Co-Creation, Hoi Wah Chan, Christopher J. Parker, Darren J. Southee Jun 2026

Inter-Poly-Creation (Ipc): Unifying Mass Customisation And Co-Creation, Hoi Wah Chan, Christopher J. Parker, Darren J. Southee

DRS Biennial Conference Series

To innovate stakeholder value, designers, business strategists, and marketers rely on shared understanding to co-create value. While co-creation is established in strategic design, practitioners use related terms interchangeably, including co-creation and Mass Customisation (MC). While conflicting terminology enables stakeholder participation, resources and knowledge are fragmented, obstructing a unified practice and limiting shared understanding of value creation. This paper clarifies co-creation and MC terms, explains why practitioners interchange terminology, and examines how stakeholder value and disciplinary perspectives shape their usage. We analysed 828 academic papers across the design, business, and innovation disciplines, focusing on commonly confused lexicons. We reveal that designers, …

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Deconstructing The Designer-Genai Interaction In The Design Process: A Framework For Surfacing Micro-Dynamics And Agency, Fabio Antonio Figoli, Francesca Mattioli, Lucia Rampino Jun 2026

Deconstructing The Designer-Genai Interaction In The Design Process: A Framework For Surfacing Micro-Dynamics And Agency, Fabio Antonio Figoli, Francesca Mattioli, Lucia Rampino

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper presents the Imagery Modes framework for analysing the designer–genAI interaction, complementing established metaphor-based accounts. Developed through Constructivist Grounded Theory and structured using Activity Theory, the framework focuses on the micro-dynamics of a single input–output exchange. It identifies four sequential sub-actions—crafting, processing, generating, and evaluating—that trace the relations between subjects (designer, genAI) and instruments (input, output). Central to the framework is the concept of “output imagery”, defined as the clarity with which the designer envisions the expected output prior to the interaction. Three modes of interaction are identified: Before, During, and After Imagery. The findings highlight the fluid and …

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Re-Voicing Identity: Care Ethics And The Politics Of Unsilencing After Total Laryngectomy, Gala Lucia Gonzalez Barrios Jun 2026

Re-Voicing Identity: Care Ethics And The Politics Of Unsilencing After Total Laryngectomy, Gala Lucia Gonzalez Barrios

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Voice loss after total laryngectomy disrupts identity and quality of life yet current assistive technologies reproduce techno-ableist assumptions, prioritizing speech mimicry over identity restoration while systematic marginalization excludes laryngectomees from research and innovation. This paper presents a care-centred participatory design agenda bridging a propositional approach “Singing Without a Larynx”, a vowel-based vocal interface for singing, with cross-cultural photovoice research in the United States and Argentina. Grounded in care ethics, we operationalize attentiveness, responsibility, and relational accountability, positioning participants as co-designers whose embodied knowledge shapes technological imaginaries, and community challenges and assets. We propose: (1) a critical framework integrating care ethics, …

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Beyond Situated Ethics: Towards A Practice-Based Understanding Of How Designers Do Ethics, Samantha Osys Jun 2026

Beyond Situated Ethics: Towards A Practice-Based Understanding Of How Designers Do Ethics, Samantha Osys

DRS Biennial Conference Series

As discussions about AI and its societal impacts grow, questions about how to practise design responsibly and ethically have become more prominent. This paper examines how designers do ethics in practice, focusing on the relationship between universal frameworks and situated, lived experiences. Conversations with design practitioners reveal that while universal ethical frameworks provide consistency, they often overlook the everyday negotiations designers face in the workplace. Practitioners report that current governance systems, influenced by external regulations, are overly ‘top-down’ and narrowly focused on specific technologies. This approach leaves designers to identify and fill ethical gaps themselves, often through subtle, even covert, …

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A Systemic Design Approach To Supporting Children With Different Language Parents, Mitte Van Boxem, Maud Gruyters Jun 2026

A Systemic Design Approach To Supporting Children With Different Language Parents, Mitte Van Boxem, Maud Gruyters

