Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 9421 - 9450 of 1102510

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

From Matter To Method: Situated And Relational Approaches Through Geothermal Clays, Alejandra Vera Jun 2026

From Matter To Method: Situated And Relational Approaches Through Geothermal Clays, Alejandra Vera

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Working with natural materials can open space for exploratory forms of inquiry. This paper examines how nature influences our approaches to artistic practice and research. Through the frameworks of introspective methodologies and posthumanism, this study examines a case of Icelandic geothermal clays to reflect on possible methodological approaches within artistic research. The author’s ceramic practice serves to trace the processes of developing artworks with natural materials. The acts of collecting, testing, and designing with geothermal clays become both a creative and an epistemic endeavour, a way of thinking with and through materials. Artistic practice emerges as a form of inquiry …

Go to article

Interdependencies Of Art History And Design History Curriculum In Indian Undergraduate Education, Srutinwita Roy, Saurabh Tewari Jun 2026

Interdependencies Of Art History And Design History Curriculum In Indian Undergraduate Education, Srutinwita Roy, Saurabh Tewari

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This research investigates the interdependencies between the subject of Art History and Design History within undergraduate programs across five prominent institutions in India. The study draws upon the experiences, perspectives, and reflections of both teachers and students and through interviews, curriculum mapping, and classroom observations, explores how these two disciplines influence, overlap, and inform each other in both content and pedagogy. The findings reveal that these subjects are deeply interconnected, with each contributing significantly to the understanding and evolution of the other. The research also highlights institutional variations among curriculum development. It is observed that the absence of a defined …

Go to article

Learning From Inexperienced Users’ Early Engagement With Food Tracking, Isil Oygur, Saadet Tikac Andic Jun 2026

Learning From Inexperienced Users’ Early Engagement With Food Tracking, Isil Oygur, Saadet Tikac Andic

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Current food tracking applications are largely designed to support behaviour change among users who track their food intake to meet predefined goals. As a result, individuals who are curious about food tracking but do not have specific goals remain underserved, limiting the potential of these tools for preventive care. To address this gap, we conducted a three-phase interview study using an existing food journaling application as a probe to reimagine food tracking experiences for inexperienced users. Thirty-one participants used the app for 14 days and discussed their views on healthy eating, food practices, and their tracking experiences. Our analysis identified …

Go to article

From Appraisal To Affect: Designing A Playful Activity For Social Emotional Learning Among Children, Jonathan Sawian, Aditi Sharma Jun 2026

From Appraisal To Affect: Designing A Playful Activity For Social Emotional Learning Among Children, Jonathan Sawian, Aditi Sharma

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The National Education Policy of India (2020) states that Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is essential towards student’s holistic development. While existing curricula provide structured guidance and learning, they often lack playful and participatory elements to engage children in the learning process. This paper describes the design and evaluation of a non-digital, co-operative and playful activity called Bhavna Chakra (Wheel of Emotions) which aims to teach children about emotional awareness using Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions. The study proposes a design framework based on cognitive appraisal theory, narrative structure and social play. A within-subjects study with 40 students (ages 11–12) from low …

Go to article

Designing Algorithmic Infrastructures For Environmental Regeneration: Autonomous Systems In Marine Contexts, Oğul Görgülü, Ahmet Can Özcan, Anders Berglund Jun 2026

Designing Algorithmic Infrastructures For Environmental Regeneration: Autonomous Systems In Marine Contexts, Oğul Görgülü, Ahmet Can Özcan, Anders Berglund

DRS Biennial Conference Series

In an era shaped by autonomous systems, designers increasingly confront a central question: how should responsibility and decision-making be distributed when environmental action is partially delegated to algorithms? This article explores how AI infrastructures in marine environmental operations reshape relations between human intention, machine autonomy, and ecological care. Drawing on posthuman design theory, Actor–Network Theory, and explainable AI, the study proposes an Ethics of Autonomy framework that positions design as a mediator between human oversight and algorithmic agency. Using a case-informed analysis of three marine robotic systems—FloatyBoats (coral restoration), Seaswarm (oil spill mitigation), and the autonomous surface vessel Vatoz (marine …

Go to article

The Didactic Body: Interdisciplinary Design Pedagogy In 1970s Denmark, Christine Bjerke Jun 2026

The Didactic Body: Interdisciplinary Design Pedagogy In 1970s Denmark, Christine Bjerke

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper explores alternative pedagogical approaches that centred the relationship between the human body and design in 1970s Denmark. Initiated by lecturers at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts – School of Architecture (today Royal Danish Academy – Architecture, Design, Conservation), a series of interdisciplinary ergonomics seminars (1974–78) at Institute 3C2 brought together more than a hundred students and lecturers from architecture, design, dance, and the medical and social sciences. Through archival research and oral history, I analyse these overlooked teaching practices and situate them within broader societal changes. Informed by disability studies, I examine how the seminars negotiated …

Go to article

Drawing In The Minor Key: An Approach For Multi-Actor Designing For Societal Transformation, Caroline Hummels Jun 2026

Drawing In The Minor Key: An Approach For Multi-Actor Designing For Societal Transformation, Caroline Hummels

DRS Biennial Conference Series

As a society, we are confronted with polycrisis. An epistemic shift, that means shifting our way of knowing and changing our ways of looking at complex societal issues, is necessary to be able to transform our practices. Tim Ingold offers such an epistemic shift through the concept of ‘minor key’, fostering open-endedness, imagination, and experimentation. Designing for transformation in the minor key requires different forms of co-creating and communicating. In contrast to a major key, closed style of visualising, minor key drawing might fit, due to its potential for imperfection, open-endedness and imagination. In this pictorial, I’ll reflect on a …

Go to article

Learning To Design With Communities: Situated Public Design Education Through The Roots Project In The Gambia, Mireia Sierra, Juan José Ramos, Ramon Bragos Jun 2026

Learning To Design With Communities: Situated Public Design Education Through The Roots Project In The Gambia, Mireia Sierra, Juan José Ramos, Ramon Bragos

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper presents the ROOTS Project, developed by interdisciplinary student teams from Esade, UPC, and IED within Fusion Point's Challenge-Based Innovation framework, in collaboration with IdeaSquare at CERN. As part of a challenge proposed by IDAEA-CSIC (Spain) and the Sankandi Youth Development Association (SYDA, The Gambia), students co-designed low-cost environmental monitoring tools to support community-led mangrove restoration in the River Gambia region. A two-week field deployment in Sankandi embedded the project within a layered local governance structure (the Alkalo, the Village Development Committee, and its Environmental Committee) through which the technology was formally adopted and transferred. Drawing on student reflections …

Go to article

Collective Handiness In Prospective Design: Philosophical Musings On A Serious Play Workshop On Articulation Work, Polyana Andrade Tavares, Rodrigo Freese Gonzatto, Frederick M.C. Van Amstel Jun 2026

Collective Handiness In Prospective Design: Philosophical Musings On A Serious Play Workshop On Articulation Work, Polyana Andrade Tavares, Rodrigo Freese Gonzatto, Frederick M.C. Van Amstel

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Building on the German philosopher Heidegger, design philosophy has historically dealt with handiness (zuhandenheit/vorhandenheit) as an ontological relationship between an individual, a technology, and an artificial world. Such handiness conceptualization does not account for the social accumulation of work necessary to bring technology ready-to-specific-hands. Building on the work of Brazilian philosopher Vieira Pinto, this investigation foregrounds the collective aspect of handiness to account for the articulation work behind a new design philosophy program, prospective design. This program embraces philosophy through design; therefore, this investigation includes a description of a stakeholder mapping workshop in which serious play was used to develop …

Go to article

Bias Reconsidered: Ecologically Rational Heuristics In Design Cognition, Paul Parsons, Srishti Agrawal, Phuong Bui, Prakash Shukla, Ali Baigelenov Jun 2026

Bias Reconsidered: Ecologically Rational Heuristics In Design Cognition, Paul Parsons, Srishti Agrawal, Phuong Bui, Prakash Shukla, Ali Baigelenov

