10th Design Thinking Research Symposium (Oct 2014, Indiana USA)

Dates: 12-15 Oct 2014
Location: Purdue University, Indiana, USA
Website: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xtydrznf3oyz1cs/DTRS-10-Oct2014.pdf?n=21270040
Deadline for expressions of interest: 6 January 2014

The 10th DTRS will be held October 12-15, 2014 at Purdue University.  This DTRS will involve sharing a common research dataset of design review conversations: digital videos of conversations between those who give and those who receive feedback, guidance or critique during a design review event.

Understanding the nature and the nurture of expert performance in design has been a central mission of the Design Thinking Research Symposium (DTRS) series.  The first DTRS was held in 1991 at Delft University of Technology and involved a small, international group of pioneering design researchers spanning such disciplines as architecture, art, cognitive science, engineering, product design, and philosophy. To date there have been nine DTRS meetings, resulting in a substantial set of influential and field-shaping publications in books and journals.

The formats of DTRS meetings are unique in their approach to fostering an international community of design thinking scholars, sharing and synthesizing cross-disciplinary work, and identifying and promoting necessary further research.  One format has been the creation of a shared research dataset in which design researchers are invited to apply their expertise to “design thinking” data and share their insights at the symposium to further advance an understanding of the particular knowledge designers (in any discipline) possess, the nature of design learning and inquiry, and how designers synthesize ideas from seemingly disparate fragments, develop ambidextrous mindsets for innovation, and co-design with others to find “life-centered” approaches to current and future needs.

To catalyze conversations before, during, and after the symposium there will be:
•       A dynamic art exhibition to visually and interactively represent “design review conversations” and the symposium experience.
•       A Research-to-Practice workshop to develop teaching materials and resources based on the shared research dataset and symposium conversations.
•       A cyberinfrastructure system to support socially networked collaborations across the globe.
•       An edited book and special issues of such journals as Design Studies and CoDesign.

THE DESIGN REVIEW CONVERSATIONS DATASET
Design review conversations are a common and prevalent practice for helping designers develop design thinking expertise, although the structure and content of these reviews may vary significantly.  They make the design thinking of design coaches (instructors, experts, peers, and community and industry stakeholders) and design students visible.  During a design review, coaches notice problematic and promising aspects of a designer’s work – drawing on repertoires from similar situations to anticipate problems designers may encounter and ways to help them work through these problems, pointing out features of a design that could be wrong or improved, pushing designers to justify their ideas about “good design” more clearly and thoroughly, prodding designers to reveal the thought processes that led to the current design, connecting a design feature to historical and cultural precedent, and praising design work pointing to particular insights and choices.  In this way, design students are supported in revisiting and critically evaluating their design rationales, and making sense of a design review experience in ways that allow them to construct their design thinking repertoire and evolving design identity.

The DTRS shared research dataset provides multiple entry points into a generative space for advancing a cross-disciplinary synthesis of design thinking and learning.  These multiple entry points include variations in:
•       Design review structures (desk critique, informal, formal, juried) and modalities (text, speech, objects, gestures)
•       Design review stages (early concept to final review)
•       Interactions (individual/group, face to face/virtual, global)
•       Longitudinal (initial to final reviews) and comparative data
•       Disciplinary and interdisciplinary cultures (choreography, entrepreneurial design, industrial design, mechanical engineering, service learning design, systems of systems design)
•       Design principles (aesthetic, functional, technical, entrepreneurial, human-centered, complexity, “simple” design)

DTRS 10 DEADLINES
6th January 2014:  Formal declaration of interest
15th February 2014:  Commitment to Symposium via research brief
30th April 2014:  Submission of research proposal
15th July 2014:  Submission of draft paper
7th September 2014:  Submission of final paper
12th – 15th October 2014:  Design Thinking Research Symposium

Full details are available at this link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xtydrznf3oyz1cs/DTRS-10-Oct2014.pdf?n=21270040