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper describes a master’s thesis process in which systemic design was used to explore how children with a different home language than the national language can be supported. Using a systemic approach, this research maps the complex network surrounding these families and identifies key leverage points: valuing the home language, reducing pressure on the child, and strengthening family integration. Through interviews, cultural probes, and co-creation with professionals, insights were translated into a low-threshold product-service system (PSS) embedded in the children’s living environment. The PSS encourages family interaction and neighbourhood engagement through playful exploration. The findings underscore the potential of …

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Figurations As A Situated Counter-Device For Participatory Design: Exploring Time And Presence In Design Practice., Diana Maria Mahecha, Juan Alfonso De La Rosa, Juan Pablo Velasquez Jun 2026

Figurations As A Situated Counter-Device For Participatory Design: Exploring Time And Presence In Design Practice., Diana Maria Mahecha, Juan Alfonso De La Rosa, Juan Pablo Velasquez

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This article explores the notion of figurations as a theoretical and methodological concept to address tensions between time, presence, and practice in participatory design processes. Drawing on Donna Haraway’s and Rosi Braidotti’s work, we argue that figurations invite more situated practices that acknowledge the relational and material realities emerging in Global South contexts. Methodologically, the paper offers a situated ethnographic reading of participatory workshops conducted in Colombia, tracing the patterns and affections that shape collective action. We propose figurations as embodied, affective, and speculative counter-devices that foster political imagination and community agency in processes of social transformation. The paper contributes …

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Keeping It Real With Responsible Futuring: Reflecting On The Epistemic And Political Ambition Of A Transdisciplinary Approach For Societal Transitions, Cristina Zaga, Julieta Matos Castaño, Mascha Van Der Voort Jun 2026

Keeping It Real With Responsible Futuring: Reflecting On The Epistemic And Political Ambition Of A Transdisciplinary Approach For Societal Transitions, Cristina Zaga, Julieta Matos Castaño, Mascha Van Der Voort

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Amidst the upheaval of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the threat of the Sixth Extinction, designers focus on approaches that help communities connect and imagine alternative, desirable futures. Transdisciplinary approaches promise more sustainable and just transitions by valuing and integrating diverse forms of knowledge to co-shape more equitable design interventions. However, these ambitions often fall short. Transdisciplinary practices may be reduced to justice-washing or corporate co-optation, frequently failing to achieve epistemic and social justice. This paper introduces Responsible Futuring, a transdisciplinary design-led approach that enables communities to actively shape their future trajectories, embracing collaboration and diverse perspectives as catalysts for …

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Telling Stories, Making Hanzi: Ai-Assisted Co-Creation With Elderly Migrants In Urban China, Yunfei Chen, Wen Zhan, Peiyue Lin, Ziqun Hua, Ying Hu Jun 2026

Telling Stories, Making Hanzi: Ai-Assisted Co-Creation With Elderly Migrants In Urban China, Yunfei Chen, Wen Zhan, Peiyue Lin, Ziqun Hua, Ying Hu

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper explores how older migrants in urban China can record stories that everyday language and design often miss. We ran two co-creation workshops with 10 elders. Activities combined oral storytelling, facilitator-mediated AI assistance, and hand making. Large language models proposed candidate glyphs through a facilitator. Participants crafted new Hanzi to hold their stories. The resulting characters served as memory anchors for later sharing and retelling. Our interpretive analysis shows heterogeneity and adaptive capacity among participants. Participants experienced AI as a creative initiator that lowered barriers to expression and making, especially for those with lower digital literacy. The work challenges …

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Environmentality's Integrated Design: Iso Standards As Infrastructural Semiotics, Lucia Jalon Oyarzun Jun 2026

Environmentality's Integrated Design: Iso Standards As Infrastructural Semiotics, Lucia Jalon Oyarzun

