www.entwerfen-wissen-produzieren.de

Annual Conference of the German Society of Design Theory and Research (DGTF)
Date: 23/24 October 2009
Venue: University of the Arts (UdK), Berlin, Grunewaldstraße 2-5, Berlin-Schöneberg
Languages: German, English

Call for Papers

When designing, cognitive and design practices are highly interrelated. Knowledge is considered the basis of design and design as a means of knowledge generation. Artefacts and products materialize knowledge in that knowledge becomes discursive and by which methods and practices interact in multiple different ways.

This complexity prompts the close examination of the ever changing relationships between processes of design, knowledge and production in design research. How, in the context of >research<, do we inquire design practices as research practices and design objects as epistemic objects?

>Knowledge< and >Research< are not advanced merely as the catch-phases for Design. Aspect of application has become an imperative for scientific research - to satisfy the demands for social and economical relevance of research results. Or in the so-called >Practice Turn< whose epistemology demands the turn toward practices in knowledge production. Against the background of these developments, how integrated is design research with the interests from society, economy and politics? Where do they collide?

The annual conference of the German Society of Design Theory and Research (DGTF) would like to present and discuss contributions from this exciting field where design research turns to practice. The concept >Context of Application< covers in the widest sense the entire environment in which problems arise from the genesis of knowledge, methods developed, research results disseminated and application defined. At the same time, the paradox of the contemporary knowledge production will be confronted. As the production of knowledge gets close to the formulation of questions and problems from society, the fear for commercialization of knowledge increases. In view of design research, question arises as how it is located in the exciting field of design, knowledge and production. Pointedly formulated, it should not be asked in a technical-utilitarian way how design research fits into the >Knowledge Society< or how it performs; but rather, what the relation of design and research means and enables for design as practice. This relation is not investigated only as an epistemological or economical project, but rather as a societal undertaking.
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Abstracts (max. 1 page) for the topics as well as a short professional/scientific biography can be submitted, from 6, April 2009 on, on the conference website: www.entwerfen-wissen-produzieren.de (Submit/OpenConf)
A publication is planned for 2010.

Please note the important dates:
6 April: Submission of abstracts opens
15 May: Submission of abstracts closed
1 July: Notification of acceptance/rejection
31 August: Registration of conference opens

Review

Abstracts will be peer-reviewed by an international panel of experts. For each abstract we have two reviewers to proceed the review in a double blind process in order to retain the anonymity of authors and reviewers.

Program Committee

Prof. Gesche Joost, TU Berlin and Deutsche Telekom Laboratories, Berlin
Dipl.-Des. Claudia Mareis, Hochschule der Künste Bern HKB
Prof. Kora Kimpel, Universität der Künste Berlin
Dipl.-Komm. Bianca Herlo, Co-ordinator DGTF

Registration

The registration fee for the two days is 120 Euro. Students are entitled to a reduced fee of 30 Euro. Members of the German Society for Design Research (DGTF) are entitled to a reduced fee of 60 Euro. Information about the registration procedure will be available soon.

Contact

For further inquiry do not hesitate to contact us: Bianca Herlo, German Society of Design Theory & Research (DGTF), Email: mail@dgtf.de