AGideas Intl Design Research Lab (May 2011, Melbourne)

Date: 2 May 2011
Website: http://www.agideas.net/agideas-2011/design-research-lab
Abstracts for peer review: 1 February 2011 to iridescent@icograda.org

Where is design practice at today?

In a debate dominated by methodological discourse, the role and importance of design practice is often overlooked. This interdisciplinary forum gives you and other members of the international design community the opportunity to invigorate the design discourse by sharing ways that design practice is being carried out, advanced and used to produce effective results.

We are seeking papers that focus on
Multi-disciplinary applications of design practice and its outcomes for the broader community.
The relationship between design education and design practice.

Topics

The following are examples of the topics that papers might explore.

How is design practice advancing developments in other areas, such as economic, social, technological and environmental disciplines?
Can design practice contribute to competitive advantage?
Can design practice and design thinking move into the day-to-day operations of non-traditional businesses?
Can design practice solve the ‘wicked problems’?
How has design practice been applied in a particular project and what did it achieve?
What is the role of research in design practice, or design practice in research?
How is design practice influencing scholarly endeavours and how are scholarly endeavours influencing design practice?
How do we encourage design practitioners to document their practice in scholarly ways?
Is the role of design education to prepare students for industry and, if so, is it successful at achieving this outcome?
If the role of design education is not to prepare students for industry, what is its role and what might be improved?
Should design education include an understanding of the social and behavioural sciences and business?
How do we encourage design thinking as a skill in the broader community?
Does introducing design education early in the school system (e.g., from kindergarten) improve design practice?
Should design have a greater role in general education and the school sector?
In what way should design be taught at school?

Please refer to the website for further details.