WHO CARES?

8th biannual Nordic Design Research Society (Nordes) conference
Aalto University, Finland
2–4 June 2019

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Who cares?

This question is a provocation for design research. What do, or should, we care about in design and design research today? Underpinning the question are issues of culture and agency – who cares, for whom, and how? Taking care, or being cared for, evokes the choice of roles, and processes of interaction, co-creation and even decision-making. Caring, as a verb, emphasizes care as intention, action and labor in relation to others. Care can be understood as concern for that beyond oneself, for others and, thus, human, societal and even material and ecological relations are at stake. The question of care is also a call for questioning relationships, participation and responsibility, democratic and sustainable ways of co-existing. From this expansive societal standpoint, we could even ask who cares about design? And what should we do about it? The 8th biennial Nordes conference poses the question, “Who cares?”, exploring related questions, issues and propositions concerning responsibilities, relationships, ways of doing and directing design today.

The conference takes place at a time of great challenges and transitions in many of our societies. The consequences of climate change are becoming everyday reality for many, and sustainability is increasingly an issue for design institutions to frame and value in relation to other fundamental subjects. Diversity, equality and justice are matters of increasing public (as well as personal and community) attention and concern, and we continue to struggle with how to address this in societal and institutional structures, policies and daily interactions. European and Nordic countries are transforming in socio-economic terms as previous values, economies and systems of social welfare are being restructured and redistributed in various ways.

Nordic countries – and design – have long been on the forefront of addressing social, economic and environmental challenges, including design institutions, education and subjects. These can even be understood to underpin traditional concern and competencies in formgiving, making, materials and craft. More recent and explicit approaches have included human-centered paradigms such as participatory and co-design, inclusive and humanitarian design, and, increasingly, design for sustainability, transitions and social innovation, and design for services and policy. In order to address societal challenges practically, theoretically and ethically, design has engaged with areas of knowledge-making and theory-building from other disciplines, which can also be understood to challenge design more fundamentally. Ecological approaches, for example, may challenge design’s human-centeredness; and other scientific discourses can challenge preoccupation with the material and human-scale of design. At this time of socio-ecological challenges and transitions, it is a good moment for design research to engage with questions from the inside (from our practices, scholarship and institutions) and outside-in (through dialog, interaction and knowledge production with others, including other disciplines).

In the 2019 Nordes conference, we draw inspiration from notions of care as a lens through which to reflect upon and critique as well as potentially to refocus and redirect design and design research. Care might be understood in relation to philosophical lines of inquiry in other disciplines exploring theories, politics and ethics of care. Care might be understood concretely in relation to the ideals and infrastructures of welfare and healthcare systems, or service interactions. Care might be understood personally as a mindset seeking out what is meaningful for people, and for life, and with design as reflective and skilled action concerned with improving things and preferred situations.

THEMES

In relation to the conference theme of care, possible themes for submissions may include but are not limited to:

The who in care?

Relations and empathy with humans and others

Care (in)action?

Encounters, systems and institutions of care, welfare, healthcare

How to care?

Care and care-ful materials, methods and processes in design and design research

Care, where?

Design and peripheries, identities, minorities and commonalities Ethics and ethos of care? Purposes, philosophies and responsibilities in/of design

SUBMISSION CATEGORIES

Submissions to all categories receive peer review. Full and exploratory papers are subject to a double-blind, peer review process, and accepted full and exploratory papers will be published in the online Nordes Digital Archive. Submission categories:

  • Full papers
  • Exploratory papers (short)
  • Posters
  • Workshops
  • Doctoral Consortium

Full descriptions of the submission categories are in the submission template.

Submitting

Upload submissions here

 

KEY DATES

15 January 2019 Deadline for submitting full and exploratory papers
12 February 2019 Deadline for submitting submitting posters, workshops and to the doctoral consortium
4 March 2019 Review meeting
10 March 2019 Notification to the authors
5 April 2019 Final version of papers (this is a hard deadline, there will be no extensions)(submission system closes 01:00 / 1am Finnish time (Eastern European Standard Time) on April 6
15 April 2019 Early bird registration deadline
2-4 June 2019 Nordes 2019 Conference

KEY DATES

15 January 2019 – Deadline for submitting full and exploratory papers 
12 February 2019 – Deadline for submitting submitting posters, workshops and to the doctoral consortium
4 March 2019 – Review meeting
10 March 2019 – Notification to the authors
5 April 2019 – Final version of papers (this is a hard deadline, there will be no extensions)(submission system closes 01:00 / 1am Finnish time (Eastern European Standard Time) on April 6
15 April 2019 – Early bird registration deadline
2–4 June 2019 – Nordes 2019 Conference

