Design Research Now

Design is becoming a recognised academic discipline, and design research is the driving force behind this transformation. Design Research Now – Essays and Selected Projects charts the field of design research with introductory essays and selected research projects. The authors of the essays, all leading international design scholars, stake out positions on the most important issues of design research. They locate the significance of design research at the interface with technological development, describe what makes it a necessary ingredient of the continued development of the design disciplines, and assign it a seminal role in the relevant developments of society.

The essays are supplemented by the presentation of recently completed research projects from universities in the Netherlands, the UK and Italy.

Michel/Schneider are (founding) members of BIRD, the founders of the Swiss Design Network, and the organizers of the network’s international design research symposia.

Ralf Michel is director of the Swiss Design Network; he is a designer, curator, and publicist.

Beat Schneider is an emeritus professor of the history and theory of design at the Hochschule der Künste Bern (Bern University of the Arts) and was the first president of the Swiss Design Network.

Gui Bonsiepe, Florianopolis (BR), La Plata (AR): Lecturer in integrated media at ESDI (Escola Superior de Desenho Industrial), Universidade do Estado de Rio de Janeiro. Construction of master’s degree program. Formerly a professor at what is now the Köln International School of Design.

Nigel Cross, Milton Keynes (GB): Professor of design studies at Open University Milton Keynes, Department of Design and Innovation.

Richard Buchanan, Pittsburgh (US): Professor and director of doctoral studies at Carnegie Mellon University School of Design.

Pieter Jan Stappers: Professor and chair of the Department of Design Techniques at the TU Delft (Delft University of Technology).

Susann Vihma, Helsinki (FI): Professor of semiotics and the history of design at the UIAH Helsinki and the University of Lapland.

Ezio Manzini, Milan (IT): Professor of industrial design at Milan Politecnico. Formerly chair of the Research Department on Design and Innovation for Sustainability and the masters degree program in Strategic Design.

Wolfgang Jonas, Kassel/Berlin (DE): Professor of system design at the Kunsthochschule Kassel (Kassel University of the Arts).

Beat Schneider, Bern (CH): Emeritus professor of the theory and history of design at the Hochschule der Künste Bern (Bern University of the Arts). Former president of the Swiss Design Network.

Klaus Krippendorff, Philadelphia (USA): Professor of communication, Annenberg School of Communication, University of Pennsylvania.