DRS2016: Design + Research + Society | Future-Focused Thinking (June 2016, Brighton, UK)

50^th Anniversary International Design Research Society Conference

27th-30th June 2016, Brighton, UK

DETAILED CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

Over the past 50 years design research has established a firm basis for our understanding of design. For DRS2016 we invite you to join us in considering how design research can help us address the problems we face now and the challenges that lie ahead.

Whatever your field of design research we encourage you to participate, to show the true diversity of our subject area, and to help us build a conference formed and shaped by the people that come.

DRS2016 is hosted by the University of Brighton in the UK, in association with the Royal College of Art and Imperial College, London (where the very first meeting of the Design Research Society was held in 1966). The conference week will give you the chance to experience the energy and creativity of the dynamic city of Brighton.

CALL FOR PAPERS

DRS2016 invites new and challenging paper submissions from any area or discipline of design research.  We embrace research looking at and using design in the widest possible sense with interdisciplinary work and work responding to the conference themes particularly encouraged.

CENTRAL THEMES FOR DRS2016

(1) Future-Focused Thinking:

Papers, case studies, or designs that anticipate developments in one or more of the three areas of Design, Research and Society.

(2) Papers critically engaging with our key conference questions:

> How can design research help frame and address the societal problems that face us?

> How can design research be a creative and active force for rethinking ideas about Design?

> How can design research shape our lives in more responsible, meaningful, and open ways?

(3) 50 Years of Design Research:

Papers looking critically at key contributors and contributions over the past 50 years of Design Research.

THE DRS SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP THEMES

Experiential Knowledge (EKSIG)
Wellbeing and Happiness (SIGWELL)
Design Pedagogy (PedSIG)
Objects, Practices, Experiences, Networks (OPENSIG)
Inclusive Design (Inclusive SIG)
Sustainable Design (Sustainability SIG)
Design for Behaviour Change (Behaviour Change SIG)
Design Management (DM SIG)
Design for Tangible, Embedded and Networked Technologies (TENTSIG)

Further information about individual SIG calls will follow.

SUBMISSION

Papers should be up to 5000 words, including abstracts and references, and should adhere to the conference paper submission guidelines, available in August on the conference website.  

We also seek more experimental submissions (full papers) for design research that might, for example, include a textual narrative alongside more visually-oriented, time-based, or networked material.  The document format should still form the basis of such a submission, with reference to large media files made through weblinks. 

All submissions must be in the English language.

The online submission system will be open from 1^st September 2015 and full papers must be submitted by 9th November 2015. 

**IMPORTANT: THERE WILL BE NO EXTENSIONS TO THIS DEADLINE**

Review for DRS2016 is by full papers only.

ADDITIONAL THEME SESSIONS

To capitalize on emerging research networks, as well as existing networks not already covered by SIG areas, we welcome proposals for further theme sessions of full papers related to any area of design research.  These sessions will be managed individually by sub-chairs as part of the general paper submission and final programme.  Sub-chairs will be responsible for identifying and allocating reviewers and curating conference sessions.

Proposals should consist of a title, a proposed sub-chair for the session, a list of 2-3 key people who will oversee the review process for theme submissions, a theme context and outline (up to 250 words), and a small number of references to indicate theme scope.

To allow us to publicize additional themes prior to the full-paper deadline, theme session proposals should be submitted to admin@drs2016.org on or before the deadline of July 27^th 2015. 

Theme session proposals will be reviewed by a subset of the programme committee with sub-chairs informed of outcomes within two weeks of the deadline.  Successful proposals will be publicized on the website as part of the conference call.

Submissions for successful theme sessions will take place via the online submission system along with standard paper submissions.

CONVERSATIONS AND EXPERIMENTAL SESSIONS

Submissions for structured discussions, experimental sessions and workshop formats that advance conversation around emergent forms of design research will form part of DRS2016.  As with DRS2014 these sessions have been conceived as alternatives to the traditional paper/presentation format to provide innovative venues for project-based research and work that is not easily captured or conveyed by the scholarly paper.  Further details about the submission of proposals for conversations and experimental sessions will follow in the coming months with deadlines in February 2016.

PHD BY DESIGN EVENT

PhD By Design will hold a one-day event at DRS2016 to vocalise, discuss and work through some of the many issues of conducting a practice-based PhD in Design. This event will be made up of informal presentations of work as an opportunity to explore what the future holds for practice-based PhDs. It will bring together designers undertaking practice-based doctoral research, as well as supervisors, MRes students, and MPhil students within and outwith Design Departments. On the day we will produce an Instant Journal documenting discussions and outcomes and available during the conference.

Contact details and Information about past events is available at: www.phdbydesign.com

Registration details will be available in November 2015.

TIMETABLE TO DRS2016

Deadline for additional theme sessions: 27^th July 2015

Submission system opens:  1^st September 2015

Deadline for full papers:  9^th November 2015

Notification of accepted papers:  10^th February 2016

Deadline for full paper revisions:  29^th February 2016

Final acceptance of borderline papers:  11 March 2016

Conference Dates: 28^th-30^th June 2016

PEER REVIEW

This is a general design research conference and it is expected that a wide variety of work and projects will be reported. Irrespective of the range and stage of your research, we expect the highest standards of scholarship and clarity in terms of establishing context, explicating methods of inquiry, and reporting results. Papers will be selected through a double blind review process conducted by an international review panel.

Our aim is to increase the quality of peer reviewing for DRS2016.  The review process for each sub-theme of the conference will be managed separately by a sub-chair who will oversee the peer review process of around 20 submissions.  This will involve allocating reviewers, resolving any conflicts, and making recommendations to the overall DRS2016 review committee.  Authors will have an opportunity to evaluate the reviews they receive, which sub-chairs will factor into making their final recommendations.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATION AND PROCEEDINGS

Authors of accepted papers are expected to attend and present their work at the conference in one of a number of formats.  Papers of exceptional quality (as judged by reviewers) will be presented with discussants and where appropriate papers may be accepted as posters and allocated to sessions with shorter time slots.

All accepted papers will be published in the online conference proceedings and be available to view approximately one month before the beginning of the conference.  This is intended to stimulate debate prior to the conference and help to facilitate deeper interaction during the conference.

CONTACT

Any queries about the conference should be directed to: admin@drs2016.org

Conference website: http://www.drs2016.org

For regular updates follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/drs2016uk

The Design Research Society is a multi-disciplinary learned society for the design research community worldwide. DRS was founded in 1966, and since then has established a record of significant achievements in contributing to design knowledge.

You can visit the DRS website at: http://www.designresearchsociety.org