IDEA JOURNAL 2014

DESIGN ACTIVISM:
Developing Models, Modes and Methodologies of Practice

GUEST EDITOR: Dr. Lorella Di Cintio

CALL FOR PAPERS/PROPOSALS

Academics, research students and practitioners are invited to submit design
research papers and critical project works that engage interior
design/interior architecture theory and practice with the topic of Design
Activism: Developing Models, Modes and Methodologies of Practice


PROVOCATION

The living conditions of First Nations communities, food-security concerns,
access to clean safe water, domestic violence – seemingly disparate
subjects can be, and are being, connected to interior design teaching and
practice. Such issues are particularly linked to the ongoing discussions of
designers working within the new global design paradigm. There is evidence
that a range of worthwhile initiatives have been undertaken by design
professionals who choose to pursue socially responsible practices, and by
educators and practitioners who are intentionally shifting away from a
focus on pure aesthetics and market-driven practices.

Dissatisfied with what they perceive as an over-emphasis by the design
community on aesthetics, and its failure to meaningfully address the design
needs of at-risk and low-income communities, several academics and
practitioners have started to incorporate social-justice issues into their
design research and teaching - while a number of independent design
practitioners are involving themselves in activism.

Design activism is a combined entity of aesthetics and ethics. It is
trans-disciplinary, it incorporates mixed media, and it is inspired by the
ethics of socio-political activism and community building. Several design
activists have partnered with the design profession and specific political
agencies to create design solutions that meet the needs of politically,
economically, and socially disadvantaged communities, but initiatives are
sporadic. In order to make what are now essentially grassroots initiatives
a part of the mainstream, models and methodologies for action need to be
developed within the design academy. As guest editor, this call is shaped
by my desire to make ethics a more central component of interior design
practice and pedagogy.

This journal’s theme calls for a re-thinking of interior design pedagogy
and a review of current practices found in design activism. For instance,
the author(s), could consider and highlight noteworthy projects of scholars
whose pedagogy and critical work is linked with activism, and/or respond to
pedagogical shifts found in the field of design activism, particularly as
they emerge in and relate to the discipline of interior design/interior
architecture.

The goals of this call are two-fold: to promote debate, discussion and
theorization among designers, design academics and various segments of the
general public about the place of ethics and activism in design, and to
contribute to the development of knowledge that focuses on embedding design
activism into the design curriculum and design profession. The overall
objective of the call is to encourage a shift towards activism in interior
design theory and design education.


IDEA JOURNAL
accepts
:

DESIGN RESEARCH PAPERS that demonstrate development and engagement with
interior design/interior architecture history, theory, education and
practice through critique and synthesis. The focus is on the documentation
and critical review of both speculative research and practice-based research

REFEREED STUDIOS that present the nature and outcomes of refereed design
studios which have either been previously peer reviewed in situ and/or
critically discussed through text and imagery for the IDEA JOURNAL.

PROJECT REVIEWS that critically evaluate design-based works which seek to
expand the nature of spatial, temporal and theoretical practice in interior
design/interior architecture and associated disciplines.

VISUAL ESSAYS that demonstrate and present speculative research and
practice-based research through visual media.

BOOK & EXHIBITION REVIEWS to encourage debate into the emerging literature
dedicated to the expression and expansion of the theory and practice of
interior design/interior architecture.

REGISTRATION OF INTEREST:
Authors are invited to register their interest in submitting a paper on the
form following and forward by email to the Executive Editor, Suzie Attiwill
by 21 October 2013. Registration of interest is not refereed. The
acknowledgement of registration facilitates development of a proposal to
full research paper, refereed studio, visual essay or project review by
providing formatting guidelines and publication standards to registrants.

Email: [log in to unmask]


IMPORTANT DATES / DEADLINES

Call for contributions: August to October 2013

Registration of interest including 50 words and image if appropriate due by
21 October 2013

Acknowledgement by mid November 2013

Submit full draft for review by 24 February 2014

Peer-review: March to June 2014

Notification by mid July 2014

Revisions by author(s) returned to Executive Editor by 31 August 2014

Journal published early 2015


GUEST EDITOR
Lorella Di Cintio, PhD, is a faculty member in the School of Interior
Design at Ryerson University. She has been educated in Canada, United
States, and Europe in the fields of Interior Design, Architecture, and
Philosophy. Her research focuses primarily on design activism and social
responsibility and she is the founder of The Design Change = Exchange
Initiative. She is affiliated with the Centre for Studies in Food Security
and EDGE lab at Ryerson University. Her area of research focuses on the
social and political positions undertaken by designers. Current projects
explore and employ various design strategies in the areas of design
activism, cross-cultural collaborative design learning, civic engagement
and participation, food security activism and human-centred design models.
Di Cintio is a dedicated and respected advocate for equity, inclusion and
social justice at Ryerson and beyond. She has forged working partnerships
with First Nations communities in Canada and Mexico, and her students’
designs have supported Toronto food-bank users, Haitian earthquake
survivors, and others. Di Cintio creates unique pedagogical links among
design, service learning, and such complex issues as socioeconomic status
and food security. She works to develop curriculum that transforms theory
into practice.

She has received a silver medal for design education and service from the
Universidad Iberoamericana, and represented Ryerson on a design mission to
China. Several of Professor Di Cintio’s appointments and accolades, both
academically and within the profession, have been “first precedents” for
the School of Interior Design. She is an academic reviewer for the Journal
of Interior Design with a focus on service-learning pedagogy, and she was
recently awarded the position of Editor-in-Charge of Service Activities in
Academia with the Interior Design Educators Council (A North American
organization). Lorella Di Cintio is increasingly recognized as a leader in
the teaching of design activism and the pursuit of design with a conscience.

IDEA JOURNAL is published by IDEA (Interior Design / Interior Architecture
Educators Association)
http://idea-edu.com/journal/2014-idea-journal/

--
Dr Suzie Attiwill
Executive Editor
IDEA JOURNAL (2014-16)
Interior Design/Interior Architecture Educators Association
ACN 135 337 236
www.idea-edu.com

c/o Interior Design
School of Architecture + Design
RMIT University
Melbourne, Australia

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