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Tracing the emergence of neoliberalism, Michel Foucault introduced the concept of environmentality to describe a form of power in which control is exercised through the design of an increasingly technologically mediated environment to ensure economic circulation. Decades in, environmentality has reshaped how our habitats are conceptualized, designed, and perceived. In many levels, design has stopped being an independent autonomous task to be integrated and automated within the operative nature of our milieux. This integrated design operates through infrastructural semiotics, i.e. texts, codes, guidelines, indicators, benchmarks and protocols as well as other ecologies of biological, social and machinic signs like notifications …

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Three Lenses, One Wicked Problem: Navigating Pluralism To Address Consumer Confusion In Australia, Brian Rodrigo Llagas, Linda Brennan, Simon Lockrey Jun 2026

Three Lenses, One Wicked Problem: Navigating Pluralism To Address Consumer Confusion In Australia, Brian Rodrigo Llagas, Linda Brennan, Simon Lockrey

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Food waste presents a significant global environmental and economic challenge. Australian households are responsible for 40% of discarded food, with unclear date labelling and storage advice creating consumer confusion, contributing to the problem. This research employed systems thinking and pluralism to address consumer confusion. A multi-level analytical framework integrating visual grammar, symbolic interactionism, and activity theory examined semiotic dimensions, interactions, and system behaviours within the food packaging system. Micro-level prototyping generated design concepts for date labels and storage advice. Meso-level collective intelligence-participatory design techniques evaluated the designs and brainstormed solutions. Scenario planning at the macro level used morphological analysis to …

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Small Ai: A Degrowth Imaginary For Designing With/For Artificial Intelligence, Roy Bendor, Dave Murray-Rust, Rainer Rehak Jun 2026

Small Ai: A Degrowth Imaginary For Designing With/For Artificial Intelligence, Roy Bendor, Dave Murray-Rust, Rainer Rehak

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper presents Small AI as a conceptual lever for designers to resist the ‘bigger is better’ trend in the discourse and development of Generative AI. We explore different types of Small AI: initially in relation to the size of models, as smaller models require less computational resources for both training and inference, thus implying a smaller ecological footprint. However, we extend the meaning of smallness to apply to political, epistemic and cultural domains as well. In this vein, the paper posits Small AI as an imaginary-in-the-making, and a rallying concept for an alternative innovation agenda that holds, in the …

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Within The Dialogue Box: Exploring Designer Activities And Linguistic Features In Collaboration With Textual Genai, Yulu Song, Ying Hu, Zihan Zhou, Wentao Deng, Xing Du, Yiming Bai Jun 2026

Within The Dialogue Box: Exploring Designer Activities And Linguistic Features In Collaboration With Textual Genai, Yulu Song, Ying Hu, Zihan Zhou, Wentao Deng, Xing Du, Yiming Bai

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Language functions as both a core element and the cognitive framework that supports the entire design process. However, the deep integration of Large Language Models (LLMs) is shifting the creative process from self- or human-to-human dialogue to human-AI conversation, requiring a careful examination of this emerging form of collaborative language. This study conducted an experiment on designer-AI collaboration. The goal was to explore the relationship between their collaborative activities, linguistic features, and co-creativity. By carefully coding activities and using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) method, we identified conversational features linked to different levels of creativity. These findings not …

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Understanding Designers’ Activities And Cognition In Co-Creation With Textual Genai: Do Prior Experience And Ai Literacy Matter?, Yulu Song, Ying Hu, Zihan Zhou, Yiming Bai, Xing Du, Ziling Liang, Yunxiang Shi, Wentao Deng Jun 2026

Understanding Designers’ Activities And Cognition In Co-Creation With Textual Genai: Do Prior Experience And Ai Literacy Matter?, Yulu Song, Ying Hu, Zihan Zhou, Yiming Bai, Xing Du, Ziling Liang, Yunxiang Shi, Wentao Deng

