SIG Workshops

DESIGN Conference 2026

Location: Hotel Croatia, Cavtat, Croatia (Room TBC)
Dates: 18 May 2026 (Times TBC when DESIGN 2026 Programme is announced)

Workshop 1 - The Data Quality Playbook for Engineering Design

Organised by: Data-Informed-Design SIG
Chairs: Kostas Stylidis, Cyriel Diels and Bastian Quattelbaum
More info: Workshop 1

Brief Description: Join us for a comprehensive workshop on “The Data Quality Playbook for Engineering Design”, where participants will explore a wide range of techniques and methodologies for effective data collection across different contexts, including academic research, industrial practice, and field studies. The workshop addresses both digital and analogue data collection methods, equipping participants with practical tools adaptable to their specific research and design needs.

Workshop 2 - Nudge Workshop: Small Nudges, Big Impact

Organised by: Human Behaviour in Design SIG, Design Practice SIG
Chairs: Yvonne Eriksson and Nikola Bursac
More info: Workshop 2

Brief Description: This interactive workshop makes the concept of nudging tangible as a practical and effective approach for driving change in design and development contexts. The “Small Nudges, Big Impact” workshop brings together researchers, practitioners, and design enthusiasts to explore how nudging principles can be applied to contemporary challenges in engineering design and product development.

Workshop 3 - Mapping Validity in Design Research

Organised by: Design Research Quality SIG
Chairs: Philip Cash, Katja Thoring, Roland Mueller, Romain Pinquie, Kai Larsen, Roman Lukyanenko
More info: Workshop 3

Brief Description: Validity is a central issue in determining the quality of research. However, it is often not reported or only reported at an overall level in design research publications, preventing effective evaluation of quality concerns as well as limiting the ability of the field to develop deeper quality discussions. Critically, validity is multifaceted and has numerous (often unreported) elements and trade-offs, which typically require specific accommodations being adopted for design research. Hence, in this workshop we will facilitate a mapping of the major validity constructs across the represented span of design research.

Workshop 4 - Designing with Intelligence: Exploring the Practical Implications of AI on Design Practice and Processes

Organised by: Design Process SIG, Design Practice SIG, AI X Design SIG
Chairs: Claudia Eckert, Kilian Gericke, Sabine Muschik, Ola Isaksson and Filippo Chiarello
More info: Workshop 4

Brief Description: AI is increasingly being adopted across a wide range of design activities, from generative ideation to simulation and validation. At the same time, its integration is reshaping roles, skills, responsibilities, and values within design practice. This interactive workshop invites researchers, practitioners, and educators to critically explore how AI is transforming design processes—what it enables, what it challenges, and how it alters the nature, sequencing, and interdependencies of design tasks.

Workshop 5 -Designing Better Project-Based Design Assessment using the D-LAD Framework

Organised by: Design Education SIG
Chairs: Elies Dekoninck, Gordon Krauss and Yakhoub Ndiaye
More info: Workshop 5

Brief Description: Assessment in project-based design education remains a persistent challenge due to diverse institutional contexts, learning objectives, accreditation requirements, and disciplinary traditions. The Design Learning Assessment Dimensions (D-LAD) Framework offers a structured approach for analysing, reflecting on, and redesigning assessment practices across five key dimensions: Output vs. Process; Summative vs. Formative; Teacher-led vs. Student-led; Assessment of Learning vs. Assessment for/as Learning; and Individual vs. Team Assessment. 

Workshop 6 - Two Decades of Sustainable Design: Where are We Heading and How do We Get There?

Organised by: Sustainable Design SIG
Chairs: Sophie I. Hallstedt, Els du Bois, Giliam Dokter, Alessio Franconi and Nazli Terzioglu
More info: Workshop 6

Brief Description: The objective of this workshop is to examine how current research efforts are addressing contemporary challenges in advancing Design for Sustainability (DfS) in industry and society. The workshop takes as its point of departure the DfS evolutionary framework proposed by Ceschin et al. (2016), marking its ten-year anniversary and using it as a lens to reflect on how the DfS landscape has evolved, how sustainability challenges are currently being addressed, and how future research directions might unfold over the next decade.

Workshop 7 - Mind the Bias 2.0: (Un)Biasing the Designer in the Age of AI

Organised by: Cognitive Design Science SIG
Chairs: Ada Hurst, Christopher McTeague, and Niccolò Becatini
More info: Workshop 7

Brief Description: Are designers truly objective when they design, or are their judgments systematically skewed? How do cognitive biases influence design processes and outcomes? Can some biases enhance creative problem-solving, while others undermine it? As AI and other forms of technological support become increasingly embedded in design practice, do they amplify existing human biases, introduce new and less visible ones, or offer opportunities to detect and mitigate bias more effectively? And how should we—as design practitioners, researchers, and educators—respond?

Workshop 8 - Designing Resilient Care Pathways: A Health Systems Design Perspective

Organised by: Health Systems Design SIG
Chairs: Valeria Pannunzio, John Clarkson, Anja Maier and Maaike Kleinsmann
More info: Workshop 8

Brief Description: Health and care systems are increasingly challenged by disruptive events—from pandemics and workforce shortages to climate-related crises. Such disruptions expose vulnerabilities in care pathways and highlight the urgent need for resilience-oriented design approaches. Organised by the Health Systems Design Special Interest Group, this workshop explores how design research and practice can strengthen the resilience of care pathways through collaborative, systems-based approaches.

Workshop 9 - Meditative Reflective Interventions Fostering Creative Ability

Organised by: Design Creativity SIG
Chairs: Björn R. Kokoschko, Maria Uhari-Pakkalin and Akane Matsumae
More info: Workshop 9

Brief Description: This workshop explores the intersection of creativity, awareness, and professional environments, examining how meditative and reflective practices an enhance divergent thinking and creative problem-solving. The session focuses on practical applications within office and professional contexts, investigating how mindfulness-based interventions can be meaningfully integrated into design and creative processes.