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Design cognition is often described through a heuristics-and-biases lens that foregrounds systematic errors such as anchoring, fixation, and premature narrowing. Yet in professional practice, the same patterns may function as adaptive strategies for coping with ambiguity, constraint, and ill-defined problems. This paper examines how bias-like tendencies appear in expert data visualization work using a multi-phase qualitative study with 11 professional designers. We analyze situated episodes through two contrastive interpretive lenses: a bias lens that highlights potential distortions, and an adaptive-expertise lens that treats the same tendencies as resource-rational strategies. We situate these interpretations within a broader design cognition perspective, drawing …

Go to article

Can Textiles Be Alive? Exploring Transitional Materialities Through Microbial Biosensors And Textile Fluidics, Avantika Velho, Saurabh Mhatre, Varenya Sethumadhavan, Hann Tu, Neel Joshi, Katia Zolotovsky Jun 2026

Can Textiles Be Alive? Exploring Transitional Materialities Through Microbial Biosensors And Textile Fluidics, Avantika Velho, Saurabh Mhatre, Varenya Sethumadhavan, Hann Tu, Neel Joshi, Katia Zolotovsky

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper explores materials in transition through Living Textiles, a platform that integrates genetically engineered whole-cell biosensors into textiles for on-body physiological and environmental sensing. The project investigates how textiles can act as computational and ecological systems, integrating living cells that sense their environment and communicate through material change. By combining biological sensing with textile craft, Living Textiles reframes smart materials as regenerative and cohabited rather than extractive and disposable. The research contributes to the field of transitional materials design by: (1) presenting new interaction possibilities with microbial cells; (2) developing methods for designing microenvironments that sustain life and sensing; …

Go to article

Data And The Changing Landscape Of Architectural Intelligence, Elizabeth Bowie Christoforetti, Andrew Witt Jun 2026

Data And The Changing Landscape Of Architectural Intelligence, Elizabeth Bowie Christoforetti, Andrew Witt

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The paper addresses emerging and potential changes to the core expertise and structural frameworks of architectural practice in an era of human-machine collaboration and transdisciplinary design, utilizing history and theory to situate the current condition of the profession and its socio-technical infrastructure. The role and relationships defining the architect within society are dissected in light of practical uses of artificial intelligence, highlighting the rapidly evolving ways in which our relationships with site, construction, collaborators, and even the fundamental DNA of the building as an artifact are shifting in the transition from digitization to digitalization. Activities surrounding data collection, classification, process …

Go to article

Fostering Emergence In Behavioral Public Policy: A Systemic Behavioral Design Framework, Ruth Schmidt Jun 2026

Fostering Emergence In Behavioral Public Policy: A Systemic Behavioral Design Framework, Ruth Schmidt

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Behavioral public policy design tends to take a top-down, evidence-based approach to prompting behavioral change through mechanisms like ‘nudges.’ Yet behavioral responses to evolving conditions in complex systems—such as the recent No Kings rallies and anti-ICE activities in the US—often manifest as emergent, self-organizing movements, representing a powerful ‘bottom-up’ form of behavioral change that provides an alternative to traditional behavioral policy. This paper proposes a behavioral systems framework to explore the dynamic of behavioral emergence in a systemic context, composed of two matrixed dimensions: 1) micro, meso, and macro system levels; and 2) mechanisms that support behavior, ranging from targeted …

Go to article

Reflective Practices For Esg: A Framework For Organisational Learning And Transformation, Kamila Kunrath, Devarajan Ramanujan Jun 2026

Reflective Practices For Esg: A Framework For Organisational Learning And Transformation, Kamila Kunrath, Devarajan Ramanujan

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) in organisations is often reduced to metric-driven compliance, overlooking the collective sensemaking required for systemic transformation. Through a longitudinal case study, we traced the evolution of ESG strategy and sensemaking processes across organisational layers. The study highlights (i) the nature of reflection determined by role, (ii) three recurring types of reflection, and (iii) the key transitions that marked the ESG journey in the case company. The results indicate that structured reflection can connect measurement with meaning, transforming ESG into a co-created learning system. These findings inform the Reflective ESG Learning Framework (R-ESG-LF), a learning infrastructure …