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Artificial intelligence is bringing comprehensive impacts to the approaches, methods, and efficiency of creation. As a result, designers are being driven to tackle more untried tasks, rather than engaging in work they have long been proficient in. This study organised a co-design experiment involving novice designers and Textual GenAI to investigate the influence of prior experience and AI literacy on collaborative design outcomes. We conducted a detailed coding of collaborative activities in the design process. This uncovered the activity characteristics, shifts, and collaboration patterns in the co-creation process. These findings deepen the understanding of the Human-AI collaborative design process and …

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Crafting Semiotic Riddles: Materiality And Interpretive Play In Speculative Design, Jess Uhre Rahbek, Sofie Kinch Jun 2026

Crafting Semiotic Riddles: Materiality And Interpretive Play In Speculative Design, Jess Uhre Rahbek, Sofie Kinch

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper repositions speculative design artefacts as semiotic riddles, where materiality operates not merely as a carrier of speculation but as a vehicle for play. Drawing on Peircean semiotics and narrative theory, we extend Auger’s notion of the ‘perceptual bridge’ to show how speculative artefacts invite audiences into riddle-solving, assembling ‘fabula’ worlds from incomplete ‘syuzhet’ clues. Methodologically, we propose that speculative design can be understood as the crafting of riddles: designing with ambiguity, incompleteness, and interpretive openness. Through three design projects, we illustrate distinct ways in which designers structure the clues of semiotic riddles, whether singular artefacts, fragmented constellations or …

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From Speculation To Strategy Reflection: A Case Study Of Design-Led Foresight Workshops At Revigrés, Gisela Pinheiro Agostinho, Teresa Franqueira Jun 2026

From Speculation To Strategy Reflection: A Case Study Of Design-Led Foresight Workshops At Revigrés, Gisela Pinheiro Agostinho, Teresa Franqueira

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This article presents a case-based investigation of design-led foresight in practice through a series of international workshops conducted in Denmark and China within a doctoral action-research programme with Revigrés, a Portuguese ceramic manufacturer. Grounded in a structured trend cartography clustered into fifteen domains, multidisciplinary teams employed lightweight foresight methods, including personas, rapid scenario visioning, and low-fidelity prototyping, to explore possible housing futures for 2070. Twelve speculative design visions emerged, ranging from bio-integrated habitats and privacy-legible smart homes to circular neighbourhood systems and programmable interiors. Rather than treating these visions as predictive outcomes, the study examines how workshop artefacts functioned as …

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Towards Equitable Participation Of Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing People In Co-Design Research: An Initial Working Framework, Barbara Hein-Machado, Cecilia Landa-Avila, John Alexander Rey-Galindo, Carlos Aceves-Gonzalez, Rebecca Cain Jun 2026

Towards Equitable Participation Of Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing People In Co-Design Research: An Initial Working Framework, Barbara Hein-Machado, Cecilia Landa-Avila, John Alexander Rey-Galindo, Carlos Aceves-Gonzalez, Rebecca Cain

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Research involving Deaf and hard-of-hearing participants remains limited in its ability to include and engage with diverse participants lived experiences, weakening research rigour, relationships with communities, and perpetuating existing inequalities. The use of co-design approaches to address these needs, by positioning lived experience as an additional form of expert knowledge, has increased in recent years. However, the ways in which practices genuinely empower DHH participants, enabling participation that advances justice within and beyond the research setting, have not been translated into co-design research. This paper proposes an initial participatory framework for exploring DHH engagement in research, examining how models of …

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Is This The “Me” They Want To See? Exploring Near-Future Adaptations Of Ai For Professional Visibility And Self-Presentation, Forouzan Ebrahimi, Mahan Mehrvarz, Nazli Cila Jun 2026

Is This The “Me” They Want To See? Exploring Near-Future Adaptations Of Ai For Professional Visibility And Self-Presentation, Forouzan Ebrahimi, Mahan Mehrvarz, Nazli Cila

DRS Biennial Conference Series

As professional collaboration increasingly shifts to digital and asynchronous modes, workers use collaboration technologies not only to coordinate tasks but also to manage their professional visibility and reputation. To examine how these practices could evolve as AI becomes more embedded in the collaboration environment, a speculative design approach was adopted to make near-future scenarios experiential. We prototyped speculative AI systems that support visibility through employee self-report reflection, performance scoring, AI-enhanced meeting appearance, communication delegation, and AI-use disclosure as probes for a series of immersive and interactive scenario-based interviews. The findings uncover selective disclosure of AI use to manage professional image, …

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The ‘Cuteness Matrix’: Mapping Cuteness As An Affective Strategy For Purpose-Led Communication Design, Guo Yi Xian Yix, Mimi Nguyen, David Preston Jun 2026

The ‘Cuteness Matrix’: Mapping Cuteness As An Affective Strategy For Purpose-Led Communication Design, Guo Yi Xian Yix, Mimi Nguyen, David Preston

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Cuteness is often dismissed as trivial or decorative. Yet research across neuroscience, psychology, and cultural theory reveals it as a powerful affective force that captures attention, evokes empathy, and encourages prosocial behaviour and well-being. Cute’s affective potency also renders it ethically ambivalent, capable of manipulation as much as comfort. Despite its ubiquity, cuteness remains under-theorised in design research, a notable gap for a discipline concerned with communication, emotion, and human connection. Addressing this gap, this study conducts an interpretive systematic literature review of publications from 1943 to 2025, identifying 65 key scholarly sources. Interdisciplinary insights are synthesized into the ‘Cuteness …

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Producing Knowledge For Whom? Parallel Knowledge Worlds In Chinese Doctoral Education In Design And International Design Research, Linghao Li, Wangda Zhu, Tingxin Zheng Jun 2026

Producing Knowledge For Whom? Parallel Knowledge Worlds In Chinese Doctoral Education In Design And International Design Research, Linghao Li, Wangda Zhu, Tingxin Zheng

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Since the first programs were established in 2011, China's design doctoral education has expanded to 37 institutions by 2024, yet Chinese scholars remain marginalized in international venues like DRS (3.6% of papers, 2012–2024). Through mixed-methods analysis of 426 dissertations, 95 conference papers, 6,239 citations, 40 author trajectories, and 9 interviews, we reveal systematic divergence rather than exclusion. Citation analysis demonstrates a 50.9 percentage point shift: scholars cite 54.5% Chinese-language sources in dissertations but only 3.6% in DRS papers. Author tracking shows 72.5% became one-time participants with no subsequent first-author international publications, evidencing strategic credential-seeking over sustained engagement. Keyword analysis confirms …

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Whose Voice Is It Anyway?: Design Resources For Safely Navigating Deceptive Ai Voice Scams, Dominique Carlon, Awais Hameed Khan, Anthony Mccosker, Tracy De Cotta Jun 2026

Whose Voice Is It Anyway?: Design Resources For Safely Navigating Deceptive Ai Voice Scams, Dominique Carlon, Awais Hameed Khan, Anthony Mccosker, Tracy De Cotta

DRS Biennial Conference Series

AI-powered voice scams are a fast-evolving public threat, combining rapid advances in synthetic speech technologies with sophisticated social engineering tactics. These scams are difficult to detect, exploit trust and familiarity, often resulting in deeply stigmatising experiences for those targeted. While anyone can be affected by scams, building awareness and confidence in navigating AI-related risks requires approaches tailored to the needs of diverse communities, particularly those who are more digitally excluded or marginalised. To address this, we developed AI & You—a suite of accessible, modular, and adaptable public education resources, collaboratively designed with the digital advocacy group Tactical Tech. We evaluated …

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Designing Narrative Reconstruction From Bamboo Slips: A Rag-Agent Approach For Cultural Scene Generation, Qijun Tian, Yuqian Yao, Zhengyu Chen, Hanling Zhang Jun 2026

Designing Narrative Reconstruction From Bamboo Slips: A Rag-Agent Approach For Cultural Scene Generation, Qijun Tian, Yuqian Yao, Zhengyu Chen, Hanling Zhang

