From 5 to 7 March 2018, Elisava hosted the 12th edition of the International Conference on Design Principles & Practices, an interdisciplinary forum that explores the importance and purpose of design.
Established in 2007, the gathering seeks to build a transdisciplinary dialogue that encompasses a wide range of design paradigms and practices, and is based on four key characteristics: internationalism, interdisciplinarity, inclusion and interaction.
The special focus of the 2018 conference was “No Boundaries Design”. It often feels like we are losing sight of our possibilities in the future and our active role in its construction.
What identities, needs or expectations will we have?
Designers can have a unique role in answering these and other questions. They can foster debate, reflection and transformational actions – taking on a social and political role, defining our material world and solving real-life problems on a large scale. Designers must therefore work towards overcoming pre-existing boundaries between cultures, disciplines, social norms and political entities, and keep asking questions. How can design lend a voice to people so they can choose their own way of thinking and acting, so they can be agents of change beyond the boundaries?
Within this context, the 2018 edition presented research on: