There are now a number of markers of the end of design as we know it. These include: the backlash against ‘big name designer design’; the problematic notion of ‘design democracy’ or put another way ‘as software diversifies and proliferates anyone can be a designer now’; and the promotion of ‘design thinking’ to traditionally non-design areas like management, policy, etc. Will design as a profession disappear or will it transform into something else, like ‘redirective practice’? What is worth saving and what should be discarded? What does design need to become now and for the future?
Overlaps with Beyond 'Progressive' Designing (above) with a more specific focus: Humanitarian design, emergency design, western trained designers transferring skills to artisans in poor nations – these are some of the activities associated with ‘design for development’, and they are often assumed automatically to be ‘a good thing’. But what are the problems and issues in such projects and in working across cultural divides? Questions need to be asked like: developing what? For whom? At whose invitation? With what long term effects? Such questions also need to be put in the context of: the prospect of the effects of climate change impacting more heavily on poorer nations; and the necessity of justice and equity in local, national and global responses to climate change.
People’s emotional investment in things, brands, experiences, technologies – increasing numbers of designers see this as the domain in which they are working. Is this something new or are emotions always already designed? If so, what designs them? What are the ethical issues for designers working in these domains? What about all those other things, like language (especially) that ‘design emotions’ but are not recognised to be doing so?
Overlaps with (Post)Sustainability: Nature, Design, Gift, Sacrifice (see Forthcoming Issues above): As distinctions between the biological and the made, the natural and the artificial continue to break down, what are the implications for how we think about design – about what it is, what it could become, and its ethical agenda? Objects of address could range across: biophysical ecologies; the built environment; spaces of work and leisure; product worlds; immaterial environments; the semiosphere; biotechnologies.
We are seeking rigorous, passionate, lively, well-written essays and research papers which clearly engage the themes.
Papers are invited from theorists and practitioners in all areas of design and architecture as well as from philosophers and thinkers across the humanities. We believe it is very important for non-designers to engage with design, so in fact it doesn’t matter what your discipline or background, if you wish to seriously explore any of our themes and believe you have something original to say, we will gladly consider it.
The work should not have been published
elsewhere; though occasionally we will publish pieces of exceptional quality
that have already been published, but not in prominent journals. We also
welcome abstracts on topics outside the listed themes as well as suggestions for new
themes.
Papers are to be from 1500 to 7000 words
The first stage is to submit a 200 word abstract of your proposed contribution to the editor, Anne-Marie Willis amwillis@teamdes.com.au . If this is of interest we will invite you to write the full piece and provide you with our author guidelines. Once received, the paper will assessed by two referees (drawn from the editors and Editorial Advisory Board).
Published papers and essays will also be considered for the annual print version of Design Philosophy Papers.