Step-by-Step Guide to Using the Design Society Knowledge Base

Step 1: Access the Knowledge Base

Navigate to: https://www.designsociety.org/knowledge-base

This section is the Society’s central hub for academic and professional design knowledge.

Step 2: Log In (Members have benefits)

While you can browse some content as a guest, logging in as a member gives you full access to:

• Downloadable conference papers
• Filtering by author, SIG, or event
• Member-only content (e.g. doctoral theses, internal tools)

Click “Sign In” in the top right corner to enter your member credentials.

Step 3: Use the Search Bar

At the top, you’ll see a search field. This is your main tool.

Tips for effective searches:

• Use exact phrases like "design creativity"
• Combine terms with Boolean operators:

Boolean Search Instructions

The following examples demonstrate some search strings that use Boolean operators:

• design community
  Find rows that contain at least one of the two words.
• +design +community
  Find rows that contain both words.
• +design community
  Find rows that contain the word “design”, but rank rows higher if they also contain “community”.
• +design -community
  Find rows that contain the word “design” but not “community”.
• +design ~community
  Find rows that contain the word “design”, but if the row also contains the word “community”, rate it lower than if row does not.
• +design +(>community <decisions)
  Find rows that contain the words “design” and “community”, or “design” and “decisions” (in any order), but rank “design community” higher than “design decisions”
• design*
  Find rows that contain words such as “design”, “designs”, “designing”, or “designer”.
• "some words"
  Find rows that contain the exact phrase “some words” (for example, rows that contain “some words of wisdom” but not “some noise words”). Note that the " characters that enclose the phrase are operator characters that delimit the phrase. They are not the quotation marks that enclose the search string itself.
• Use a wildcard (*) for partial words → design* matches design, designer, designing

Step 4: Review the Results List

Results appear as a list of titles with authors and dates. For each entry, you may see:

• Title of the paper or publication
• Authors and affiliations
• Conference or event
• Abstract or summary (click to expand)
• A Download or Full text link (if available)

Note: Access to full papers may require membership or conference registration.

Step 5: Refine Using Filters

Look for filters or sorting options on the left (desktop) or above the content (mobile), such as:

• Publication Year – narrow down by recent work
• Conference/Event – ICED, DESIGN, EPDE, etc.
• SIG – filter by Special Interest Group themes
• Author – locate known contributors
• Keyword tags – helpful for function-based content

Step 6: Explore Details

Click any item to view the full metadata:

• Abstract and keywords
• Conference session or thematic area
• Direct download (PDF) (if available - for members)
• Citation/export options (check footer or toolbar)

Step 7: Download and Save

The download option is available for members only:

• Click Download PDF
• Use your browser’s save function to store it locally
• Save citation info

Step 8: Participate and Contribute

If you’re a DS member, consider:

• Uploading your own work through conference contributions
• Joining a SIG and suggesting topics or themes
• Proposing new collaborative projects or search categories

Final Tips

• Try different keyword combinations — terminology can vary across disciplines.
• Explore SIGs for curated access to thematic knowledge.
• Keep an eye on upcoming conferences or other events for the latest additions to the Knowledge Base.