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DESIGN RESEARCH NEWS Volume 10 Number 5, May 2005 ISSN 1473-3862
DRS Digital Newsletter http://www.designresearchsociety.org
________________________________________________________________
CONTENTS
o Editorial
o DRS Symposium: Rising ****
Improving quality in design research
o DRS AGM
o Design Studies contents
o Calls
o Announcements
o Web
o Books
o The Design Research Society: information
o Electronic Services of the DRS
o Contributing to Design Research News
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Editorial
The Design Research Society is to hold a day symposium on 15
July in London. The topic is raising quality in design
research, and includes among its speakers Richard Buchanan, Ken
Friedman, Michael Biggs, Linda Drew, and Bruce Brown. After the
conference there is an optional Annual Dinner where design
awards will be made. Please put this event into your diaries.
This is an exciting and important event, and places are limited
so please make your bookings as soon as possible. Full details
are below.
For DRS members, the conference will be preceded by the DRS
Annual General Meeting. There is no charge for the AGM, and
there is an arrangement for DRS members to attend the conference
and dinner at a discounted rate. Again, details are below.
I want also to draw your attention to an announcement below for
the conference "Creativity: Designer meets Technology Europe" to
be held in Copenhagen. Unfortunately, the organisers have had a
considerable setback in that their ISP had a server crash and
lost a large portion of information relating to the conference.
If you have submitted a paper and not had an acknowledgement
from the organisers, I suggest that you contact them pronto and
send your paper again. Under the circumstances, it might be
best for all authors just to confirm that their paper has been
received. If you have any questions or would like additional
information, please call +45 7022-7232 or email: [log in to unmask]
David Durling
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
DESIGN RESEARCH SOCIETY SYMPOSIUM 15 JULY 2005
Rising ****
Improving Quality in Design Research
15 July 2005 at 12.30pm
2 Carlton House Terrace, London
The Design Research Society will host a national symposium on
research quality in the 'Art and Design' sector.
AIMS
High quality research is increasingly seen as central to
building a body of knowledge in the design domain, for a better
understanding of design and its contexts, and for the
development of practice. There are several obstacles to
achieving high quality:
- emerging from a subject area centred on professional practice,
the sector still has relatively few academics who come from a
professional research background, and even fewer practising
designers with such skills.
- therefore, evidence based working remains problematic for many
designers, though such skills may be in more demand by
consultancies and industry in the future.
- knowledge of the requirements of research is changing with the
growth of doctoral programmes, though many candidates continue
to receive inadequate supervision or training.
- assessment of research quality has been formalised and made
public by, for example, the UK Research Assessment Exercise, but
there remains much work to be done in establishing standards of
independent peer review in other ways, through conferences,
journals, exhibitions and web archives.
- particularly where research is not published and locatable,
best practice in research is not always recognised or shared.
The aim of this event is to bring together the design research
community to debate issues around the quality of research and
how it might be further developed. Keynote speakers comprise
leaders in research management, who are immersed in
international debates about research quality, its assessment,
and the education of new researchers; they will raise obstacles
and opportunities for the improvement of research quality.
In an informal and inquiring atmosphere we will reflect upon
national strategies towards research evaluation and
international developments which point to the growing influence
of design research. In particular, discussions will centre on
strategies for the improvement of research quality, and how we
organise ourselves at the national and international level to
share best practice.
AUDIENCE
This event is important for researchers, academics, research
managers, research administrators, and practitioners from all
design related subject areas.
The symposium will begin with a buffet lunch from 12.30pm on
Friday 15 July 2005. This will provide an opportunity for
networking prior to the event. The symposium will conclude with
a chaired plenary session when emerging issues will be debated
and solutions sought.
DATE & TIME
The symposium is to be held on 15 July 2005 starting at 1230 for
buffet lunch and registration.
SYMPOSIUM
RISING ****
Improving quality in design research
PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME
12.30 Registration opens
Buffet lunch and networking
1.30 Welcome
Professor Richard Buchanan: President, Design Research Society;
Carnegie-Mellon University USA
1.40 Scene setting
Professor David Durling: Chair Design Research Society;
Middlesex University UK
2.00 Practice and theory
Professor Ken Friedman: Norwegian School of Management;
Denmark's Design School
2.20 Rigour and research with practice
Dr Michael Biggs: University of Hertfordshire UK;
Chair of conference Research into Practice
2.40 Design(ing) pedagogic research
Dr Linda Drew: University of the Arts London;
Editor, ADCHE Journal
3.00 Tea break
3.30 The evaluation of research quality
Professor Bruce Brown: University of Brighton;
RAE Main Panel Chair
4.00 Plenary
Discussion and conclusions
Closing remarks, Professor Richard Buchanan
DINNER
For those booking the optional DRS Annual Dinner, there are
pre-dinner drinks and canapes and an opportunity for mingling
with colleagues. Awards will be made, including the DRS
Lifetime Achievement Award for 2005.
Dinner and Awards Presentations
5.30pm Pre-dinner drinks reception, canapes, and more
mingling
7.00pm Dinner. Presentation of Design Studies Award and
The DRS Lifetime Achievement Award 2005
VENUE
Royal College of Pathologists, 2 Carlton House Terrace, London
SW1Y 5AF. Directions may be found at http://www.rcpath.org
Carlton House Terrace was designed by John Nash and built
between 1829 and 1832. The north facade, comprising the
entrances to the original houses, was designed by Decimus
Burton. The building was extensively renovated in 1992. The
modern interior features natural maple panelling set against
pale grey walls and rich blue carpeting throughout the
conference facilities.
The symposium will be held in the Wellcome Trust Conference
Suite which overlooks The Mall and St James's Park with views
over to the Palace of Westminster.
Dinner will be taken in the elegant Council Room with similar
views across London.
BOOKING
Bookings and all enquiries to:
Miss Becky Vann,
PA to the Head of Research & Development,
The Surrey Institute of Art & Design, University College,
Falkner Road, Farnham,
Surrey, GU9 7DS UK
Tel: 01252 892968
Fax: 01252 892973
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
This event is co-sponsored by: School of Arts, Middlesex
University; Surrey Institute of Art and Design, University
College; University of Hertfordshire.
Updated details may be found on the DRS website
http://www.designresearchsociety.org
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
DRS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 15 JULY 2005
The Design Research Society announces that its Annual General
Meeting 2005 will be held on 15 July 2005. The meeting will
begin at 11.30 am, at the Royal College of Pathologists, 2
Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AF. For directions to the
meeting see http://rcpath.org
A formal notice of the meeting will be sent to current DRS
members. For further information please contact the Hon.
Secretary <[log in to unmask]>
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
DESIGN STUDIES CONTENTS
Design Studies Contents of Volume 26, Number 3, May 2005
Viewpoints in co-design: a field study in concurrent engineering
F. Detienne, G. Martin, E. Lavigne pp 215-241
Establishing user requirements: incorporating gamer preferences
into interactive games design
G. Jacobs, B. Ip pp 243-255
The (in)secure position of the design jury towards computer
generated presentations
I. Basa, B. Senyapili pp 257-270
How much visual power can a magazine take?
P. Cleveland pp 271-317
Research into practice: Green home project
pp 319-320
For more information about the journal visit:
http://www.elsevier.com/locate/destud
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
CALLS
Call for ideas and proposals
Our skin is our vulnerable shell. It protects us and
characterizes each one of us as an individual. Besides its
physical attributes, our skin conveys differences between
people; it takes on ancestral, historical, cultural and
political implications. As time flows on, it carves more signs
and meanings on our skin.
SyS wants to explore this territory from different points of
view. Creative personalities will suggest artistic
interpretations of the project message, thus offering their own
reading of the human skin. Photography, graphic arts, the
written word; a bold, abstract approach or a sober and realistic
one - each contribution will be a key component of this
multifaceted jigsaw puzzle. The goal is to build a
well-structured picture of human skin as a concept/research
object. The final work will be published in a book and
distributed to selected retailers all over the world.
Artists, writers, designers and cultural producers: we are
calling you! Send us your work! (Format: 1 to max. 8 pages;
approx. size: 17x24 cm./6.70x9.45 in.). It can be anything from
a photo or photo series/sequence, to graphic work, a story, an
article or a poem.
As the book will include a DVD, please feel free to send us also
multimedia content (sounds, animations, movies, etc.).
