NERD 6th Sense
New Experimental Research in Design
November 14th – 15th, 2024
Technische Hochschule Augsburg
Faculty of Design
The particular epistemic and innovative potentials of Design Research are increasingly recognized within the wider academic sphere and are in constantly growing demand by businesses, institutions and politics alike. Yet, design research also is a field and practice that, due to its in-between nature, lacks the clear boundaries and formal dogmatisms of more traditional research disciplines, as well as their implicit notions of secured knowledge and linear progress.
Recognizing this inherent openness as one of its key qualities, the New Experimental Research in Design (in short: NERD) conference aims at providing a genuinely diverse and open platform for discussing, reflecting on and exposing to a wider public the manifold ways in which design’s unique perspective and proficiencies can intelligently be applied as a research competence. It does so by inviting presentations of empirical research projects by researchers from around the world and from all areas of design research with a focus on methodologically and thematically original approaches.
The emphasis on the empirical or the experimental is based on the conviction that the discussion about the merits and possibilities of design research is one that has to be led by example: What constitutes a fruitful method or approach only becomes apparent by it actually being conceptualized, worked out and eventually put into practice. For the same reason, NERD is decidedly not narrowed to a certain topic or school of thought, since the qualitatively new often exceeds such preconceived categories.
Developed and realized by BIRD, the Board of International Research in Design for the eponymous design research book series published by Birkhäuser, as an annual event with changing venues, this conference format has already proven its productivity five times.
This year's conference, NERD 6th Sense, will take place at TH Augsburg and is realized with kind support from bayern design, the Hans Benedikt Foundation, and the Birkhäuser Verlag.
Location
Technische Hochschule Augsburg
Faculty of Design
Friedberger Str. 2
86161 Augsburg
M 1.02 (KLM)
www.THA.de/gestaltung
Directions and Map
Board of International Research in Design (BIRD)
The Board of International Research in Design sees itself as a forum for adressing and publishing a broad range of approaches for design research. BIRD believes that highly qualified design research is important for design in all its complexity and for social, cultural, economic and scientific developments in our societies.The BIRD series is published by Birkhäuser, an imprint that has made a name for itself not only in the areas of architecture and design, but also as an excellent distribution partner of the independent De Gruyter academic publishing house. BIRD proposes design research-related projects and papers/books for publication and assists authors throughout the process. BIRD is constantly looking for excellent presentations of important design research projects and studies.
