CONFERENCE CALL
THE ENDLESS END
The 9th International Conference of the European Academy of Design 
Porto, Portugal
4 - 7 May 2011

endlessend.up.pt
 
DEADLINE EXTENDED
Abstract submission until
SEPTEMBER 20, 2010
 
Submit abstracts by email to:
[log in to unmask]
 
Due to various requests, the deadline for abstract submission for EAD2011 has been extended: 
September 20, 2010.
 
The European Academy of Design, the University of Porto and ID+, Institute for Research in Design, Media and Culture, invite you to the 9th EAD International Design Conference: The Endless End. 
 
The conference offers a forum for design academics, researchers, practitioners, thinkers and industry representatives to meet, exchange ideas and share new knowledge and insights across the fields of design. The conference includes keynote lectures, papers, posters and an exhibition of practice-based design research. The language of the conference is English. All documentation and related media will be in English. 
 
There is a sense of vertigo permeating contemporary culture as a whole, and design in particular. So much so, that we often find ourselves wondering if design as we have known it still matters.  Design seems to have lost its universe of focus, branching exponentially into a multitude of concerns and activities formerly situated well beyond its scope. Likewise, design seems to be the new interest of so many professionals situated outside its area of expertise; not long ago it seemed like design was being courted, and maybe even actively cultivating, a territorial ambiguity that has kept its professionals worried, to say the least. Design now speaks of street culture and cutting-edge technology, museums and iPhone apps, just as it has spoken of campaign posters, haute couture, heavy industries, exercises in kitsch and typography.  
 
This dissipation of a discernible territory of practice could seem like a loss at first, until we gradually came to understand that Design is, after all and despite the contextual noise, a deeply human activity, and, as such, any circumscription of its potential would, in itself, be an artifice, an operational and transitory device; and that, rather than being devalued by this apparent dilution of its area of expert operation, Design suddenly has the opportunity to expand and mature as far as its context, content and purpose are concerned.
 
CONFERENCE THEMES
locality: the role of design in specific social and cultural environments (case studies), localisation of design and production
liquidity: design´s redefined and expanding territories 
nomadism: design actively searching for new areas and tools of expertise
involvement: design as a catalyst for change and progress
vertigo: envisioning what´s ahead, calibrating past inheritances
education: how can design be taught in an era of multiplicity, prosumers and open creativity?
 
CALL FOR PAPERS
The Conference invites the submission of abstracts related to the conference theme (500 words maximum).  Authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to submit papers up to 2,500 words in length that report significant and original design-related research.
Accepted papers will be refereed and published in the conference proceedings.  
 
CALL FOR POSTERS 
The conference invites the submission of abstracts related to the conference theme (500 words maximum). Abstracts may be accompanied by up to 3 illustrations.  The posters are intended to provide a snapshot view of ongoing or recently completed design related research.  The posters should include the title, objectives, methodology and current or expected outcomes of the research.  The posters will be reproduced as PDF images and incorporated into the published proceedings. 
 
CALL FOR EXHIBITION PROPOSALS 
The conference invites the submission of proposals (500 words maximum) for the exhibition of practice-based design related research.  The proposal should describe the work being exhibited, giving precise dimensions.  For each exhibited artefact authors will be asked to provide a concise written explanation describing the related research.  
 
Early Stage Researchers 
The European Academy of Design wishes to be supportive of early stage researchers. This includes researchers who may have had limited experience of submitting and presenting papers at an international level or doctoral students. Therefore submissions under this category will receive a sympathetic review and additional feedback may be given.  If you are an early stage researcher and wish your abstract to be considered under this category, please indicate when submitting your abstract by email. 
 
IMPORTANT DATES
30 June 2010 - Online submission of abstracts open
NEW 20 September 2010 - Deadline for submission of abstracts/poster abstracts/exhibition proposals
NEW 15 October 2010 - Notification of acceptance of abstracts/ proposals
NEW 13 December 2010 - Deadline for submission of full papers 
5 February 2011 - Notification of acceptance of full papers 
4 - 7 May 2011 - Conference takes place 

Contact conference organizers at:
[log in to unmask]
endlessend.up.pt