On November 12 and 13 I participated to “Multiple Ways to Design Research” (I was in the Scientific Committee of the event), organized by Massimo Botta (SUPSI – University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland). An interesting two days symposium with the participation of many friends, like Giuseppe O. Longo (we published his paper in NoemaLab) and Giovanni Anceschi.

 

From the left: Massimo Botta, Giuseppe O. Longo, myself and Polly Bertram

 

The Fifth Symposium of the Swiss Design Network wanted to highlight research cases informed by knowledge of other disciplines to understand their relevance for design theories, methods and practices.

The conference presented a multidisciplinary overview on research projects – from those ones originated within the design field to those ones originated within other fields – that produce design research outcomes useful to outline those theories, methods and practices which influence and reshape the design discipline.

The framework of the conference was based on the assumption that the evolution of sciences and technologies, and their impact on society, suggests new research questions that constantly tend to expand the ways to design research – in term of topics of interests, approaches and contaminations – research questions that can be relevant for the design knowledge, practice and education.

 

Giovanni Anceschi (right) and me

 

Delivering both overviews and deepening, the conference keynote speechs and the parallel project sessions addressed to a wide range of attendees: senior researchers of academia and of corporate R&D departments, PhD and master students coming from different disciplines, industry exponents involved in the design development and production.

Questions of interest were…
– How do theories, methods and practices from other knowledge domains inform the design research today? And, which kind of exchange exists between them?
– How does design research evolve in contact with other disciplines or contexts?
– How does design research informed by other knowledge suggest fundamental questions for the design discipline?
– Which specific research experience and/or topic outlines relevant design research areas?
– How does the context of technological innovation and industry drive design research methods and practices and vice versa?
– Which scientific and artistic fields are producing research outcomes that could be a point of interest for design research and discipline?