Deadline Extended! New deadline: May 31, 2005
We plan to organize a number of offline happenings and events to
support and promote the book, and to link it to an ad-hoc web
site: the "Scan your Skin" online project is under construction
right now (check it out on http://www.scan-skin.org, coming
soon.)
14-18 July 2005: TOURISM AND PERFORMANCE: SCRIPTS, STAGES AND
STORIES. Sheffield, United Kingdom
CENTRE FOR TOURISM AND CULTURAL CHANGE, Sheffield Hallam
University, United Kingdom
http://www.tourism-culture.com
CONTEXT AND AIMS
Performance has been theorised as a way by which human beings
act in society and organise their being in the world. In the
context of tourism, there is much debate regarding the idea of
tourists as performers, 'acting out' spaces, and enacting
'scripts', through which they organise and add meaning to their
experiences and journeys. Tourism in this sense can be seen to
be 'staged'. But such perspectives raise a number of questions
regarding the reflexivity, the hermeneutics, the sensual and
aesthetic modalities, the social interactions and the political
economy of tourist performance: How is individual tourist
performance linked to socially prescribed or learnt models
regarding tourism behaviour and spaces? How are spaces and
material culture 'enacted' by and for tourists? What are the
production and consumption modalities of in situ and in visu
stages for tourism performance? How is tourism performance
linked to modes of touristic social interaction during the
journey? What roles do stories play in generating performativity
and in liberating tourists from the acts of travel and tourism?
The aim of this conference is to explore such questions by
drawing on the methodological and conceptual knowledge of
different disciplinary perspectives including those of: tourism
studies, anthropology, sociology, history, cultural studies,
folkloric studies, literature, critical theory, linguistics,
human/cultural geography, psychology, theatre studies and other
relevant approaches.
THEMES
Key themes of interest to the conference include:
- Who is cooking who? Tourism consumption, digestion, and
excretion
- Hermeneutics, reflexivity and agency: Tourism as a parable of
the social world
- Eden, Sodom & Gomorrah, the Solitary Wanderer, the Golden
Fleece: Archaeologies of tourist imaginary and performance
- Odour, sound, vision, taste - making sense of the senses:
cognitive categories and perceptive processes in tourism
experience
- Objects as props - objects as texts
- Staging, eroticising, and making visible: Translations,
adaptations, and variations of the 'cultural'
- Reconsidering the economic in tourism: Transnational spaces of
encounter, production and exchange
- Political and symbolic manipulation of tourism scripts
- 'Losing the plot': Tourism lost in translation
http://www.tourism-culture.com
20 June 2005: DRAWING RESEARCH NETWORK SYMPOSIUM. DRAWING:
RESPONSES TO THE ENVIRONMENT Stanley Picker Gallery, Kingston
University, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey.
Research students, academic staff, drawing practitioners and
others interested in drawing research are invited to a symposium
of the Drawing Research Network.
Although there is a theme to the day the symposium provides an
opportunity for those with a broader interest in drawing
research to meet and discuss work in progress. If there is
sufficient student interest it might be possible for students to
receive feedback on current work e.g. research methods.
If you would like to give a short presentation at the meeting
(either on the main theme or other topics) please email a
synopsis of your talk to Leo Duff at [log in to unmask] A
programme will be devised and an agenda published on the DRN
discussion list.
PLEASE RESPOND ASAP TO [log in to unmask] IF YOU WOULD LIKE
TO MAKS A SHORT PRESENTATION AT THIS EVENT
24-25 November 2005: Interior Insights Design, Ethnography and
the Home. Royal College of Art, London
The intimate objects and transactions of the home, its visual,
material and sensory cultures, have come under increasing
scrutiny from academics, practitioners and market researchers in
recent years. While empirical, academic and practice-based
researchers, designers and artists share a long-standing
interest in the meanings, rituals and makings of the interior,
communication and collaboration across different disciplines and
research traditions remains minimal.
Interior Insights, a two-day symposium, exploits the home as
common ground for a radically interdisciplinary discussion. How,
for example, do the techniques of video ethnographers from
marketing research, filming the minutiae of everyday lives from
the squeezing of toothpaste to the selection of a DVD movie,
intersect with those of interaction designers? How do ideas
about the home interior as a sensual phenomenon, as opposed to a
purely visual one, change the concept of design for domestic
retail? Have a new generation of designers become pseudo-applied
anthropologists? What are the ethical issues of exposing
interior worlds and can research be used for social, as well as
commercial, benefits?
Integral to our enquiries about these topics will be a
consideration of how we learn about the home, through empirical
studies, historical research, design interventions, and artistic
interpretation. Featuring a range of speakers from social
anthropology, contemporary design, marketing, sociology, art
practice, photography and film, interaction design and domestic
retail the event aims to provoke an intellectual debate. The
symposium will serve the dual purpose of enriching our
understandings of the home as a domain for research and design,
and facilitating a more general discussion of the potential
synergies between different disciplinary perspectives and
methodologies.
Please send abstracts (200 words) for 20 minute papers by 15 May
2005 to:
[log in to unmask]
Please include email address and other contact details.
26-28 October 2005: Design Perspectives Envisioning design for
the XXI century. University Iberoamericana. Mexico City.
This major international conference will be held at the
University Iberoamericana (Campus Mexico City), where the first
studies of Design in Latin America started 50 years ago.
The theme for the conference is "Design Perspectives:
Envisioning design for the 21st century". Its aim is to bring
together ideas from the entire design community (professionals,
researchers, educators, graduate students, etc) in order to
explore, visualize, argue and draw the possible future of
design.
This conference is an open forum for designers from all
disciplines (industrial, textile, graphic, new media). We invite
you all to submit papers and contributions for the conference.
22-25 February 2006: Call for papers: "Design(ing) Criticism"
College Art Association annual conference Boston, Massachusetts
(USA)
[deadline for receipt of abstracts: May 13, 2005]
Session description:
Despite many recent calls for increased rigor in design writing,
design criticism remains an undervalued, underdeveloped, and
undertheorized discipline. This panel examines design criticism
as a literary and social activity, explores new forms of
critique, and investigates the extent to which values and
paradigms from art and literary criticism have stifled or
enriched design criticism. Which critics or ideas have most
fundamentally shaped how design criticism has been understood
and practiced? Where, by whom, and for whom is design criticism
being written? How does the criticism in Consumer Reports or
users' online product reviews relate to the writing in design
magazines? What new forms of criticism should be considered?
What does the "crisis of art criticism" mean for design
criticism? Could design criticism provide a model for art
criticism's regeneration?
Session co-chairs:
Elizabeth Guffey, Purchase College, State University of New
York; and Carma Gorman, Southern Illinois University,
Carbondale; mail abstracts to: Carma Gorman, Southern Illinois
University, School of Art and Design, MC 4301, Carbondale, IL
62901, or e-mail abstracts to: [log in to unmask] and
[log in to unmask]
Preliminary abstracts must be accompanied by CAA's "Session
Participation Proposal Submission Form," a short letter of
interest, and a c.v. Detailed instructions for submitting
abstracts and supporting materials, as well as the Session
Participation Proposal Submission Form itself, appear on pages 1
and 23, respectively, of CAA's 2006 Call For Participation,
which is available as a pdf file at
http://www.collegeart.org/pdf/2006_conference_call.pdf . Please
note that CAA membership is required of all conference
participants (but is not necessary to submit an abstract).
3-5 November 2005: AIGA, ACM SIGGRAPH and SIGCHI Announces
DUX2005 will be held in San Francisco, California
AIGA, ACM SIGGRAPH and SIGCHI announce the 2nd international DUX
conference, "Designing for User Experience," will take place 3-5
November, in San Francisco, CA at the beautiful Fort Mason
Center.
"We are pleased to announce the 2nd DUX conference as well as
the release of the Call for Participation," said the conference
chairs, Richard Anderson, Brian Blau, and John Zapolski. "We
invite design professionals from all disciplines to contribute
studies of specific cases, best practices, and research, so the
community can benefit from others' successes and insights." More
information and the Call for Participation can be found at the
conference website,
http://www.dux2005.org
The DUX2005 program will focus on interaction design and visual
communication. Leading this effort are Program Chairs Clark
Dodsworth, Nancy Frishberg and Rakhi Rajani. Its focus reflects
current trends in innovative user experience designs in areas
that include mobile device interfaces, data visualization,
design process, responsive environments, public art
installations and live performance interfaces, consumer products
and services, appliances, and game interaction. This broad range
of topic areas ensures relevant, fresh, and meaningful
submissions from the experience design community.
DUX2005 invites submissions in four categories: Design Case
Studies, Design Practice Studies, Design Research Studies, and
(briefer) Design Sketches. Studies report on implemented
designs and the methods and techniques people have used,
specifying what worked, what did not work, and why. Sketches
report on works in progress. Both studies and sketches will be
presented in at the DUX2005 conference in an intimate theater
setting. Individual presentations will complement panel
discussions, group presentations and tutorials.
Information about submissions and the submission kit will be
posted on the web site on April 21, 2005. In late May we will
post additional information about the conference, registration
and hotel availability.
The conference committee invites all interested parties to read
more about the conference and the Call for Participation at
http://www.dux2005.org
27 June 2005: International Symposium on Fashion Marketing and
Management Research. London College of Fashion
Symposium aims
Fashion in all its aspects, is an area of study which draws
together researchers from many fields in recognition of the
size, scope and complexity of the industry. Clothing manufacture
and retailing are major contributors to national economies
throughout the world and understanding and affecting change
through research has become a concern of participating companies
and governments. There are growing numbers of academics who
focus specifically on the fashion industry not only in attempts
to innovate in business and design, but also to study it as a
cultural phenomenon. For some, the processes of consumption are
examined for their social meaning while others study markets in
an attempt to refine business processes.
The International Symposium on Fashion Marketing and Management
Research will reflect these aspects of the industry today
through selected papers and keynote speakers. The event will be
an opportunity for new and established researchers to meet and
debate, to exchange ideas and to develop new research themes.
Doctoral and Masters students would benefit from the event and
the participation of these groups is particularly welcomed.
Presentations
The papers selected for the symposium range across topics and
approaches that are central to current fashion research. The
presentations will include original contributions by academics
from several different European countries as well as South
America, the Far East and USA. Papers describe completed or
proposed research and contributions from new researchers and
doctoral students have been encouraged. Papers have been
reviewed and selected by an international panel of researchers.
Themes which will be included in the symposium are supply chain
management, understanding consumers, luxury, buying and trend
prediction, retailing, design management and other key aspects
of the fashion process.
The day will be include keynote presentations that will address
issues relevant to research in this field. Our keynote speakers
are:
Professor Margaret Bruce, Manchester Business School
Professor Christopher Moore, Glasgow Caledonian University
The Venue
London College of Fashion a constituent college of the
University of the Arts London, is located in the heart of
London, one of the world's great fashion capitals. The College
offers a range of undergraduate, postgraduate and research
programmes and a host of professional development opportunities
in many aspects of fashion and beauty. In particular, it has a
unique range of courses that address fashion marketing and
promotion. Its reputation as an international research centre
in these two fields is rapidly expanding.
The Symposium will be held at the College's John Princes Street
site which is two minutes walk from Oxford Circus tube station.
Fees
Fees for the symposium include attendance at the event, coffee,
tea and lunch.
Full fee UKP 55.00 Student rate UKP 35.00 UAL staff and students
UKP 15.00
Registration
As places at this event are strictly limited, it is recommended
that you book as early as possible.
Please apply for a registration form to:
[log in to unmask]
22-24 September 2005: JOINING FORCES. Design Research,
Industries and a New Interface for Competitiveness University of
Art and Design Helsinki, Finland.
This conference explores the various ways in which design
research can benefit the development of industries and
innovation generation of both international and local nature.
Other core issues are related to the implementation of research
outcomes and to the feedback to the research context and
research education, as well as in which ways these occur in
different contexts of global and national scale.
The keynote speakers will include:
Professor Brigitte Borja de Mozota, University of Paris
Nanterre
Professor John Heskett, Hong Kong Polytechnic School of Design
and advisor to the Chinese government
Professor Turkka Keinonen, University of Art and Design Helsinki
Professor Kun-Pyo Lee, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and
Technology
Professor Craig M. Vogel, University of Cincinnati
In addition to the keynote contributions the program will
include over 80 oral papers from 22 different countries. These
papers will be presented in parallel sessions on 23 September.
For further information please see the conference website
www.uiah.fi/joiningforces To register, please go to
http://www2.uiah.fi/joiningforces/registration.html
In matters concerning the program, please contact:
Pekka Korvenmaa, Conference chairman PhD, Professor, School of
Design, MA and Doctoral Programme in Industrial and Strategic
Design [log in to unmask]
In matters concerning the practical arrangements, please
contact:
Lotta Palmi, Conference secretary [log in to unmask] Tel. +358
9 7563 0649 Fax. +358 9 7563 0433
14-18 November 2005: Objet: ECCS'05 Last Call for Papers
(European Conference on Complex Systems 2005). PARIS (Cite
Internationale Universitaire)
TOWARDS A SCIENCE OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS
Complex systems, as networks of interactive entities, are
studied through a rapidly increasing mass of data in all
domains. At the same time, these domains share a lot of new and
fundamental theoretical questions. This situation is especially
favourable for developing the new science of complex systems in
an interdisciplinary way.
There are two kinds of interdisciplinarity within complex
systems. The first begins with a particular complex system and
addresses a variety of questions coming from its particular
domain and points of view. The second begins with questions that
are fundamental to complex systems in general. The first leads
to domain-specific interdisciplinary fields such as cognitive
science. The new science of complex system belongs to a second
kind of interdisciplinarity. It starts from fundamental open
questions relevant to many domains, and searches for methods to
deal with them.
These two kinds of interdisciplinarity are complementary and
interdependent: any advance in one is valuable for the other.
The science of complex systems will develop through a constantly
renewed process of reconstructing data from models with a
permanent interaction between the two kinds of
interdisciplinarity. The reconstruction of the dynamics of
complex systems presents a major challenge to modern science but
it is becoming increasingly accessible through an accumulating
mass of data, combined with the increasing power of computers
leading to theoretical advances in understanding.
This conference follows the one organized in Torino (Italy) in
December 2004 with the help of the European commission and with
support from the coordination actions EXYSTENCE and ONCE-CS,
funded by the Future and Emerging Technologies unit of the
European Commission. ECCS'05 benefits from the same support and
is the first conference in an annual series organized by the new
European Complex Systems Society.
http://complexsystems.lri.fr/
26-27 September 2005: "Creativity: Designer meets Technology
Europe". Call for Papers
Creative Institute for Design and Technology at KrIDT (Denmark)
along with The Center for Excellence of Digital Ink Jet Printing
of Textiles at Philadelphia University (USA), will host a
conference at Skt. Petri Hotel (http://www.hotelsktpetri.com),
Copenhagen. There will be a publication of the lectures from the
conference.
"Creativity: Designer meets Technology Europe", will focus on
creativity and technology related to design, production,
manufacturing, workflow and new visions for the fashion and
textile industry.
(In addition to the conference, an extra day will focus on
digital textile printing to share experiences between users.)
Possible topics include:
- Industry overview
- Technology and implementation of fashion and textile
industry
- The automated manufacturing process
- Digital sale and marketing
- Smart fashion and textiles
- Digital fabric printing
- Creativity in fashion and textile design
- Pedagogy in fashion and textile design education
- Display and Presentation
- Bridging design to manufacturing
- Demands for a global business
- Digital supply chain management
- Sustainability in fashion and textile design.
A committee composed of Kridt and Philadelphia University
members will select papers. To submit, please send e-mail of
200-word abstract and a short bio by May 1st to: [log in to unmask]
If you have any questions or would like additional information,
please call +45 7022-7232 or email: [log in to unmask]
****** AUTHORS PLEASE NOTE: Due to a server failure, papers
that have been submitted to the organisers until a few days ago
may have been lost. It is therefore IMPORTANT that ALL AUTHORS
SHOULD CONTACT THE ORGANISERS to ensure that they know about
your submission ******
9-11 February 2006: Call for Abstracts, Posters & Papers - open
until July 29th People in Place in People 1st International
Symposium on Environment, Behaviour and Society Sydney,
Australia
This is an opportunity for intensive dialogue on three themes in
environment, behaviour and society research with implications
for policy, planning and design. The Symposium will be
organised around a series of intensive sessions to maximise
dialogue and in-depth examination of themes and issues. The
themes for the 2006 inaugural Symposium are:
- Cultural Identity and the Built Environment
- Children, Youth and Environments, and
- Environmental Experience, Perception and Cognition, each
broadly defined.
Papers, abstracts and posters are welcome from around the world
and, following a peer-review process, will be accepted for oral
or poster presentation and for possible publication in the
Proceedings.
http://www.arch.usyd.edu.au/web/research/ebs/ebssymposium.html
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The UK GRAD Hub network will very shortly cover the whole of the
UK. UK GRAD Hubs provide support to those working with
postgraduate researchers and promote good practice in skills
training of postgraduates.
http://www.grad.ac.uk/hubs
22-28 September 2005: Joint Congress of Icsid, Icograda and
IFI: era 05 World Design Congress in Nordic countries.
The program will begin in Oslo, Gothenburg and Helsinki with 2
1/2 days of professional and social activities. I hope that you
will join a pre-congress seminar or activity on your way in to
the Congress.
http://www.era05.com
The Nordic Experience The programme committee of era 05 has
chosen three globally recognized challenges to put the potential
of design to a test; demographic changes, migration/urbanization
and cultural variety. For each of the three areas,
internationally renowned specialists will enlighten the
delegates of what the future might bring.
Three parallel symposia in Oslo, Goteborg and Helsinki
(September 21-24, 2005) will also be dedicated to the changing
role and challenges of industrial design, communication design
and interior architecture. Each one of the three themes will be
given their own symposium on the second day of the congress in
Copenhagen.
The organizers encourage all participants to take advantage of
the numerous sightseeing tours in Copenhagen, Oslo, Goteborg and
Helsinki before and after the conference.
Norway - Design without Borders - Oslo Theme: Design without
Borders, Challenging the boundaries of the your senses, your
profession and your world. This pre-congress conference will
challenge the delegates and especially designers on the social
responsibility and the possibilities they have to improve the
situation and contribute with solutions to problems of global
concern.
Design for Everyday Life - Goteborg Theme: Design at work, when
traveling, Design from a gender-mainstreaming perspective. The
pre-congress conference explores and demonstrates how the user
must be more central in the design process. It's about people to
people - users, designers, purchasers as well as representatives
from the private and the public sector. The underlying aim is to
give insight of diversity in the society, the cultural variety
and how to mainstream the gender perspective. We could say that
this conference will be dealing with design where the user power
is the challenge. User power - Use the power!
Joining Forces: Design Research, Industries and a New Interface
for Competitiveness - Helsinki Theme: Design research,
industries and the new interface for competencies. The
international Joining Forces conference invites you to share
ideas and experiences with academics and leading experts in the
field in conjunction with Helsinki Design Week, featuring a
range of design events throughout the city.
The early-bird registration for Joining Forces is applicable
until April 28, 2005
http://www2.uiah.fi/joiningforces/index.html
Congress web site
http://www.era05.com
The Designing for the 21st Century Research Initiative was
launched by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and
Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) in
March 2004.
During the 2005 calendar year the Initiative is supporting 21
research clusters based in Institutions across the UK. All of
the research clusters are exploring different aspects of design.
Interests include:
Spatiality in Design (www.leeds.ac.uk/SiD),
Nature Inspired Creative Design (www.nature-inspired.org),
Creativity in Design (www.creativityindesign.org.uk)
and 18 other design themes. Each research cluster is running a
series of events throughout 2005 aimed at identifying key issues
and research questions. These research questions will inform a
series of calls for further research over the next three-year
period. If you would like to find out more about the initiative,
the research clusters that have been funded and the events that
are taking place, please visit
http://www.design21.dundee.ac.uk
7-9 July 2005: Rough Diamonds: polishing partnerships with
creative industries. Lakeside Centre, Aston University,
Birmingham UK.
A stimulating conference exploring the synergy between creative
industries and art & design libraries, in Birmingham, home to
thriving creative communities and the second largest media
centre in Britain.
Although this year's conference is slightly shorter, the
programme is as full as ever, including speakers such as Carol
Meads (British Library), Jayne Everard (Artifact) and Douglas
Laird (Business Insight) and sessions such as:
- Practitioners from fields as diverse as digital media and
jewellery, and their particular information needs
- How to make partnerships work and finding funding for them,
based on current initiatives such as Chrysalis as well as
projects in Russia and Scotland
Our keynote speaker is John Dolan, OBE, Assistant Director,
Library & information Services, Birmingham City Council.
As always a range of topical issues, for example providing for
cultural diversity, supporting users with dyslexia and using
Blogs, will be covered in the workshops. Study visits and
receptions at venues such as Margaret Street Art School, the
Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, the Gulbenkian Award-winning
"Back to Back" Houses, Birmingham Central Library, the Edwardian
Tea Rooms, the Barber Institute of Fine Arts and the Birmingham
Museum and Art Gallery will provide access to world-renowned
museums, galleries and libraries.
http://www.arlis.org.uk/conf/arlis2005/index.html
4-9 June 2005: Doctoral Summer School at Bhubaneswar India.
http://www1.ximb.ac.in/users/web/fpm.nsf/pages/Summer
(a note from Dr D Dash...)
Doctoral_Education Network
Depending upon your interest in this type of programmes, we can
certainly plan more such events at different locations in the
future. Therefore, I have created the Doctoral_Education email
network to link up people who would like to be involved in this
type of activity:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/doctoral_education
The time we spend in our doctoral studies usually proves to be
very precious for our future career. The ideas and networks we
develop during our doctoral days, continue to influence our
thinking and actions for a number of years afterwards. I hope,
some of you (scholars, academic colleagues, and other reflective
practitioners) will consider doctoral education as a suitble
domain of action for you.
Unfortunately, high-quality doctoral-level education is
virtually non-existent in many countries including India [Note
1]. I think, this translates into a challenge, i.e., the
challenge of enhancing the research and innovative capacities of
the academic institutions and other organisations in these
countries. I came to know recently that some of the academically
more prominent countries have developed nation-wide systems in
response to this type of challenge, for example:
GERMANY Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research
Foundation) http://www.dfg.de/en/
UK New Route PhD http://www.newroutephd.ac.uk/
USA Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship
(IGERT) program http://www.igert.org/
[Note 1] National Institute of Educational Planning and
Administration. (2001). Quality of Doctoral and Other Equivalent
Research in Universities: 28-29 June 2001 [Report, Document No.
D-11214]. New Delhi, India: National Institute of Educational
Planning and Administration. [On the cover page of the report,
the word "Educational" is spelt as "Educaitonal".]
19 May 2005: Workshop on Creative Broadband Potentials, venue:
ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany
Today's broadband technologies need bandwidth intensive usage in
order to grow as an technological platform. At the moment this
potential is used in a fairly traditional manner. To unlock
user, user groups and emerging communities to migrate to
broadband platforms innovative interactive concepts that build
up meaningful participatory communication patterns are needed.
Interactive storytelling and interactive design represent the
creative interplay between devoted users/communities and the
writer/design team. The workshop will establish and explore a
practical professional approach for the creation of innovative
broadband concepts by focusing on user-centred content creation,
designing interaction patterns based on storytelling and
exploration, building up self-generative fictional dynamics for
community cohesion, planning innovative directing tactics for
professional content/design teams, participatory publishing
strategies.
This approach may be applied to telecommunication, broadcasting,
game, film, art projects as well as creative initiatives for
cities or museums.
http://www.lrz-muenchen.de/~b7101dx/webserver/webdata
Professor of Design & Construction Management (0.8 - 1.0 fte)
The Real Estate & Housing Department (RE&H) of the Faculty of
Architecture at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) was
created in response to changes in building practice. The
department covers the technical, economic, organizational and
information aspects of initiative, development, execution and
management of buildings. The Chair
The Core Chair of Design & Construction Management is closely
affiliated with Architectural Design and Building Technology.
With focus on 'Process control in the development and
realization phases of the construction of buildings', and with
Building Process Innovation as a specific area of attention. The
Core Chair moreover integrates the aspects of Design Management
and Cost/Quality at the building level in the development and
realization phases.
You have
A PhD Degree or equivalent, a scientific background and proven
leadership capacity. You have relevant first-hand experience in
design and construction management and building process
innovation preferably acquired in the implementation of complex
building projects. You have teaching experience, the ability to
inspire others, to direct multidisciplinary education and to
initiate research projects. Good fundraising skills and an
aptitude for the acquisition of research projects are present.
