of external links may not follow wikipedia s policies or guidelines . please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references . january 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message design research society type charity founded 1966 headquarters united kingdom area served worldwide key people john chris jones l. bruce archer nigel cross website www.designresearchsociety.org the design research society drs founded in the united kingdom in 1966 1 2 3 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 . 1 contents 1 origins 2 early history 3 publications and conferences 4 special interest groups 4.1 special interest group on experiential knowledge eksig 4.2 special interest group on wellbeing and happiness sigwell 4.3 design pedagogy special interest group pedsig 4.4 special interest group for objects practices experiences networks opensig 4.5 inclusive design special interest group inclusive sig 5 references 6 external links origins edit the origins of the society lay in the first conference on design methods 4 held 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 edit 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 5 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 6 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 1973 portsmouth 1976 7 1980 8 istanbul 1978 and bath 1984 . 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 edit by the late 1970s there was enough enthusiasm and evidence of design research activity around the world for the drs to approach ipc press now elsevier science with a successful proposal for its own journal . design studies 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 in melbourne australia 2004 lisbon portugal 2006 sheffield uk 2008 montreal canada 2010 . 9 in 2005 drs was one of the founding members of the international association of societies of design research iasdr 10 which also holds biennial congresses . 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 universit de montr al quebec canada drs bangkok 2012 re search chulalongkorn university bangkok thailand drs ume 2014 design s big debates ume university ume sweden special interest groups edit 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 . 2 special interest group on experiential knowledge eksig edit 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 11 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 eksig runs a biennial conference series special strands at the drs and iasdr conferences . it also runs a discussion list which is used for announcements and debate about the core issues of knowledge and methodology in research and practice in the creative disciplines . 12 year and theme hosting institution eksig 2007 new knowledge in the creative disciplines university of hertfordshire hatfield uk eksig 2009 experiential knowledge method and methodology london metropolitan university london uk eksig 2011 skindeep experiential knowledge and multi sensory communication university for the creative arts farnham castle uk eksig 2013 knowing inside out experiential knowledge expertise and connoisseurship loughborough university loughborough uk all papers selected for presentation at the conference are published in the conference proceedings an abstract booklet with cd 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 journal of visual arts practice in 2007 journal of research practice in 2010 journal of art and design education in higher education in 2012 and design & culture expected to be published in 2014 . special interest group on wellbeing and happiness sigwell edit the sig focuses on bringing together designers design researchers landscape architects and others who aim to improve personal and societal wellbeing through design . 13 design pedagogy special interest group pedsig edit 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 . 14 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 . 2 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 2 in collaboration with cumulus association ; design research society drs ; five other international universities which included aalto university l cole de design nantes atlantique coventry university l cole parsons paris and politecnico di milano ; 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 drs cumulus 2013 was hosted by the oslo and akershus university college of applied sciences . 15 special interest group for objects practices experiences networks opensig edit the opensig was originally launched in 2007 under the name emotion experience and interaction . a special strand at the drs conference 2008 and two successful workshops at sheffield hallam university 2007 and nottingham trent university 2010 served to define the group s interest in broad questions about human object interactions focusing on objects and engaging with social practices which involve experiences with of objects in networks of relationship . 16 inclusive design special interest group inclusive sig edit the inclusive design research special interest group inclusivesig aims to provide an international platform for researchers design practitioners design educators and students and the general public to exchange knowledge about inclusive design and to empower wider participation in design . references edit bayazit n. 2004 . investigating design a review of forty years of design research design issues vol . 20 no. 1 p. 24 . a b c tovey m. 2011 . researching design education . in e. bohemia b. borja de mozota & l. collina eds . proceedings of the 1st international symposium for design education researchers pp. 1 8 . paris france cumulus drs. cross n. 2007 . editorial forty years of design research design studies vol . 28 no. 1 jones j. c. and d. g. thornley eds . 1963 . conference on design methods . oxford uk pergamon press . booker p. j. and p. a. slann eds . 1968 . drs newsletter vol . 1 no. 1 . cross n. ed . 1972 . design participation . london uk academy editions . evans b. j. powell and r. talbot eds . 1982 . changing design . chichester uk john wiley & sons ltd. jacques r. and j. powell eds . 1981 . design science method . guildford uk westbury house . roworth stokes seymour june 2011 . the design research society and emerging themes in design research . journal of product innovation management . 28 3 419 424 . doi 10.1111 j. 1540 5885.2011.00815.x . retrieved 17 june 2012 . members of iasdr . iasdr . retrieved 3 september 2012 . experiential knowledge special interest group s aims . eksig . retrieved 3 september 2012 . niedderer kristina . special interest group on experiential knowledge eksig . drs. retrieved 3 september 2012 . coles richard . special interest group on wellbeing and happiness sigwell . drs. retrieved 3 september 2012 . tovey michael . sig on design pedagogy . drs. retrieved 3 september 2012 . http www.hioa.no eng about hioa fakultet for teknologi kunst og design drs cumulus oslo 2013 fisher tom . objects practices experiences networks opensig . drs. retrieved 3 september 2012 . external links edit official website design studies website design research news website international association of societies of design research v t e design outline portal designer disciplines communication design advertising book design corporate design exhibit design film title design graphic design environmental motion postage stamp design print design illustration information design instructional design news design photography retail design signage traffic sign design typography type design video design visual merchandising environmental design architecture architectural lighting design building design passive solar ecological design environmental impact design garden design computer aided healthy community design hotel design interior architecture interior design eid keyline design landscape architecture sustainable landscape design spatial design transition design urban design industrial design automotive design automotive suspension design cmf design corrugated box design electric guitar design furniture design