Apologies for duplicates. Some of PhD-Design's readers might be  
interested in this conference.

Jonas Löwgren

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Announcement and call for submissions:
Nordic Design Research Conference

NORDES ´09 Engaging Artefacts
www.nordes.org

Oslo, Norway, 30 August -1 September 2009

Design research aims to provide new insights to the ways in which we  
understand – and do – design. 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 mutual interest in design research  
and engaging artefacts. NORDES ‘09 directs its interest towards the  
diversity, challenges and emerging practices and understandings of  
design. The conference theme reflects a range of issues that  
characterize design and design research today.

Confronted with the increasingly complex problems of our times,  
design should engage in new ways of thinking. Design objects are  
characterized by their form, aesthetics, functionality, materials as  
well as social, political and cultural codings. How do and might  
designers, and educators and researchers of design respond to these  
different perspectives in design? How can designers respond to the  
life cycle of artefacts? How can designers be better at designing  
artefacts for performability and sustainability? How do designers and  
researchers develop ways of researching knowledges, skills, theories,  
methods, intuition and passion in design practices?
In addressing these many issues, the Engaging Artefacts conference  
includes the following themes:
- Consumption: critical perspectives on the increasing number and  
diversity of artefacts and their creative design but also use and  
abuse in global economy
- Production: critical perspectives on the complexity, interrelations  
and consequences of production
- Technology: new forms given by new materials – and new materials  
developed to enable new forms
- Interactivity: performance and system oriented thinking regarding  
the interaction between artefacts, material systems, environments and  
users
- Politics: the role of artefacts in shaping alternative futures  
especially addressing accessibility, sustainability, poverty and  
democracy

So as to fully take up the theme Engaging Artefacts, we invite a  
range of contributions:
- Research papers (full paper - maximum 10 pages)
- Exploratory papers (maximum 4 pages)
- Doctoral consortium (maximum 4 pages proposal)
- Design cases (maximum 2 pages proposals)
- Artefacts for exhibition (maximum 2 page proposals)
- Tutorials (maximum 2 page proposals)
- Workshops (maximum 2 page proposals)

Submitted contributions are subject to an anonymous peer-review  
process. Accepted contributions will be published electronically on  
the conference website prior to the conference and in the conference  
proceedings.

Important dates:
1 February 2009: Deadline for all papers (including design cases,  
artefacts, tutorials, workshops)
2 April 2009:  Feedback to authors and organisers with suggestions  
for revision
1 June 2009:  Final paper submissions uploaded to website
30 August  – 1 September 2009: Conference in Oslo

Nordic Design Research Conference is a biannual conference circulated  
in the Nordic countries. The NORDES ´09 conference will be hosted by  
The Oslo School of Architecture and Design, AHO, in collaboration  
with University of Oslo.

General Conference Co-Chairs:
Tone Bratteteig, Dept. of Informatics, U. of Oslo (UiO), Norway
Birger Sevaldson, Inst. of Industrial Design, Oslo School of  
Architecture and design, Norway

Programme Co-chairs:
- papers
Eva Brandt, Danish Centre for Design Research, Danish School of  
Design, Denmark
Tuuli Mattelmäki, University of Art and Design, Helsinki. Finland
Andrew Morrison, InterMedia, U of Oslo / Oslo School of Architecture  
and design (AHO), Norway

Programme Co-chairs:
- exhibition
Ole Smørdal, InterMedia, University of Oslo (UiO), Norway
Maziar Raein, Oslo Art School, Norway

Programme Co-chairs
- design cases
Trond Are Øritsland, Interaction Design. NTNU, Trondheim, Norway
Turkka Keinonen, University of Art and Design Helsinki, Finland

Programme Chair:
- tutorials and workshops
Christina Mörtberg, Dept of Informatics, U of Oslo (UiO), Norway

Doctoral Consortium Co-chairs:
Dag Svanæs, Dept of Computer and Information Science, Norwegian  
University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway
Ben Matthews, Mads Clausen Institute, University of Southern Denmark
Håkan Edeholt, School of Art, Culture and Communication, Malmö  
University, Sweden
Dagny Stuedahl, InterMedia, University of Oslo (UiO), Norway


Conference website:
www.nordes.org