You are prepared to relocate to the Netherlands if necessary and
master the Dutch language.
Interested?
For the complete profile, call Prof. H. de Jonge, Chairman of
the Selection Advisory Committee, or R.P. Geraedts by phone at
+31 15 278 41 59, e-mail: [log in to unmask] For more
information see also: www.re-h.nl
To Apply
Send your written application, CV, and list of publications,
quoting Vacancy Number BK2005/03/DRN in the top left-hand corner
before the 13th of May to: W.L.P. Hoppenbrouwer, Personnel &
Organization Dept., Faculty of Architecture, TU Delft,
Berlageweg 1, 2628 CR Delft, The Netherlands.
3 June 2005: interior / interiority. a symposium on inner and
outer space in modern culture 6th floor Physics Building Queen
Mary University of London Mile End Road, E1
Enquiries to Leigh Ward: [log in to unmask]
Presented by Queen Mary, University of London and the AHRB
Centre for the Study of the Domestic Interior
11-12 November 2005: Designing Information and Organizations
with a Positive Lens. Weatherhead School of Management Case
Western Reserve University Cleveland, Ohio, USA
About the Workshop
Objective
The workshop will bring together a multidisciplinary group of
leading scholars from industry and academia who are interested
in exploring "positive" approaches, such as Appreciative
Inquiry, for designing organizations, information, technologies,
and social action. The conference seeks to promote dialogue
among all disciplines involved in design and organizational
action, including organization theory, information systems,
management, strategy, accounting, education, architecture,
industrial design, and others. We aim to explore and build up
the potential of using a positive lens in information and
organization design by engaging in a trans- disciplinary
dialogue on theories of design and positive change in human
systems.
The central theme of the workshop is the contribution and role
of a positive lens to the design of information and
organizations. We want to advance scholarship of design and
positive change in human organizations that integrates social
and technical elements, and fosters betterment in human
organizations and communities.
Background and Aspirations
The disciplines of management and organization studies are
undergoing a change in which their assumptions about scholarship
are less focused on the detection of error and control of
chronic problems, and more concerned with the potential of
designing hopeful organizations and more human centered
technologies. Similar to the ideals of positive psychology,
which turns attention away from the treatment of dysfunctions
and toward the encouragement of human strengths, management and
related disciplines find themselves in the midst of an attention
shift which emphasizes a positive stance toward our capacity to
design better organizations and technologies. This shift affects
the way managers and policy- makers frame their discourse as
they design and shape their respective organizations. This is
the concern of our workshop.
Joining a positive lens on organizing with the transformative
power of design thinking opens new horizons and uncovers
previously overlooked possibilities for creating organizational
and social well being. For example, Appreciative Inquiry,
through its application to organizational development and
change, has touched the lives of thousands who have applied it
in a wide range of organizations to create better lives, better
organizations, and better communities. The positive lens applied
to information and organization design opens broader
considerations of social context, uses cross-disciplinary tools,
takes a holistic approach, and emphasizes a responsible, ethical
attention to human possibilities.
Our working conference provides space for provocative ideas,
generative thinking, and compelling initiatives that approach
information and organization design with a positive lens. We
subscribe to the notion that scholarly efforts ought to be
multidisciplinary and socially responsible with need to attain
global impact. By offering a place for a dialogue on the
crossroad of technology and society, the event aims to promote
the exchange of ideas across disciplines as well as across
industry and academia. We aspire that the workshop will become a
catalyst for new cross-disciplinary projects that will focus on
positive organizational and technological design.
Topics we expect to explore include, but are not limited to:
- reframing the discourses of socio-technical design with
inquiry using a positive lens
- exploring design approaches that can shape our organizations
and information environments to be more humanly satisfying and
socially beneficial.
- opening new interdisciplinary domains and fostering
collaboration opportunities in designing systems for
organizational betterment
- promoting a better understanding of the role of positive
change in designing information technology for management and
organizations
- appreciating how positive design practice is a product of a
collaborative and participative effort of heterogeneous actors.
- providing a vehicle for people who share a deep concern for
information technology and a passion for social activism in
pursuit of a better world.
- becoming an effective voice for the public interest on vital
issues related to the information age.
http://weatherhead.cwru.edu/design/
"Metropolis magazine invites you and your faculty to participate
in our annual education design survey. To take part please visit
our website. It will run online through May 8, 2005.
Metropolis' annual design survey provides a benchmark of
American design education. In the past two years we've surveyed
attitudes toward sustainability and collaboration. This year
we're focusing on design research asking questions such as,
Should research standards be more systematically enforced in the
design fields? Should more collaborative methods be instituted?
How accessible are the results of design research? And in which
areas should we build up our data banks?
As a token of our appreciation, those who complete the survey by
May 8th will be entered to win either a one-year subscription to
Metropolis or a complimentary copy of our recent book, Robert
Polidori's Metropolis. Thank you for taking the time to inform
your faculty about our survey. If you have any thoughts or
suggestions, please feel free to email me (Eve Dilworth) at
[log in to unmask]"
http://www.metropolismag.com/designsurvey2005
15-18 May 2006: INTERNATIONAL DESIGN CONFERENCE - DESIGN 2006,
2006 DUBROVNIK - CROATIA
MAIN TOPICS
- THEORY AND RESEARCH METHODS IN DESIGN
- METHODS AND TOOLS IN DESIGN PRACTICE
- DESIGN PROJECTS AND PROCESSES
- DEVELOPMENT OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
- COMPETENCIES & COMMUNICATIONS
- MULTIDISCIPLINARY ASPECTS OF DESIGN
SCHEDULE AND DEADLINES
Online submission will open on: May 15th, 2005 Full paper
submission deadline: December 15th, 2005 Final acceptance of
papers: March 01st, 2006 Publish-ready papers: March 20th,
2006 Final Conference program: April, 2006 May 15 - 18, 2006 -
DESIGN 2006 Conference
CONTRIBUTIONS
The DESIGN 2006 Conference invites high-quality submissions on
substantial, original and previously unpublished research.
Applied, theoretical, results-oriented and speculative papers
from both academia and industry will all be considered for
inclusion. Contributions should be classified into and will be
reviewed in the following categories:
- Research Papers - describing contributions and the latest
results of scientific work.
- Design Education Papers should be based on a scientific
approach describing substantial new experiences based on design
education training, teamwork, projects or cases.
- Industrial Papers should signal industrial needs for design
approaches/techniques, experiences from their implementation and
use, experiences from training of engineers, demands on computer
support, best practice, qualitative case studies, etc.
- Philosophy or Speculations provide a category for papers where
the author has a free hand to evolve new ideas without a claim
for scientific validation. However, the paper should be
rigorously related to state-of-the-art literature and clearly
indicate the novelty of the ideas.
CONCEPT AND PROGRAMME
The organizers of the DESIGN Conferences are tending to develop
the conference beyond the traditional role of delivering
research reports and findings in to a place where participants
can pro-actively create opportunities for knowledge exchange
alongside program chairs, reviewers and organizing teams. Papers
will be presented on the plenary sessions, topic oriented
sessions, workshops and as active poster sessions.
REVIEW PROCESS AND PUBLICATION OF PAPERS
The papers will be accepted on the double blind review basis
made by the members of the Scientific Advisory Board. The review
criteria will be the novelty and level of contribution, validity
of conclusions, industrial or application perspective and formal
qualities of the contribution. For speeding up and simplifying
the paper reviewing, please note: ONLY FULL PAPER SUBMISSION.
The reviewed and accepted full papers will be published in the
Conference Proceedings provided the final papers are received by
the appropriate deadline and conform to the layout guidelines.
The Conference Proceedings will be distributed to the
participants at the Conference site and will be available after
the Conference under an ISBN number as a hardcopy and a CD.
Outstanding papers will be recommended for publication in
selected journals.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION
Those wishing to present papers at DESIGN 2006 should submit the
full paper written in English up to 8 pages in MS Word format.
Papers exceeding 8 pages will be subject to excess page charges
(up to the maximum of 12 pages). Please note that the number of
pages must be even, due to the layout reasons in preparing the
proceedings.
Submission process steps:
- Download from the Conference web site a detailed instructions
and MS Word template for preparing the full paper.
- Format your paper according to the instructions and template.
- Submit authors' personal data and upload the full paper
through the submission form available at the DESIGN 2006
Conference website. Online submission will open on May 15th,
2005.
