About IDRP

Fifth Annual Design Research Conference: Call for Papers & Projects

January 15–16, 2009

At the Interdisciplinary Design Institute of Washington State University Spokane

Topic: Design + Cultures

Culture is a dynamic and multi-faceted term; Design is also a dynamic and multi-faceted term. The Fifth Annual Design Research Conference, to be held at the Interdisciplinary Design Institute at Washington State University Spokane, January 15–16, 2009, will focus on the busy crossroads in the geography of these two vast domains under the conference theme of Design + Cultures.

In parallel with the ever-expanding impact of (in Herbert Simon's words) the design of the artificial upon cultural life, the theme of Design + Cultures raises numerous questions and a wide range of problems that can be addressed within a multi-disciplinary setting.

The tradition of this conference is intimate size, generous paper presentation times that allow for vigorous Q+A, and hands-on engagement with the conference theme by students, as well as paper presenters and invited speakers in a variety of participatory sessions.

Past conferences have drawn paper presenters and speakers from Asia, Europe, and North America. Please submit abstracts early because only a limited number of presentation sessions are envisioned, so as to accommodate the various participatory sessions.

Submissions for papers and projects can address (but not be limited to) the following topical areas:

cultures of knowledge
cultures of practice
cybernetic cultures
the role of design in the developing countries
design culture in (or versus) academia
design and material culture
the role of design in national versus global identities
design and corporate cultures
cultures of professionalism
design and popular culture
design: modernity, post-modernity . . . followed by what?
designer culture versus engineering culture
design and identity
design and cultures of consumption
design in urban versus rural cultures
history of design culture

Papers: Initial submission shall be an abstract not to exceed one page. For ease of distribution for blind peer review, be sure the document is in MS WORD (not PDF).

Projects: can be designs (or concepts) of a built form on any scale, so long as an accompanying narrative explains how the project addresses the conference topic. Initial submission shall be a one-page document that provides an image of the project with a narrative explanation of sufficient length to fit on the same page.

All submissions must include contributor(s) name, affiliation, and contact information. Submission shall be by e-mail only to davidwang@wsu.edu, with cc to ali.ilhan@gmail.com. All submissions will be by blind peer review.

Deadline for initial submissions: August 11, 2008, with decisions issued by September.

Presenters' work at the conference may be further peer-reviewed for inclusion in the Interdisciplinary Design and Research e-Publication (IDRP), sponsored by the WSU Interdisciplinary Design Institute.

ISSN: 1939-4659. Sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Design Institute of Washington State University.

The Design Institute is a center where faculty, practitioners, undergraduate as well as graduate students in Architecture, Interior Design, and Landscape Architecture come together to learn in an interdisciplinary setting, to share ideas, and to grow in ability to practice and research in the design fields.