Call for Design Works

ACM SIGCHI Designing Interactive Systems, 4-8 June 2016, Brisbane, Australia

THE DESIGN WORKS TRACK OF THE 2016 ACM SIGCHI DESIGNING INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS CONFERENCE IS SEEKING SUBMISSIONS FROM PRACTICE AND DESIGN-LED RESEARCHERS WITH CREATIVE WORKS FOR EXHIBITION AND AN ACCOMPANYING ‘FRAMING TEXT’ ARTICULATING THE PRACTICE AND RESEARCH RELATIONSHIP. ACCEPTED WORKS WILL BE EXHIBITED IN A GALLERY SETTING AND THEIR ACCOMPANYING FRAMING TEXTS WILL BE PUBLISHED IN THE ACM DIS 2016 COMPANION PROCEEDINGS AS EXTENDED ABSTRACTS.

 

DIS 2016 Design Works Exhibition

As design practices are integrated with other modes of research, there is a need to present new knowledge in the form of design itself. This is often the case where researchers express new design knowledge through the languages of design, and where works are interactive with an experiential dimension. Conversely, the ability to share knowledge through the presentation of the artefact alone is also problematic (Scrivener 2002). Very often the knowledge and lessons learnt in design work remains tacit in the practitioner or latent in the object. Research efforts, such as evaluations, theoretical framing and literary or contextual reviews do accompany much creative practice (Candy and Edmonds 2010) and such approaches, along with direct presentation of the artefact, can facilitate bridging the research-practice divide.

The essential aims of this stream at DIS 2016 are to facilitate this bridging and to present the locus of our discipline: the design outcome. The exhibition and publications are a forum for discussing the dual practice and research work and, in so doing, gain deeper insight into the relationships between creative work and knowledge. We seek to provide designers and artists who also conduct research with a platform to show non-traditional research outputs and share the accompanying knowledge outcomes. Submissions are expected to describe the proposed design work for installation (part 1) as well as a ‘framing text’ (part 2). The term ‘framing’ comes from Donald Schӧn’s The Reflective Practitioner (Schön 1983) and refers to the articulation of a question or theme that the work explores. The role of the framing text is to contextualise the creative work and articulate the knowledge or understandings generated in order to share these with the community. Typically, the articulation of knowledge or understandings is through a theoretical analysis and critical framing of the work, or through evaluation studies.

We welcome submissions for design and creative interactive works related to contemporary research issues in design of interactive systems as well as the conference theme of FUSE – research exploring the range of new possibilities along the human and technology spectrum – the blurring of any clear divides between analogue and digital, atoms and bits, materiality and virtuality, art and design, academy and industry. We encourage strong content and criticality in submitted works, conveyed through the use of advanced technologies and/or inclusive or socially aware design practices.

Please note that this track is distinctly different to the demo track in that the criteria for selection here value the way in which new design knowledge is expressed through both the design work and framing text. Submissions are expected to be resolved exhibition-ready works of design that represent expressions of new design knowledge. The focus is your creative work.

 

IMPORTANT DATES

• March 13, 2016: Design Works due
• March 27, 2016: Design Works author notifications
• April 1, 2016: All camera ready papers due
• May 8, 2016: Early bird registration deadline

 

Preparing and Submitting

Expect the track to be competitive and submit your best work. Submitted work must comply with ACM policies. Please do not submit work you have submitted elsewhere, doing so may violate dual submission rules. You may submit previously published work that has been substantially modified, provided only that this is evidenced in the framing text. For example, this might be work that has been developed through cycles of research and evaluation. In this last case, at least 30% of the material must be new, as per ACM rules.

Submission consists of two parts. Proposals lacking both parts will not be considered.

 

Part 1: Description of the Work

A description of the work including images or video of the work, and technical requirements for exhibition. This submission should include:

• Basic information: title, date of completion, size, weight, and media used, along with installation requirements.
• An abstract, that is, summary description of the work (up to 100 words).
• Specifications of your work, including size, weight, light and sound emission; lighting and sound requirements; spatial, network, and electrical needs; etc.
• One representative image in JPEG format suitable for use in the conference web site, and promotional materials (see image format requirements below).
• Visual documentation: In addition to a representative image, include up to four visual files for each submission (three images and one video). At a minimum, include one image. These images need to be formatted as TIFF files, 24-bit (RGB 8 bits per channel), uncompressed, and flattened prior to submission (no layers or transparent objects). Video documentation is expected for installation, kinetic, or interactive works. Videos need to be formatted as QuickTime (.mov or .mp4) files of up to two minutes in length and maximum 100 MB.

 

Part 2: Framing Text

The DIS 2016 Design Works program requires the submission of a ‘framing text,’ as detailed above.

The framing text will be published in the DIS 2016 companion publication (adjunct proceedings). In most cases the framing text would include the following sections:

• Title and author
• Introduction to the concept that has driven the work
• Description of the creative work including images
• Context of the work (e.g. background literature or contextual review, social context)
• Approach – e.g. Theoretical framework or Evaluation
• Insights
• Future work
• References

 

Formatting and Length

You must have the authority to grant ACM the right to distribute your presentation. You must have the permission to use everything that is in your presentation. This includes securing permission to use third-party material, and providing documentation of that permission to ACM should your proposal be accepted. Information about use of third party materials is available from the ACM. Credits due to a photographer of an artwork should be included in the proposal.

Please use the latest SIGCHI Extended Abstracts Format (US Letter) for the framing text. It should be 4-6 pages long, including references.

 

Submission

We appreciate that for design works full double blind peer review is difficult, however, please make sure all submissions are anonymous and submitted via the DIS 2016 PCS system.

 

Review Process

All submissions will be reviewed by a panel of experts based on the criteria below. The exhibition will be curated. The selection criteria are the following:

• Relevance to the DIS theme.
• Originality and innovation: the work should demonstrate design that is highly original, creative or innovative, and make a contribution to the society.
• Quality of research / investigation: The work should express new design knowledge, or communicate new ways of thinking about design, or engage in a critique of present and emerging design.
• Quality of design execution: It must be made and executed to a high standard suitable for exhibition at DIS 2016.

Accepted contributors will be expected to register for and attend the conference and install their work.

 

Review Committee

• Linda Candy
  Creativity & Cognition Research Studios, University of Technology, Sydney
• Brigid Costello
  School of the Arts and Media, University New South Wales
• Sam Ferguson
  Creativity & Cognition Research Studios, University of Technology, Sydney
• Ian Gwilt
  Art and Design Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University
• Andrew Johnston
  Creativity and Cognition Studios, University of Technology Sydney
• Rachael Parsons
  QUT Precincts, Queensland University of Technology
• Deborah Turnbull Tillman
  New Media Curation

 

References

Candy, Linda, and Ernest A Edmonds. 2010. “The Role of the Artefact and Frameworks for Practice-Based Research.” In The Routledge Companion to Research in the Arts, edited by M. Biggs and H. Larsson. New York: Routledge.
Schön, Donald A. 1983. The Reflective Practitioner – How Professionals Think in Action. New York: Basic Books.
Scrivener, Steven A. R. 2002. “The Art Object Does Not Embody a Form of Knowledge.” Working Papers in Art and Design Volume 2.

 

Design Works Exhibition Chairs

Jennifer Seevinck
Queensland University of Technology, Australia

Gavin Sade
Queensland University of Technology, Australia

exhibition [AT] dis2016.org