Deadline for submitting full papers is December the 15th, 2005.
http://www.designconference.org
21-31 July 2005: Orient-Orientation: Communication Interactive
Design Summer Workshop, Istanbul by Arhan Kayar
Kadir Has University, Department of Communication Design.
Regular Application Period is going to be closed in May 27 2005
Aim and Scope
Kadir Has University and Istanbul Art and Research Foundation
seeks seven talented students from around the world for an
interactive advertising summer workshop titled
"Orient-Orientation: Communication". The workshop will be held
in Istanbul, Turkey at Kadir Has University from July 21-31
2005. (please see details at http://www.interaction-idea.info)
The workshop is free to all participants but we are only able to
provide grants for international (non-Turkish) students. The
grant covers accommodation and 300 $ allowance for travel and
subsistence costs for each student accepted. Accommodation will
be in the historic section of Istanbul, and quite close to the
university.
The basic aim of this workshop is to explore interactive
advertising ideas for Istanbul, using information design
theories and the latest multimedia technologies. In the
workshop, participants will examine how to use the oriental
atmosphere alongside the modern face of Istanbul in interactive
information design ideas. Advertising here is not considered as
commercial but conceptual, to promote Istanbul city in terms of
information design.
The format is totally free depends on designing information in
advertisement. The project can be visualized in computer
interface, printed materials or/and physical environment or
both.
The workshop is limited to conceptual design and not a final
product, but participants, using ideas from the workshop, will
be invited to apply for an exhibition in International Design
Week which will be held in Istanbul, September 21-27, 2005
organized by Istanbul Municipality, DDF and AD Magazine-Turkey.
Background of participants should include:
Information Design, Information Management, Visual
Communication, Graphic Design, Product Design, Multimedia
Design/Computer Science, Architecture/Interior Design, Social
Sciences, Advertising and Public Relationship
Application fees and deadlines:
Early application until April 29, 2005 40 EUR for Europe, 40 YTL
for Turkey, 50 USD for others
Regular application until May 27, 2005 70 EUR for Europe, 70 YTL
for Turkey, 80 USD for others
Early application until June 26, 2005 100 EUR for Europe, 100
YTL for Turkey, 125 USD for others
Details for "how-to-apply" at http://www.interaction-idea.info
Dr Jennifer Whyte Innovation Studies Centre Tanaka Business
School Imperial College London writes:
I forward details of the Tanaka Business School's Doctoral
Programme at Imperial College London - for inclusion in the
Design Research newsletter - because, in the Entrepreneurship,
Innovation and Technology Management Section, we are interested
in supervising PhD projects relating to design, and we have
funding available for doctoral research students.
I would particularly like to encourage applications from
candidates with interests in design as part of the industrial
innovation process. We have an active research community working
on industrial innovation, and also have ongoing projects
focusing on
- innovation management;
- complex product industries;
- the built environment;
- impact of new tools on innovation;
- meaning and use of urban space;
- design and engineering; and
- management of project-based firms.
For more details of our ongoing programme of research see:
http://www.imperial.ac.uk/innovationstudies/ and also individual
staff homepages.
We expect a lot from PhD students and are looking for applicants
that have the ambition, commitment and ability to succeed at a
leading university. In return we offer an exciting
research-focused environment, access to business, policy and
academic communities, facilities in the state-of-the-art Tanaka
Business School and a great location at the heart of London.
Candidates should have a first or good upper second class
Honours degree and a good Masters degree in a subject
appropriate to the intended area of research. Funding is
available for UK and EU residents. For UK residents the
studentships will cover fees and a maintenance grant. For EU
residents fees will be covered. Successful applicants will be
expected to start in October and complete within 3 years (4
years maximum).
For further details about admission, including the format of
proposals, and contact details, see:
http://www.imperial.ac.uk/tanaka/doctoral/
I am happy to talk to candidates that meet minimum entry
requirements and have specific queries about the content of
their PhD proposal or supervision arrangements (that are not on
the website and cannot be answered by the doctoral admissions
team). I can be contacted at [log in to unmask]
30-31 May 2005: "In the Making" First Nordic Design Research
Conference, Copenhagen Denmark
The first Nordic Design research conference has opened for
on-line registration. With 4 plenary panels, 10 paper sessions,
poster exhibition and an optional tutorial/workshop/colloqium
program on May 29'th and an Open forum on June 1'st the
conference will gather researchers working internationally in
universities, design schools and industry who share an interest
in understanding and developing design as a trans-disciplinary
practice that is always in the making.
The Conference is held at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, School
of Architecture in Copenhagen
Included in registration is an optional tutorial/colloquium
program on May 29'th and an Open forum on June 1'st
Design is a restless field positioned as a productive practice
in between conceiving and making. Design research is no less
volatile, as it explores, explains, and challenges what we know
in and through design.
"In the making" is the theme of the first Nordic Design Research
Conference. The conference invites contributions from
researchers in universities, design schools, and industry who
share an interest in understanding and developing design as a
trans-disciplinary practice that is always in the making. The
scope of the conference reaches beyond the traditional design
disciplines and includes other research areas with common
interest in how people shape and make sense of things in an
increasingly man-made world.
The conference directs its interest towards the diversity,
challenges, emerging practices and understanding of design.
Rather than searching for common definitions or a unified
approach to design, "In the making" addresses the frontiers of
design research as it is practiced in a broad array of academic
fields.
The conference theme reflects a range of issues that
characterize design and design research today:
- The role of the designer is changing.
Design processes are becoming arenas for change where many
people collaborate, and designed objects play an even broader
role as explicit socio-cultural manifestations of new
possibilities.
- The object of design is expanding.
We see the need for designers to understand wider notions of
user experience at the same time as to explore classical issues
of form in light of new technologies and media.
- The products of design practice are never conclusive.
People appropriate design artifacts in use whereby the social
and cultural role and meaning of the artifacts undergo
continuous change.
- The conceptual foundations for design work are shifting.
Incorporating methods and approaches from areas such as the
social sciences and humanities, the basic concepts we use to
describe, understand, and reflect upon the design process are
changing.
http://www.nordes.org
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Open Rank Clinical Professor
The Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) invites
applications from engineers and designers for a clinical
professor position, rank open, as Director of the Product Design
and Innovation (PDI) program. The primary responsibility in the
position will be to develop a world-class program with high
visibility in academe, industry and the non-profit design
sector, particularly design for humanitarian projects and social
justice. Especially desirable is experience in some combination
of appropriate technology, sustainable development, green
design, humanitarian engineering, participatory design or
localization practice. Information about the program can be seen
at: http://www.rpi.edu/dept/sts/pdi/index.html
Send CV, letter of application, names and position of three
references, and sample publications/project summaries to Sharon
Anderson-Gold, Chair, STS Department, Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute, Troy, NY 12180-3590 Screening will begin with receipt
of applications and continue until the job is filled. The
starting date is negotiable, but the preferred date is August
2005.
26-29 May 2005: 8th Annual Subtle Technologies Festival
blurring the boundaries between art and science
The 8th annual Subtle Technologies Festival. Taking place at the
University of Toronto, the festival features exhibitions and a
three day symposium. The Subtle Technologies Festival is an
event that brings together artists, scientists and explorers of
many disciplines to share ideas, concepts and to investigate the
relationships that exist between these disciplines. This year we
are excited to present an underlying theme of physics in honour
of the 'World Year of Physics' to commemorate the 100th
anniversary of the publication of Einstein's most famous papers.
Topics discussed at this years festival include transgenics,
ecology, laser physics, robotics, acoustics, mathematics,
nonlinear patterns, quantum physics,performance, painting, phase
transitions, architecture, dance, installation and much more..
http://www.subtletechnologies.com
18 May 2005: The creative mind The 3rd annual 'Nonverbal arts;
verbal discourses' conference Sir John Cass Department of Art,
Media and Design London Metropolitan University
In the current educational climate subjects concerned with the
practice of arts - fine art, architecture, design,
silversmithing, jewellery - are very much at the crossroads. For
practitioners who exhibit there is an increased need for verbal
reflection upon creative work. This is integral to the
assessment of arts research (and the future of research in the
area even if a further RAE does not materialise). It is also
integral to other pressing projects such as art departments'
development of means to assess 'practice-based research'.
