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Design plus Research 18-20 May, 2000 International conference Politecnico di Milano The Milano conference "Design Plus Research" was held on May 18-20, 2000 at Politecnico di Milano. It brought more one hundred and fifty people from culturally and geographically different contexts to debate about a common issue: the relation between the activity of research and industrial design. Participants from about twenty countries met at the campus of Politecnico di Milano to establish a ground for this debate, aspiring to build the basis for a culture of research in industrial design. While the theme of the definition of design research may have provided the linear trajectory sustaining the contributions of the about 80 speakers, it is an articulated web that emerges when exploring either the different acceptions and models elaborated along heterogeneous cultural lines or the multiple perspectives coalesced around the need to articulate what makes industrial design research different from (or similar to) other forms of research. The conference had no other declared intention than offering a milieu of expression to this emergent dimension. As a parallel concern, the initiative was ideally sustained by the strongly felt need to recognize and to nurture a scientific community, thus following the path indicated by a number of conferences that already marked the end of an era of separations, from the Ohio conference on doctoral education held at Columbus, USA, to the forthcoming "Foundations for the future" conference, scheduled for next July 9-12 at La Clusatz, France. All the aspects of the "Design plus Research" conference were developed within the activities of the PhD programme of Industrial Design at Politecnico di Milano. The European Commission, Research DG, Human Potential Programme, High-Level Scientific Conferences, promoted and supported the initiative as a Euroconference. Tomas Maldonado (Politecnico di Milano), Ezio Manzini (Politecnico di Milano) and Victor Margolin (University of Illinois at Chicago) were the members of the active scientific committee of reviewers. Silvia Pizzocaro (Politecnico di Milano) was the chair of the conference organizing committee. The final statements of the conference are reported here for information. Design (plus) Research Themes from the Milan Conference Final statements We live today in a complex world and everything we design reflects this complexity. In this framework, the concepts of design and design activity assume an increasing variety of meanings. The discussion of how design culture faces this transformation remains open, but we observe some basic propositions emerging from the discussion. These are related to the role of design research in generating a solid ground for discussing design and design activities. 1. In its most general definition, design is the conception and planning of products, processes, systems and services. Design research, in its most general definition, investigates "what and how to design" and "how design is done, has been done and might be done." 2. A more specific definition of "how design is done, has been done and might be done," involves generating knowledge to develop and analyse new products, processes, systems and services. This knowledge can also be used to reconfigure existing systems. The challenge of "what and how to design" is to create research programmes aimed at producing "semi-finished design research results", which are not focused on a specific project, but rather are intended to produce design knowledge that can be used as needed. Both of these research activities properly appear as forms of generalisable design knowledge, which must be considered in the framework of the new social and organisational context. In this context, design activity occours as a "flexible network" involving a variable group of actors who are interconnected according to needs and opportunities. 3. In this scenario, the design process can take place through parallel activities. Precisely because the speed of design activity is increasing, it is vital to take the time for through design research. In other words, it is necessary and possible to tackle complex questions, thus generating a wide-range of design knowledge, which can be used to increase critical sensitivity, to widen and compare experiences and give strategic orientation to real-time solutions. 4. Inside the larger network of designers, researchers, producers, and users, the design research community constitutes a network of individuals and institutions. This network connects individuals and creates a platform of interaction to encourage continuing dialogue among researchers who operate in different ways and in different domains. What this community has in common is a commitment to building a design research culture, which can contribute to a deeper understanding of design itself. Ezio Manzini, Tomās Maldonado, Victor Margolin, Silvia Pizzocaro Prof. Silvia Pizzocaro Politecnico di Milano Dipartimento Di.Tec via Durando 38/A 20158 Milano tel.02 2399.5984 fax 02 2399.7270 email: [log in to unmask]