Swiss Design Network Symposium 2024

Design disciplines have entered the academic world in Switzerland relatively recently. Swiss design schools have only been required to perform research since the end of the 20th century to be qualified as universities of applied arts.

Yet what shape does the output of this research take? In many national and international contexts, design has become an academic discipline producing original knowledge in usual formats. Even so, design has designerly ways of knowing that are yet to be fully recognised and understood.

On the other hand, the paradigm of design research, or research through design, has emerged. It supplements new knowledge and regular publications with the production of new designs taking the form of prototypes, visualisations, performances and exhibitions, be they speculative or real.

These new, non-strictly bibliographic formats are particularly relevant for their impact on design schools as well as on a wider audience. Moreover, the advent of AI technologies and their consequences on the production of texts, images, objects and sound, put into a crisis the scientific paper format as the ultimate form of knowledge transmission.

This symposium questions the status of design within the academic system and examines how knowledge is produced by design disciplines. The conference aims to provide examples of virtuous practices and to create an arena for a discussion on the relevance of design research as a framework in the medium and long terms. Which experiences and practices are exemplary? Which possibilities does research through design unfold? What can we learn from them, and how can we further implement design research into research projects and activities?

For this conference, we invited practice- and theory-based contributions anchored in design disciplines (Industrial and Product Design, Interior Design, Fashion Design, Interaction and Service Design, Graphic and Type Design, Photography) as well as cross- or transdisciplinary approach (Social Design, Technology and Design) that present examples of research through design, discuss methodological and epistemological issues, and offer novel ways of approaching practice-based research.

Admission is free but capacity is limited. Registration required via Eventbrite.

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