Go to article

Visual Thinking With Artificial Intelligence And Augmented And Virtual Reality, Peter Stewart Harkins, Jan Michel Auernhammer Jun 2026

Visual Thinking With Artificial Intelligence And Augmented And Virtual Reality, Peter Stewart Harkins, Jan Michel Auernhammer

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Visual thinking, a foundation of design, is often framed as a reflective conversation between a designer and their medium. Recent advances in generative Artificial Intelligence and immersive technologies, such as Augmented and Virtual Reality, are profoundly reshaping this conversation. This article explores how these digital tools augment the visual design process, moving beyond traditional methods. Through a series of autoethnographic, practice-based examples, we demonstrate several key transformations, particularly: AI-driven dialogues that rapidly iterate within a visual language and translate across languages; embodied, spatial sketching in AR/VR that enables new forms of visuospatial reasoning; and novel methods for perspective-taking and collaboration …

Go to article

Weaving Visual Language: Encoding Gaelic In Tartan Length To Facilitate Interaction With Endangered Languages, Emmie Drummond, Dr Loraine Clarke, Miriam Sturdee, Freya Macleod Jun 2026

Weaving Visual Language: Encoding Gaelic In Tartan Length To Facilitate Interaction With Endangered Languages, Emmie Drummond, Dr Loraine Clarke, Miriam Sturdee, Freya Macleod

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This project reimagines tartan as a data-physicalization of Scots Gaelic. Extending ‘Radical Gaels’, a psycho-geographic soundscape that maps the identity, geographies and material history of Contemporary Gaels. Weaving Visual Language translates Scots waulking songs and geographies through cryptographic mapping to weave structure, using a Python-based binary matrix encoding system, illustrating the loss of Gaelic oral traditions. The resulting textiles act as linguistic archives and objects of cultural dissent. The project proposes a framework for museums to engage audiences through preserving information within the artefact itself, rather than exterior labelling. Theoretically, this work develops the idea of ‘culturally constrained physicalization’, where …

Go to article

A 4r-Supported Circular Product–Service System For Luxury Branded Events, Ke Ma, Francesca Valsecchi, Yuchen Tan, Mingjia Ji, Junru Shen, Xiaoya Ma, Duan Wu, Jiao Mo, Shijian Zhao Jun 2026

A 4r-Supported Circular Product–Service System For Luxury Branded Events, Ke Ma, Francesca Valsecchi, Yuchen Tan, Mingjia Ji, Junru Shen, Xiaoya Ma, Duan Wu, Jiao Mo, Shijian Zhao

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Temporary luxury branded events run on short cycles and bespoke builds that accelerate material churn. We present a circular phygital product–service system that operationalises the circular economy (CE) through a 4R frame (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycling) across warehouse‑to‑event journeys. Developed via a multi‑method design inquiry with a tier‑1 contractor, the system couples physical touchpoints (reusable fold‑flat transit boxes, adjustable racking, standard labels) with digital orchestration (a live digital warehouse, list‑based outbound/inbound workflow, and a sustainable materials library). The architecture aligns roles and decisions, protects and identifies assets, and makes reuse the default under luxury brand constraints. By embedding traceable …

Go to article

Learnings From Peruvian Gastronomy For The Transculturalization Of Design Practices, Laura Salcedo Miranda, Juan Montalván Lume Jun 2026

Learnings From Peruvian Gastronomy For The Transculturalization Of Design Practices, Laura Salcedo Miranda, Juan Montalván Lume

DRS Biennial Conference Series

In recent decades, Peruvian gastronomy has experienced a higher exposure and production of culinary creations manifesting practices of transcultural mixture entangling diverse cultural influences. Nevertheless, there still remains a need for studies that discuss such cultural amalgamations, which could also inform strategies for transculturalization in other culturally sensitive practices like design. This paper analyses multiple variations of well-known Peruvian dishes to understand the historical and contemporary processes of cultural mixture that have fostered the current landscape. For this, a conceptual framework that draws from Latin American Transcultural Design Studies and Gastronomic Theory is proposed to enable transdisciplinary learnings entangling both …

Go to article

Translating Industry: The Reception And Evolution Of Industrial Thought In Early Modern, Chaolu Wang, Ruping Cao Jun 2026

Translating Industry: The Reception And Evolution Of Industrial Thought In Early Modern, Chaolu Wang, Ruping Cao

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper investigates how the concept of "industry" was received, interpreted, and localized in early modern China from the late eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. Drawing on historical accounts from the Self-Strengthening Movement to the New Culture Movement, it reveals how industrial ideas, initially tied to military and technological modernization, gradually evolved into a broader discourse on national progress and social reform. The study argues that this intellectual translation of "industry" laid the groundwork for the emergence of modern Chinese design consciousness. By examining the intersections between industrial policy, low-level industrialization, and cultural transformation, the paper situates China's …

Go to article

Toward A Culturally Situated Perspective: Rethinking The Role Of Ai In Intangible Cultural Heritage Pattern Creation, Xiaojing Yuan, Xiang Yuan, Sanyi Wang, Hao Li, Mengzhi He, Duoduo Zhang, Nick Bryan-Kinns Jun 2026

Toward A Culturally Situated Perspective: Rethinking The Role Of Ai In Intangible Cultural Heritage Pattern Creation, Xiaojing Yuan, Xiang Yuan, Sanyi Wang, Hao Li, Mengzhi He, Duoduo Zhang, Nick Bryan-Kinns

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Research on generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in cultural design has primarily focused on generative control and creative efficiency, often overlooking the misalignment between AI task definition and cultural creation. This study explores how GenAI can be culturally adapted within traditional pattern-making practices. Using an ethnographically informed generative probe, field experiments were conducted in the Huayao cross-stitch community, which practices a form of Chinese intangible cultural heritage. The findings reveal how cultural practitioners negotiate creative logic and cultural judgment when collaborating with AI, identifying four key orientations: liveliness, locality, creation-in-progress, and community creativity. Building on these insights, the paper redefines AI’s …

Go to article

Speculative Design Through Synthetic Data: Exploring How Synthetic Data Be Used To Represent Missing ‘More-Than-Human' Data, Michael Dunbar, Chris Speed Jun 2026

Speculative Design Through Synthetic Data: Exploring How Synthetic Data Be Used To Represent Missing ‘More-Than-Human' Data, Michael Dunbar, Chris Speed

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Smart city data infrastructures largely reinforce anthropocentric paradigms, neglecting the entangled relationships that shape more-than-human worlds. This paper explores synthetic data as a transformative tool to address these omissions, offering alternative ways to represent missing non-human perspectives. Through a research-through-design approach, we present Kin Bank: a speculative interface that uses synthetic data to generate poetic, transactional representations between human and non-human actors. Adopting the metaphor of a shared bank account, the system foregrounds ecological and financial interdependencies while challenging reductionist data practices. Findings from a user study show how synthetic data can surface unseen relationships, embrace ecological complexity, and provoke …

Go to article

Generative Analogical Intelligence: Speculative Co-Design Through The Fabric Of Analogy, Nishra Ranpura Jun 2026

Generative Analogical Intelligence: Speculative Co-Design Through The Fabric Of Analogy, Nishra Ranpura

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is increasingly embedded in creative practice, offering new possibilities for ideation while raising concerns about reduced idea diversity and diminished cognitive engagement. This paper introduces generative analogical intelligence (GAI) as a human-centered approach that foregrounds analogy, material culture, and speculative reasoning to sustain creative thinking. Through a research-through-design (RtD) methodology, the study develops and refines the FABRIC framework (form, action, behavior, relation, intention, context) across three co-design phases involving design students, non-specialists, and design professionals. Findings suggest that analogy-based cross-pollination can reintroduce productive cognitive friction, support both divergent and convergent thinking, and generate varied outcomes. However, …

Go to article

Design-Led Ecodesign Implementation: Enabling Product And Organisational Transformation For Sustainability Transitions, Enrica Monticelli, Francesco Zurlo Jun 2026

Design-Led Ecodesign Implementation: Enabling Product And Organisational Transformation For Sustainability Transitions, Enrica Monticelli, Francesco Zurlo

DRS Biennial Conference Series

A research project conducted in a major appliance company investigates how Ecodesign, when implemented through a design-led and cross-functional process, can evolve from a technical activity into a catalyst for organisational transformation. The study examines the application of a company-specific Ecodesign tool designed to guide product development teams and support adaptive change. A conceptual framework integrating Design-Led Innovation, Dynamic Capabilities, and the Multi-Level Perspective is adopted to interpret how design mediates learning across functions. The paper focuses on the Seize phase, when Ecodesign is integrated into new product development routines through pilot projects. These pilots act as experimental settings in …

Go to article

Fostering Human-Material Co-Creative Dialogical Relationship: Operationalizing The Art Of Making Through Degeneration, Ye Yang Jun 2026

Fostering Human-Material Co-Creative Dialogical Relationship: Operationalizing The Art Of Making Through Degeneration, Ye Yang

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Moving beyond instrumental rationality that treats materials as passive objects, this study operationalizes the Art of Making (AoM) by proposing a three-dimensional degeneration approach. Degeneration disrupts object fixity, reframing objects as materials in a state of in-betweenness that invites co-creative dialogue. Adopting drawing as a universal making practice, we empirically grounded this proposition through five workshops with ten participants from diverse countries and design backgrounds. By degenerating sensory, bodily, explorative, and social dimensions of drawing products and practices, the resulting state of material-in-between invited participants into dialogical engagements. Findings reveal that this state sparks curiosity, transcends preconceptions, activates subconscious exploration …

Go to article

Opening Up Design Impact Assessment: From Singular Metrics To Plural Understandings, Cyril Tjahja, Barbara Predan, Joana Meroz, Petra Černe Oven, Harun Kaygan, Flavia Piancazzo, Ines Tolic, Annamari Vänskä Jun 2026

Opening Up Design Impact Assessment: From Singular Metrics To Plural Understandings, Cyril Tjahja, Barbara Predan, Joana Meroz, Petra Černe Oven, Harun Kaygan, Flavia Piancazzo, Ines Tolic, Annamari Vänskä

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The theme track Opening Up Design Impact Assessment: From Singular Metrics to Plural Understandings addresses the limitations of conventional approaches that rely on standardised and predominantly quantitative metrics. The ten contributions in this track therefore explore alternative ways of understanding design impact, considering it as a situated, relational, and interpretative phenomenon. Instead of proposing a single evaluative framework, the papers collectively demonstrate how impact emerges through diverse practices, contexts, and forms of knowledge. The track is organised into two complementary sessions: one that reconfigures structured approaches to assessment, and another that foregrounds lived experience and participatory processes. Together, they point …

Go to article

Mediating Sonic Worlds: Critical Approaches To Boundary Objects In Sound-Driven Design, Stefano Delle Monache, Nicolas Misdariis, Elif Özcan, Daniel Hug, Sara Lenzi, Sandra Pauletto, Davide Rocchesso, Simone Spagnol Jun 2026

Mediating Sonic Worlds: Critical Approaches To Boundary Objects In Sound-Driven Design, Stefano Delle Monache, Nicolas Misdariis, Elif Özcan, Daniel Hug, Sara Lenzi, Sandra Pauletto, Davide Rocchesso, Simone Spagnol

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This theme critically examines boundary objects – work arrangements, artefacts and representations facilitating cooperation across diverse social groups [1, 2] – at the intersection of sound and design. Our fundamental question is: how effectively can objects informed or defined by sound and listening fulfil this important role in design [3]? Sound-driven design [4, 5] addresses complex socio-technological challenges induced by sound to design for sonic habitability: positive auditory experiences that enhance well-being, foster social connection, and promote a more harmonious relationship between humans, their technologies, and their environments [6]. Sonic boundary objects leverage sound and listening to structure information and …

Go to article

Discourses In Design Research: Historical, Critical, And Speculative Perspectives, Peter Lloyd, Theodora Vardouli, Moa Carlsson, Arlene Oak, Anna Talley, Haian Xue Jun 2026

Discourses In Design Research: Historical, Critical, And Speculative Perspectives, Peter Lloyd, Theodora Vardouli, Moa Carlsson, Arlene Oak, Anna Talley, Haian Xue

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The field of design research is now over 60 years old but, despite comprehensive archives existing, such as the DRS Digital Library, little systematic historical research has been done looking critically at how concepts in the field have developed over time. Studies looking at how certain discourses have come to dominate in design research, and those that have been disregarded, are long overdue. The theme-track Discourses in Design Research: Historical, Critical, and Speculative Perspectives invited submissions engaging historically and critically with ideas and concepts that have helped shape the discipline of design research. The papers share a concern both with …

Go to article

More-Than-Human Design In The Real World: Resistance, Regeneration, And Radical Solidarity, Cristina Zaga, Iohanna Nicenboim, Elisa Giaccardi, Joseph Lindley, Arne Berger, Claudia Garduño García, Laura Forlano Jun 2026

More-Than-Human Design In The Real World: Resistance, Regeneration, And Radical Solidarity, Cristina Zaga, Iohanna Nicenboim, Elisa Giaccardi, Joseph Lindley, Arne Berger, Claudia Garduño García, Laura Forlano

DRS Biennial Conference Series

In Capitalocene, humanity faces the intertwined crises of technological advancement and ecological collapse. These urgent challenges require us to question the power structures embedded in design, technology, and society. As a response, More-than-human design (MthD) recognizes the agency, sentience, and mutual influence of nonhuman species, materials, and environments, foregrounding principles of care, reciprocity, and collaborative co-shaping to foster multispecies cohabitation, ecological justice, and planetary well-being. Yet, it remains unclear how MthD can move beyond academia to influence policy, industry, and communities for ecological and social regeneration. Practicing MthD in the real world means proposing different ways of knowing and ways …

Go to article

Analysing Language Use In Designing: Practices And Performance, Senthil Chandrasegaran, Lisa Perez Elzey, (Eric) Heng Gu, Nathan Crilly, Terresa Hardaway, Vivek Rao, Peter Lloyd Jun 2026

Analysing Language Use In Designing: Practices And Performance, Senthil Chandrasegaran, Lisa Perez Elzey, (Eric) Heng Gu, Nathan Crilly, Terresa Hardaway, Vivek Rao, Peter Lloyd

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The role of language in designing is manifold, including but not limited to representing all aspects of design, enacting roles in design processes, and establishing shared meaning. With the advent of large language models (LLMs), the role of language has further expanded, affording new ways to perform and represent design. This theme track presents five papers that explore how designers use language and language models. We identify themes that cut across these papers to show how language can be used, constrained, adapted, and supplemented in different stages, processes, and domains of designing.

Go to article

Sketching Futures: Cultural Dimensions, Pedagogies, And Digital Transitions, Bryan F. Howell, Janwillem Hoftijzer, Mauricio Novoa Muñoz, Amos Scully Jun 2026

Sketching Futures: Cultural Dimensions, Pedagogies, And Digital Transitions, Bryan F. Howell, Janwillem Hoftijzer, Mauricio Novoa Muñoz, Amos Scully

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This track gathers eighteen papers that consider the work of the sketch and sketching in a moment of accelerating cultural and technological change. Across three sessions: (1) Sketching for Thinking, Expression, and Information; (2) Visualising Narratives; and (3) Sketching & Generative AI, the authors examine analogue, hybrid, immersive, and AI-augmented practices to reveal how design sketching is evolving and rendering the seen and the unseen, the personal and the cultural, the speculative and the practical. Building on the conversation begun at DRS 2024 conference, this year's papers address cultural specificity, decolonial and feminist methodologies, narrative-driven generation, and the pedagogies that …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last