As design increasingly positions itself as a discipline that can help address pressing societal challenges (e.g., migration, climate crisis, the impact of AI), revitalizing the scholarly discussion on design ethics becomes inevitable. Surprisingly though, the scholarly discussion on design ethics remains rather vague, scattered, and theoretically underdeveloped (Chan, 2018). This is partially due to the broadness and complexity of the field and partially due to a lack of discourse on the normative orientations of design that originates from within the discipline (vs. through the gaze of other disciplines).
In the context of this call, we frame design ethics as an invitation to care and argue against reducing it to a methodology, framework, checklist, toolkit, or an afterthought. This broad framing highlights that ‘ethics’ can carry multiple meanings in different contexts (e.g. responsible, critical, democratic) and can be approached from various theoretical perspectives (e.g. historical, cultural, speculative). Consequently, we recognize the need for a nuanced and reflexive discussion on how design and ethics are intertwined. For this, we aim to look back on design, as a discipline and profession, with critical historical awareness, while also looking forward with cautious optimism. We welcome both theoretical papers that unpack specific conceptual perspectives and practice-based explorations (e.g. in communities, organizations, policy-making).
We invite the submission of papers focusing on but not restricted to:
The topical collection “Ethics in / of / for Design” is organized in collaboration with the Special Interest Group “Design Ethics” of the Design Research Society (DRS). The idea for this issue was born when preparing a “Design Ethics” track for the DRS 2024 conference. However, the call is open for all scholars who want to contribute to the debate.
References
APA format
Timetable
Deadline for paper submissions: February 1, 2025
Deadline for paper reviews: May 1, 2025
Deadline for submission of revised papers: June 1, 2025
Deadline for reviewing revised papers: July 1, 2025
Accepted papers will be published in 2025
Guest editors
Michael Nagenborg, Associate Professor Philosophy of Technology, University of Twente
Deger Ozkaramanli, Assistant Professor in Designing with Dilemmas, TU Delft
For any further information, please, contact: m.h.nagenborg@utwente.nl
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