DRS Biennial Conference Series

As large language models (LLMs) become increasingly integrated into cultural heritage research, practices such as artifact reconstruction, content generation, and virtual restoration are rapidly advancing. Generative artificial intelligence is unlocking new narrative potential for jiandu (bamboo and wooden slips), offering innovative approaches to cultural expression and historical reconstruction. However, general-purpose language models often face limitations in domain knowledge and semantic reliability, making it difficult to ensure accuracy and traceability in jiandu-based generation. To address these challenges, this study proposes a virtual restoration framework for jiandu narratives based on Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and agent mechanisms. Using the Liye Qin slips as …

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Toward Caring Urban Design: Developing Care Practices Through Thinking With Forno Vagabondo, Miriam Kreuzer, Flora Mammana Jun 2026

Toward Caring Urban Design: Developing Care Practices Through Thinking With Forno Vagabondo, Miriam Kreuzer, Flora Mammana

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Urban crises and power inequalities intensify processes of urbanization that reinforce exclusion, segregation, and displacement. Within urban design, care has recently been discussed as an ethical and political framework for addressing these dynamics. However, little attention has been paid to how care-ethical principles can be translated into concrete urban design practices. This paper responds to this gap by developing four caring practices for urban design. Using dialogical inquiry through conversation as a method, the research brings together feminist care ethics with situated, practice-based knowledge from the urban design project Forno Vagabondo – a mobile social oven traveling through a valley …

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Design-Driven Reflection: A Children's Metacognitive Cultivation System Integrating Physical Interaction And Digital Narrative, Yi Li, Yanfei Xu, Yu Gao, Zihui Jiang, Xinming Zhou, Xiaofang Jiang Jun 2026

Design-Driven Reflection: A Children's Metacognitive Cultivation System Integrating Physical Interaction And Digital Narrative, Yi Li, Yanfei Xu, Yu Gao, Zihui Jiang, Xinming Zhou, Xiaofang Jiang

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Reflection is a crucial component for the development of children's metacognitive abilities, which is foundational for their overall growth. However, current preschool practices often lack structured approaches for facilitating reflection. To promote children's reflection after autonomous play and thereby foster their metacognitive abilities, this study introduces a reflection system that integrates physical interaction and digital narrative. Using tangible icons, the system guides children in reconstructing their play experiences, which are then converted into personalized digital comics. Implementation in kindergarten settings demonstrates the system's high usability and its effectiveness in eliciting children's metacognitive statements. Furthermore, the socially shared reflective situations significantly …

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From Boundaries To Bindings. Reframing Sound-Driven Design In Narrative Exhibitions, Micol Riva, Yi Zhang Jun 2026

From Boundaries To Bindings. Reframing Sound-Driven Design In Narrative Exhibitions, Micol Riva, Yi Zhang

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Digital technologies and human-centred design approaches have transformed the cultural heritage sector, shifting the focus towards the visitor experience and advocating for collaboration between designers and non-designers. This article draws on design research and museography to discuss the role of sound in the digital cultural heritage, focusing on sound-driven exhibition design practices. The ephemeral nature of sonic experiences challenges the concept of “boundary objects”, reframing them from blueprint-like physical or abstract schemes into an Ingoldian concept of “bindings", promoting mutual understanding and collaboration across different communities. We focus here on two narrative exhibitions we were directly involved in: a participatory …

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Đồng-Design: Designing Togetherness As A Systemic Approach To Vietnam’S Textile And Apparel Transformation, Lan Lam, Donna Cleveland Jun 2026

Đồng-Design: Designing Togetherness As A Systemic Approach To Vietnam’S Textile And Apparel Transformation, Lan Lam, Donna Cleveland

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Vietnam’s textile and apparel industry, one of the world’s largest garment exporters, is under growing pressure to shift from labour-based to design-led and sustainable business models. However, applying Western co-design frameworks within the hierarchical and production-driven context of large enterprises reveals significant cultural and structural constraints. Drawing on in-depth interviews and reflexive journaling, this paper reports findings from two phases of an ongoing project and examine how design participation is understood and enacted across Vietnam’s fashion eco-system, contrasting the relational practices of micro and small enterprises with the fragmented processes of large manufacturers. It introduces đồng-design, a culturally situated approach …

