News
Mar 17, 2014
Design Research Society conference 2014 Workshop:
Embodying Embodied Design Research
Umeå, Sweden, 15 June 2014
Online call »
Workshop Goals:
The value of engaging the full gamut of sensory motor skills in the design and use of smart objects and systems is increasingly recognized. Yet methods for arriving at robust and reliable outcomes for their development are not fully understood, nor are they easily reported or transferred through typical conference presentations and paper submissions.
Workshops and conferences typically consist of cognitive and discursive processes that ignore the communicative strengths and abilities of the body. When embodiment is integral to design research, communication of the techniques and methods used to undertake such research should also, ideally, be embodied.
Workshop Activities:
This one-day workshop is an experiment in how to engage, reflect on, and report embodied design research methods and techniques. Participants will experience and reflect upon their different approaches, using their embodied design research techniques to support that reflection. Rather than engaging in oral presentations, participants will lead the other workshop participants through a proven embodied method or approach. Then small groups will create mash-ups and experiment with reporting methods to find new opportunities for growth, cross-fertilization, collaboration, and – importantly – knowledge transfer. Embodied ideation, communication and collaboration techniques enable enhanced creative engagement and assist creativity. By applying such methods to the problem of their reporting, we hope to deepen understanding of how to move towards enriched, nuanced and repeatable methods for embodied design and knowledge transfer.
How to Submit & Selection Process:
We invite interested parties to submit:
• a short video in a style that best communicates their embodied research, making use of narrative, poem, graphic story, images intertwined with text, flipbook animation etc.,
• and a one-page Extended Abstract.
We encourage submissions from diverse backgrounds including (but not limited to): embodied design, smart textiles, fashion and wearable technologies, product, systems and interaction design. Industry and non-profit organizations are similarly encouraged.
Submissions will be selected based on originality, quality, and potential for embodied engagement. Importantly, submissions will not be shown during the workshop. Rather, confirmed submissions will be available for viewing online, in advance.
Important dates:
• Deadline for submission of position statements: 1 April 2014
• Notification of acceptance to workshop participants: 15 April 2014
• Workshop: 15 June 2014
Submissions and questions: