Second SDN Design Research Winter Summit 2018
at
the FHNW Academy of Art and Design Basel
8-10 March 2018
Present discourses in design research, art, cultural
studies, media studies, philosophy, and social science are dominated by the
much-debated concept of the ‘Anthropocene,’ which supposedly elicits a
heightened sensitivity for the negative impact that anthropocentric policies
and technologies continue to have on our planet, and thus on the terms and
conditions of humanity’s long-term survival. Against the backdrop of
catastrophe and
normalized crisis, designers as problem-solvers and agents of
material-visual culture are called upon to draft speculative scenarios,
construct artificial worlds, and develop smart solutions. However, the current
tendency to see global crisis first and foremost as a worldwide design
competition has deservedly received much criticism. Against this backdrop, we
feel urged to ask: How can design make a significant contribution to a more
just society and sustainable forms of living without impeding or compromising
bottom-up initiatives? How can it foster political and social engagement beyond
user-centered or speculative approaches? How can design practice and theory
influence how problems are approached without marginalizing the voices of those
who are most directly affected? How can designers intervene in environmental
issues without turning them into design projects that value aesthetics over
commitment? What strategies are being formulated by different
approaches to design education?Finally, what specific function does the mode of (design) research have: how can scholarly reflexivity and alternative forms of knowledge be combined with concrete social commitment?
The characterization of design as a mode of social and
environmental transformation has a long tradition. Decades ago, design scholars
such as Herbert Simon, Otl Aicher, Victor Papanek, Tomás Maldonado, Horst
Rittel, and Lucius Burckhardt drew attention to the fundamentally artificial
character of what we call environment and emphasized the central role
of design in creating futures and pasts. Papanek’s Design for the Real
World (1971) provided an important impetus for critically revisiting the
Western-Modernist foundations of design and the resulting concepts, artefacts,
and applications. Various contributions to the history and theory of
participatory design or social design (Brock, 1977; Binder et al., 2011;
Manzini, 2015; Margolin, 2015; Banz, 2016) have further directed attention to
the power dynamics characteristic for design and the determining effects of
design. It is now more crucial than ever to reflect critically on the image of
design as an omnipotent problem-solving activity for the ‘real world,’ and to
discuss concrete design projects that respond to current social and political
conditions.
Recent concepts for a problem- and context-conscious design
practice, such as ‘transformation design’ (Jonas et al., 2015; Sommer/Welzer,
2016) or ‘transition design’ (Irwin et al., 2015), have involved rethinking
established understandings of aesthetics and speculation. Further, the
emergence of platforms such as ‘Decolonizing Design’ exemplifies attempts
to overcome the marginalization of design approaches that originate and
flourish in the Global South. The focus of such approaches is on topics such as
sustainability, waste reduction and recycling, social justice, and postcolonial
design models. From this perspective, it seems worthwhile investigating
politically committed (social) design projects as to their underlying
philosophies and cultural contexts in order to approach more humble and aware
modes of intervention. How can we reimagine design as an unbounded, queer, and
unfinished practice that approaches the world from within instead of claiming
an elevated position? How, for once, can we try to see design as a situated
practice instead of turning it into the Global North’s escape and
problem-solving strategy? How can we think about one world without
falling into planetary-scale thinking and the idea that resilience is our only
hope?
What is needed is a radically new understanding of design
practice and education that unfolds its potential in interaction with different
actors, cultures, disciplines, production and knowledge cultures. On the one
hand, this requires repositioning design between creative practice in the
narrower sense and an extended, form-independent and interdisciplinary concept
of intervening; on the other hand, design should from the outset problematize
approaches and perspectives that are mainly determined by the Global North.
The Second SDN Design Research Winter Summit 2018, hosted by
the FHNW Academy of Art and Design Basel/Switzerland, is calling for
contributions that address the outlined topics and covering the full field of
both practice-led and theoretical-historical design research. Particularly
desirable are small-scale projects targeting real-world impact, which are
committed to the conference themes and whose authors are willing to reflect
critically on these projects during the conference. Finally, relevant proposals
that do not stem from design research in the narrower sense, but which relate
to policy and sustainability research, development cooperation, urban planning,
or social work, for example, are also welcome
Submission guidelines
Applicants are invited to submit proposals for lectures,
project presentations, and workshops. We explicitly encourage applications that
propose an experimental approach to the conference’s topic (visual
presentations, documentary films, social media, etc.).
Applications must be written in English, should not exceed
3000 words (excluding references), and should be submitted as a single
PDF. Large media files should be included as weblinks in the
PDF. Additionally, authors must include a short biography of maximum 250
words. Collective submissions are also welcome. All contributions
will be peer reviewed. All applications should be sent before August 15, 2017.
More information at the Beyond change website.
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