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Perceived Quality And Future Applications Of Transparent Wood: Insights From An International Focus Group, Eva Vanessa Bruno, Beatrice Lerma, Doriana Dal Palù Jun 2026

Perceived Quality And Future Applications Of Transparent Wood: Insights From An International Focus Group, Eva Vanessa Bruno, Beatrice Lerma, Doriana Dal Palù

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Transparent wood (TW), obtained by removing lignin from natural wood and infiltrating it with bio-resin or bioplastic, has attracted renewed scientific and industrial interest over the past fifteen years as an effective alternative to plastics and glass. The research explores how this perceptual hybrid can be meaningfully presented in professional design contexts to support future use of TW. A twofold action was carried out during a focus group involving 12 international project professionals. On one hand, a sensory–perceptual analysis was conducted to identify the distinctive characteristics of the material; on the other, future application scenarios were explored through creative techniques …

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Co-Speculating With Ai: From Prompts To Practices, Elisa Giaccardi, Joseph Lindley, Maria Luce Lupetti, Giulia Jiangxian Zhu, Dave Murray-Rust Jun 2026

Co-Speculating With Ai: From Prompts To Practices, Elisa Giaccardi, Joseph Lindley, Maria Luce Lupetti, Giulia Jiangxian Zhu, Dave Murray-Rust

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper presents a vocabulary for co-speculation with AI, developed through an experimental design studio with 55 postgraduate students who used generative AI tools to explore more-than-human design practices of decentering. The vocabulary spans multiple scales of interaction—from individual prompting acts to extended collaborative sessions—serving descriptive, analytic, and generative functions. Whilst it was developed through the specific context of decentering practices, we argue that this vocabulary is transferable to diverse design domains. It offers designers and researchers a framework for more reflective and intentional engagements with AI, contributing to emerging discussions on how design practice evolves when speculation becomes a …

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From Edgeland To Gentrified-Land: Graphic Communication As Intermediary For Negotiating Place Identity In Hackney Wick, London, Angelina Hang Pan, Jennifer Mchugn, Jingnan Bian Jun 2026

From Edgeland To Gentrified-Land: Graphic Communication As Intermediary For Negotiating Place Identity In Hackney Wick, London, Angelina Hang Pan, Jennifer Mchugn, Jingnan Bian

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Hackney Wick has long been regarded as an urban edgeland, marked by significant poverty since the 1860s, with distinctive topographic and socio- economic features. Yet in the early 2000s, it saw a rapid transformation into a creative space as artists began to occupy abandoned warehouses, building a live- work culture and quickly establishing itself as one of Europe’s most vibrant artistic communities. More recently, the development of the London Olympic infrastructure and government-led urban regeneration initiatives have accelerated gentrification and drive for social capital, whilst intensifying social exclusion and community marginalisation amongst disadvantaged communities. This paper integrates visual ethnography (graphic …

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When Play Becomes Language: Transforming International Student Experience Through Environmental Art And Eco-Social Design, Nina Luostarinen, Melanie Sarantou Jun 2026

When Play Becomes Language: Transforming International Student Experience Through Environmental Art And Eco-Social Design, Nina Luostarinen, Melanie Sarantou

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This study explores the Miyanohara participatory land art project in Ōmuta City, Japan, as an innovative teaching method for integrating international exchange students into new cultural and environmental settings within higher education institutions (HEIs). By creating a 74-metre installation depicting the Kasumi salamander at a former coal mine site, eleven international students from Kyushu University's Strategic Design course engaged in embodied learning that transcended linguistic and cultural barriers. Using arts-based methodologies and an eco-social design approach, we demonstrate how land art can serve as a powerful tool for HEIs to foster environmental awareness, cultural integration, and transformational learning experiences for …

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