Design Research Society
The Design Research Society, founded in the United Kingdom in 1966, is an international society for developing and supporting the interests of the design research community. The primary purpose of the DRS, as embodied in its first statement of rules, is to promote ‘the study of and research into the process of designing in all its many fields'. This established the intention of being an interdisciplinary learned society, taking a scholarly and domain independent view of the process of designing. Membership is open to anyone interested in design research, and members with established experience and a strong background in design research may apply to be elected as a DRS Fellow.
Origins
The origins of the Society lay in the first conference on design methods, held at Imperial College in London in 1962, which enabled a core of people to be identified who shared interests in new approaches to the process of designing.Early history
Initially, the DRS promoted its aims through a series of one-day conferences and the publication of a quarterly newsletter to members. However, within a few years, unsuccessful attempts to establish a published journal and fruitless internal debate about the Society's goals led to inactivity. The Society was revived by its first major international conference, on design participation, held in Manchester in 1971. At that conference a meeting of DRS members led to a call for a special general meeting of the Society, and to changes of officers and council members. Subsequently, a series of conferences was held through the 1970s and 80s: in London, Portsmouth, Istanbul, and Bath.In the mid-1970s DRS also collaborated with the Design Methods Group, based in the USA, including publishing a joint journal, Design Research and Methods.
Publications and conferences
By the late 1970s there was enough enthusiasm, and evidence of design research activity around the world, for the DRS to approach IPC Press with a successful proposal for its own journal. , the international journal for design research, was launched in 1979. A monthly internet news bulletin DesignResearchNews was started in 1998 and has over 9000 subscribers. Between 2006 and 2009 the Society also published a quarterly newsletter, Design Research Quarterly.A new biennial series of DRS conferences began in 2002 with the 'Common Ground' conference in London. Subsequent ones have been held at venues around the world, with a variety of themes. See the Table below. In 2005 DRS was one of the founding members of the International Association of Societies of Design Research, which also holds biennial, international conferences.
| Year and Theme | Hosting Institution |
| DRS London 2002: Commonground | Brunel University, London, UK |
| DRS Melbourne 2004: Futureground | Monash University, Melbourne, Australia |
| DRS Lisbon 2006: Wonderground | Instituto de Artes Visuais, Lisbon, Portugal |
| DRS Sheffield 2008: Undisciplined! | Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK |
| DRS Montreal 2010: Design & Complexity | Université de Montréal, Quebec, Canada |
| DRS Bangkok 2012: Re:Search | Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand |
| DRS Umeå 2014: Design's Big Debates | Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden |
| University of Brighton, England | |
| DRS Limerick 2018: Catalyst | Limerick University, Limerick, Ireland |
Special Interest Groups
Special Interest Groups provide a forum for specific areas of research which are of interest to the Design Research Community and its members. SIGs organise events and discussion in a number of ways to facilitate the exchange and development of best practice in the field. Each SIG is organised by a convenor who is supported by an organising group and the SIG members. DRS members are invited to join any Special Interest Group to contribute actively to research in the subject area of their chosen group.Special Interest Group on Experiential Knowledge (EKSIG)
EKSIG is concerned with the understanding and role of knowledge in research and professional practice in design in order to clarify fundamental principles and practices of using design practice within research both with regard to research regulations and requirements, and research methodology.The main aims of EKSIG are:
- Investigate and advance the understanding of 'knowledge' and 'contribution to knowledge' in design research, especially in areas where designing forms part of the research process
- Develop principles and criteria of research in design for employing different kinds of knowledge and means for the communication of knowledge
- Promote the implementation of such principles and criteria within current research policy to promote quality and standards in research
- Promote the implementation of such principles and criteria within research practice through the development of appropriate methodology to promote quality and best practice in research
| Year and Theme | Hosting Institution |
| EKSIG 2007: New Knowledge in the Creative Disciplines | University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK |
| London Metropolitan University, London, UK | |
| University for the Creative Arts, Farnham Castle, UK | |
| Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK | |
| Design School Kolding, Kolding, Denmark |
All papers selected for presentation at the conference are published in the conference proceedings: an abstract booklet with a CD or USB of the full papers and post-conference online publication, the preferred format of the DRS. Selected papers from each conference have been published in an appropriate journal as a special issue: in 2007, in 2010, in 2012, and in 2015, .
Special Interest Group on Wellbeing and Happiness (SIGWELL)
The SIG focuses on bringing together designers, design researchers, landscape architects and others who aim to improve personal and societal wellbeing through design.Design Pedagogy Special Interest Group (PedSIG)
This SIG on design pedagogy aims to bring together design researchers, teachers and practitioners, and others responsible for the delivery of design education, to clarify and develop the role of design research in providing the theoretical underpinning for design education.The DRS Design Pedagogy Special Interest Group is bringing together other research which is directed to similar ends. Design research is not an irrelevant activity living in its own little ghetto, but rather it provides the basis for the academic core of design teaching and pedagogic innovation. By that means through the provision of the next generation of designers it links into design practice.
The DRS PedSIG runs special streams at DRS biannual conferences. It also organised symposia which were hosted by the Coventry University on 27 March 2009 and 28 January 2011.
In 2010, the DRS PedSIG and CUMULUS Association have join forces to develop a bi-annual international research events. The 1st International Symposium for Design Education Researchers in collaboration with: CUMULUS Association; Design Research Society ; five other international universities ; the Lieu de Design, Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Paris and AVA Publishing. The symposium was held in a prestigious location of :fr:Bourse de commerce de Paris in May 2011. A special issue of Collection, a research journal, has been produced featuring a selection of contributions. The 2nd International Conference for Design Research Educators, , was hosted by the Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences.