UIC and FHNW at the Milan EXPO

Pathways of Design Research
A Conference for Designers, Design Students and Design Researchers

7 September 2015
Milan Expo
Swiss Pavillion

More than ever before, our perception of reality is determined by visual messages. The visible world is being replaced by the visual artifact, created by the designer, the artist or anyone in possession of digital tools. The scenographic representations of nations and themes we encounter currently at the World Expo in Milan are good examples of the replacement of the visible through the visual.

Over the past five decades, design has transformed from a craft-oriented field to one that needs to reflect on its activities in order to cope with the challenges of a society relying strongly on visual messages. This demand, to further develop the understanding of how images create meaning, requires a scientific approach.

But the shift from craft to reflected creation in the context of design raises many questions. In short we may ask: How can we develop a knowledge base for design practice and design education with a resilient outcome? Following this line of thought, the conference “Pathways of Design Research” provides a platform for an international exchange on approaches and methodologies of inquiry into historical developments, contexts, processes and the impact of design. The conference will address three main directions of design research:
1 Historical Design Research,
2 Design Research for Social Impact,
3 Practice-led Design Research.

The conference is organized by the Visual Communication Institute (The Basel School of Design) of the Academy of Art and Design FHNW in collaboration with the Politecnico Milano, the Istituto Europeo di Design Milano, and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).

Please view the video here.