Some practitioners harbour the usual set of resistances towards
discourse on their creative work; others see creative work
itself as somehow bound up with epistemology in its ability to
facilitate expression which is different from 'language';
others, still, see 'language' as some kind of tyranny; and yet
others have no problem in employing verbal discourse in
conjunction with nonverbal arts.
'Nonverbal arts; verbal discourses' is a one-day conference
which will introduce a more focused and academic understanding
of these dilemmas. The conference aims to address the issues of
creative practice and language in a way which is relevant to the
current climate of academic research and its administration in
this country but which is not constrained by it. The conference
speakers are Prof. Margaret Boden (University of Sussex); Dr.
Dario Martinelli (University of Helsinki); Dr. Juliet Steyn
(City University); and Dr. Wendy Wheeler (London Metropolitan
University).
The conference is aimed at the following audiences: staff and
students of art, design and music; staff in cognate areas (e.g.
architecture); academics in related academic areas (e.g.
communications, cultural studies); the general interested
public.
Dr. Paul Cobley <[log in to unmask]>
7-9 July 2005: Bookings are still being taken for the
ARLIS/UK&Ireland Annual Conference: ROUGH DIAMONDS: polishing
partnerships with creative industries Aston University,
Birmingham
Although this year's conference is slightly shorter, the
programme is as full as ever, with speakers from all over the
country and Europe. As always a range of topical issues,
including providing for cultural diversity, supporting users
with dyslexia and using Blogs, will be covered in the workshops.
Lakeside Conference Centre at Aston University is a
purpose-built, spacious conference venue set next to a small
lake on a green and tranquil campus. It is a very short walk to
the many and varied cultural delights and
internationally-renowned museums, galleries and libraries found
in this vibrant European city, seven of which are part of the
Friday Study Visits choice, before the Conference Dinner in the
Edwardian Tea Rooms.
http://www.arlis.org.uk/conf/arlis2005/index.html
GOLDSMITHS COLLEGE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
DEPARTMENT OF DESIGN PROFESSOR / READER IN DESIGN
We are seeking to appoint an individual of exceptional ability
to the position of Professor or Reader in Design (contingent on
experience). The person appointed will be a practitioner and/or
theorist of international standing who will be expected to
provide academic leadership in the Department; advising and
guiding research activities in addition to developing the
educational portfolio. The Professor/Reader will assume a vital
role in the development of a dynamic department within a unique
institution.
Goldsmiths is internationally recognised as being the UK's
leading creative university, holding a pre-eminent position in
the study and practice of creative, cultural and social
processes. The Design Department has a reputation for
challenging industry norms, pushing the boundaries of the
discipline to develop an innovative research and teaching
portfolio. The department is focused on the development of
critical creative practice, and its research spans the field of
design from design theory through ubiquitous technologies to
material culture and sustainability.
The successful applicant will have an excellent research
profile, a record of successfully funded research projects, the
ability to foster new and exciting research and be able to
operate across traditional disciplinary boundaries in order to
contribute to the trans-disciplinary activities of the
Department and the College.
Minimum salary for a Professor will be UKP49,219 per annum
inclusive UKP2,134 per annum London Weighting Allowance. The
salary level will be set according to qualifications and
experience. It should be noted, however, that a higher figure
may be available for exceptional candidates.
For further information and an application form contact the
Personnel Department Goldsmiths College, University of London,
New Cross, London SE14 6NW, ring 0207 919 7999 (24 hour answer
phone), email [log in to unmask]
Closing date for completed applications: 19 May 2005
Interviews are scheduled to be held on 28 June 2005
5-6 July 2005: Designing and consuming: exploring concepts of
objects, practices and processes, is a workshop being held at
Durham University, UK.
The workshop is designed to generate and promote conversation
between design scholars, sociologists of consumption and science
and technology studies about how designed artefacts are
configured and appropriated and about how they structure the
social practices and situations of which they are a part. The
workshop will therefore be a step towards better understanding
of ideas and theories that have developed in parallel but that
have yet to intersect or connect on any scale.
Speakers at the event include Guy Julier (LMU), Tim Dant (UEA),
Tom Fisher (Sheffield Hallam) and Elizabeth Shove (Lancaster
University).
This is the first of a series of interdisciplinary workshops
being run as part of Designing and Consuming: objects, practices
and processes, a two year project being run between Lancaster
University, Durham University and Birmingham Institute of Art
and Design. The project is funded under the Cultures of
Consumption research programme run by the Arts and Humanities
Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council.
Further details of the project are available at
http://www.dur.ac.uk/designing.consuming. Further information
about the workshop can be accessed by following the 'events'
link.
We welcome requests for one of the limited number of places
remaining for the workshop. To apply or for further information,
please email [log in to unmask], or call +44
(0)191 3341856.
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WEB
The latest Artifact Newsletter - March 2005 is now available
online
http://www.artifact.ac.uk/news/newsletters/march05.htm
Report on the recent Doors of Perception conference:
http://doors8delhi.doorsofperception.com/
The Computer Arts Society was founded in 1968.
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/CAS
AHRC Centre for the Study of the Domestic Interior has an Email
News List.
http://www.rca.ac.uk/csdi/
Applied Arts January/February 05
Canada
http://appliedartsmag.com
Association of Postdoctoral Researchers
Discussion group of the UK's Association of Postdoctoral
Researchers: for help, policy campaigning and the exchange of
information about career opportunities, international research
communities and research mobility.
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/POSTDOC-ASSOC
ARIA
The JISC funded ARIA project is currently looking for
information from researchers from all arts and humanities
communities about good examples of how ICT resources and tools
are being used in your subject area of research and about what
ICT skills and tools you may need to acquire in future to
support your research e.g. word processing, databases,
linguistic analysis, web search engines, image enhancement tools
and so on.
We would be very grateful if you could spare 10 minutes to take
part in a short online survey at http://aria.dmu.ac.uk (follow
the Questionnaire link) your help with this could help to make a
significant contribution to ICT provision in arts and humanities
research. When all the responses have been collated the results
will be posted on the website. Thank you for your help.
The complete proceedings of EAD06 are now online available as
downloadable pdf (25MB):
http://ead06.hfk-bremen.de/
Google search gets personal
By Macworld staff
Google has introduced a new search feature that analysts are
describing as a move closer to personalised search.
Through "My Search History", currently a test service, searchers
will be able to review the full text of any Web page they
clicked on from a Google search results page. They will also be
able to disable the service or remove particular searches from
their history.
Google director of consumer Web products Marissa Mayer told
Reuters that the service allows people to use what they've
searched in the past to build more intelligent searches.
Appealing
Forrester Research analyst Charlene Li said: "The implications
on the consumer side are obvious - better search." She expects
that My Search History will be most appealing to students,
researchers and search aficionados.
The new search function will enable Google's advertisers to
better target their Web search adverts, and Li suggested that
"marketers would spend substantially more if they could target
ads to users based on their past search history."
Since the information will be stored on Google's servers
analysts expect the service to rankle privacy advocates, but it
will mean user can view their search history wherever they sign
on.
The new function is available in Google Labs and it is necessary
to sign up for an account.
http://www.google.com/searchhistory/login
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BOOK REVIEW
Restrepo, John. 2004. Information Processing in Design. Delft:
Delft University Press.
This interesting and complex book is about developing a firmer
foundation for information support for designers. The book
contains insightful findings. Many are counter-intuitive, which
makes them especially valuable. The book contains useful reviews
of the literature, findings from empirical research about how
designers use information, and suggestions for improving design
activity through better access to relevant information. Deriving
directly from John Restrepo's PhD thesis, the style is formal
and relatively terse. The richness of information and analysis
in the book more than compensate for any extra effort in
reading.
This book will interest:
Designers who want to improve their conceptual design
strategies, their use of design information, and insights into
new directions in computer-based support.
Design researchers who seek the cutting-edge of research
findings and research approaches relating to how designers use
information.
Design educators who want to ground programs for teaching and
learning of design methods in empirically sound foundations
Those who create software to support design professionals in
using background knowledge and information sources to create
innovative solutions.
The book combines an overview of the literature relating to
designers' use of information, and the author's research into
developing a new form of information system for designers. This
reflects through into the details of the analyses presented and
the research choices.
On one hand, the book discusses theory involving information as
it relates to all design disciplines. The author introduces new
ways of looking at information in design theory as he explores
different aspects of information use. On the other hand, the
author has a more tightly bounded agenda that only becomes
clearer in later chapters.
The underlying purpose of the book and Restrepo's research is
the development of an image-based computerised information
support system that provides designers with images of exemplars
of external form and styling of consumer products. The later
prototypes of this system use indexing based on automated
analysis of the images. Designers search the database by
selecting two preliminary sets of images with similar and
different style cues to the exemplars required. The system has
the role of a computer-based replacement for looking through
magazines, or visiting museums and shops to find exemplars to
jog a designer's memory and to initiate creative thoughts.
In theoretical terms, the divided focus leads to a complex
narrative. When the author discusses general design theory
issues, he is apparently referring to all design domains -
including those leading to the design of outcomes such as
systems, services, processes, organizations, etc. In its
details, however, the author's analyses emphasizes only those
design domains that focus on the visual and aesthetic aspects of
external form for physical objects.
The book has six chapters. The first chapter focuses on
problem-solving aspects of design activity as the basis for
understanding how and why designers use information. This
problem-based perspective on design is found throughout the
book. In this chapter, the author takes an overview of
designers' use of information in the early stages of design
activity, the structure of design problems, and the generation
of design requirements.
Chapter 2 builds on the problem-based perspective described in
Chapter 1 to explore in detail how designers structure and
restructure problems. This chapter reviews the main issues in
this arena with parrticuklar regard to early conceptualisation,
fixation, the use of design precedents and representations, and
the role of sketching. The bulk of Chapter 2 is dedicated to a
description of empirical research investigating differences
between problem-focused and solution-focused design approaches.
This uses a secondary analysis of data from an earlier empirical
study.
Chapter 3 explores the details of the dynamic evolution of
design requirements in design projects as designers address a
design situation, its brief, and gather information. Echoing the
structure of the second chapter, Chapter 3 also describes an
empirical study. The author investigates connections between the
generation of design requirements and information access through
observing designers' use of a prototype computer-based
information system coded with information sources chosen to
support a specific suite of design tasks. Towards the end of the
chapter, the author problematises the concept of 'relevance' in
information provision, using it as a research theme. This idea
later contributes to defining the design brief for the
image-based design support information system emerges as the
central theme of the book.
Chapter 4 explores the use of a designer-focused perspective on
'relevance' in terms of different dimensions of information
provision, use and access. The chapter contains a third
empirical study investigating how designers' implicit and
explicit criteria influence their judgements about the relevance
of information during design activity. This third study involved
designers using a web-based information system implemented via a
conventional 'Content Management System' built on Linux / Apache
/ MySQL / PHP architecture. This new prototype information
system was devised to improve useability compared to the system
used in the empirical study described in Chapter 2. A
significant finding from the study was that designers are quite
vague about what is relevant information in the early stages of
design. By implication, information provision systems must
address this issue.
In Chapter 5, the main theme of the book begins to coalesce. The
chapter describes the roles of exemplars and precedents, and the
problem of defining 'meaning' in images. This latter is a key
issue in building an image based designer information system
because the meaning attributed to an image of an object depends
on a wide variety of factors unrelated to the information
content such as context, user needs, observer attributes, and
the time of inquiry. The author describes another three
empirical studies. These investigate how designers use a new
prototype 'query by example' image-based information system
which presents images of objects to designers as initiators,
precedents, styling exemplars and primary generators of thoughts
for the design of external appearances of products at the
interface between product form and styling. Each study
contributes to theory foundations for building that avoid the
use of human mediated text-based indexing or querying. The
prototype 'Content Based Image Retrieval System' [sic] indexes
images based on automated computerised characterisation of
shapes in each image. The images are automatically codified by
mechanisms and criteria that are not fully described in the
book, perhaps for issues of commercial confidentiality. A
designer can search the image database by identifying two
initial contrasting groups of images that the designer regards
as stylistically similar to and different from the sort of
images to be retrieved from the database.
The three empirical studies also provide insights into skills
designers use in selecting images as design precedents. The
research indicated that designers in these studies operated with
a limited design vocabulary, yet were easily able to identify
images as relevant to their search for information. This and
related findings are of direct relevance to design educators.
In concluding the book, the sixth chapter focuses on identifying
the lessons learned from this complex collection of empirical
and literature-based investigations into designers' use of
information. It draws attention to the importance of
understanding how designers improve their knowledge during the
design process, and to a need for deeper understanding of how
designers function, for example, understanding what triggers a
designer's intention to search for particular types of
information.
To summarise, the book describes a broad overview of significant
issues concerning the ways designers use information. In
parallel, the book describes a sequence of linked empirical
studies relating to the development of a computerised
image-based information system accessed using query by example
methods.
The research, empirical studies and related analyses focused
mainly on designers' information access relating to appearance
and styling of products. The book offers its main benefits,
therefore, to those working in design domains with a focus on
styling, external form and appearance of products, rather than
designers working with representations that are more abstract.
The book is a useful and interesting reference to the use of
information in design on three grounds:
Its substantial overview of the theory and research in this
area.
Its detailed discussion of the six empirical studies reported,
their justification, the analyses used, and the research
findings.
Its description of the prototyping, development and testing of
the image-based information system for designers
-- Reviewed by Dr. Terence Love
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DESIGN RESEARCH SOCIETY
The Design Research Society is the multi-disciplinary
international learned society for the design research community.
DRS was founded in 1967, and since then has established a
record of significant achievements in contributing to design
knowledge.
DRS has facilitated an international design research network in
40 countries comprising members who maintain contact through the
publications and activities of the Society. Members are drawn
from diverse backgrounds, not only from the traditional areas of
design, ranging from fine art to engineering, but also from
subjects like psychology and computer science.
Our interests include:
o recognising design as a creative act common to many
disciplines
o understanding research and its relationship with education
and practice
o advancing the theory and practice of design
We realise these by:
o encouraging the development of scholarship and knowledge in
design
o contributing to the development of doctoral education and
research training
o sharing knowledge across the boundaries of design disciplines
o facilitating networks to exchange and communicate ideas,
experience and research findings among members
o disseminating research findings
o promoting awareness of design research
o organising and sponsoring conferences, and publishing
proceedings
o encouraging communications between members internationally
o responding to consultative documents
o collaborating with other bodies
o lobbying on behalf of members' research interests
o recognising excellence in design research through awards
o sponsoring email discussion groups and a monthly emailed
newsletter
Membership of DRS provides:
o regular communications about research activities worldwide
o reduced subscription to Design Studies, the international
journal for design research in engineering, architecture,
products and systems. Design Studies is published by
Elsevier in cooperation with DRS
o reduced fees to DRS sponsored events
o representation of the design research community and members'
interests
o a means of identifying and contacting other members
o an opportunity to contribute to the international design
research community
For further details and an application form, contact the
membership secretary:
Professor Robert Jerrard, School of Design Research, Birmingham
Institute of Art and Design, University of Central England,
Corporation Street, Birmingham, UK B4 7DX
email: [log in to unmask]
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SERVICES OF THE DESIGN RESEARCH SOCIETY
o Design Research News is the digital newsletter of the
Design Research Society. It communicates news about
research throughout the world. It is mailed automatically
at the beginning of each month and is free. You may
subscribe and unsubscribe at the following site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/design-research.html
o PHD-DESIGN is a discussion list open for unmoderated
discussion on all matters related to the PhD in design.
Topics include philosophies and theories of design, research
methods, curriculum development, and relations between
theory and practice. You may subscribe and unsubscribe at
the following site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/phd-design.html
o DRS is a discussion list open for unmoderated discussion
on all matters related to design research. You may
subscribe and unsubscribe at the following site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/drs.html
o Design Studies is the International Journal for Design
Research in Engineering, Architecture, Products and Systems,
which is published in co-operation with the Design Research
Society.
DRS members can subscribe to the journal at special rates.
http://www.elsevier.nl/locate/inca/30409/
o The DRS QCR - quarterly council report is sent via
email to full members of the Design Research Society. It
includes a selection of edited reports from international
Council members and Council Officers received from time to
time.
o Full information about the Design Research Society may
be found at:
http://www.designresearchsociety.org
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CONTRIBUTIONS
Information to the editor, Professor David Durling, Middlesex
University UK. <[log in to unmask]>
Book information and suggestions for reviews should be sent to
the book review editor Professor Ken Friedman, Norwegian School
of Management, Oslo, and Denmark's Design School.
<[log in to unmask]>
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