KEYNOTES

“Care, who and where?”
Dr. Rauna Kuokkanen
Research Professor, University of Lapland, Finland

“The Ethics of Care and the Logic of the Gift” will be the point of departure for Rauna Kuokkanen’s keynote lecture. Rauna Kuokkanen is Research Professor of Arctic Indigenous Studies at the University of Lapland, Finland. Prior to that, she was Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science and Indigenous Studies Program at the University of Toronto (2008-2018). Her main areas of research include comparative Indigenous politics, Indigenous feminist theory, Indigenous women’s rights and Arctic Indigenous governance and legal and political traditions. Kuokkanen’s new book ‘Restructuring Relations: Indigenous Self-Determination, Governance and Gender’ has been recently released by Oxford University Press, and it is an Indigenous feminist investigation of the theory and practice of Indigenous self-determination, governance and gender regimes in Indigenous political institutions. Her other books include ‘Reshaping the University: Responsibility, Indigenous Epistemes and the Logic of the Gift’ (UBC Press, 2007) and ‘Boaris dego eana: Eamiálbmogiid diehtu, filosofiijat ja dutkan’ (translated title ‘As Old as the Earth. Indigenous Knowledge, Philosophies and Research,’ Čálliidlágádus, Sámi Academica Series, 2009).

“How to Care?”
Dr. Tomás Sánchez Criado
Senior Researcher, Humboldt-University of Berlin, Germany

Tomás Sánchez Criado is Senior Researcher and the Chair of Urban Anthropology within the Department of European Ethnology at Humboldt-University of Berlin. He works at the intersection of Design Anthropology and STS, and his concern is for the social, material and political implications of designing care-related services, technologies, and urban infrastructures. He has been studying inclusive urbanism and design practices, and he has also been part of institutional initiatives and activist design collective, such as the Barcelona-based ‘En torno a la silla,’ regarding accessibility and independent living. Relevant publications range from edited books (‘Experimental Collaborations: Ethnography through Fieldwork Devices,’ co-edited with A. Estalella) to special journal issues (‘Re-learning design: Pedagogic experiments with STS in design studio courses,’ co-edited with I. Farías) and a wide variety of articles. He is currently working on a book project tentatively called ‘Mutual Access: Designing Careful Relations,’ unfolding different experimental approaches to anthropological engagement in the activist field of inclusive design”

“Care (in)action”
Lisa Nugent
Executive Director, Amgen Inc., United States

Addressing the topic “Design for the Care Experience,” Lisa Nugent will share her vision on the role of design in healthcare and pharmaceuticals. Lisa Nugent is a design leader with a track record of building and embedding design teams in pharmaceutical and medical device companies. She trains and inspires teams to co-create with customers, thus ensuring products and services are adopted and loved. Lisa joined Amgen Global Marketing 2013 to form the Customer Experience team. At the Media Design Program of Art Center College of Design, she has been a core faculty member co-developing an active research environment for both students and faculty. In the RWJF-funded project HealthDesign, she and her students worked with teen-aged patients and health providers, and they saw the positive impact that design could have in the lives of people who are living with serious illness. Lisa Nugent argues that throughout drug development, from the selection of a molecule to patient support programs, designers have a role to play in pioneering research methods, improving therapy experiences and health outcomes.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Detailed program (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday)
Locations: U=Undergraduate Centre, L=Learning Centre, V=Väre

Download the Abstract Book, PDF 2MB


Sunday 2 June


09:00-17:00 DOCTORAL CONSORTIUM
Morning session (09:00–13:00), [L]
Lunch, restaurant suggestions provided (13:00–14:00)
Afternoon session (14:00–17:00), [L]
12:00-17:00 WORKSHOPS
1. Norm-Critique in Practice (12:00-14:00), [L: Juho (126)]
2. Service Design Meets User Experience Design, 
(12:00-17:00), [L: Vilho (233a)]
3. On the Move (13:00-17:00), [L: Annikki (127)]
4. Caring for or with Public Things (13:30-17:00), [L: Johanna (113)]
5. Stories of Health Workshop (13:30-17:00), [L: Ilmari (106)]
6. Care-Oke (14:30-17:00), [L: Eetu (213)]
17:00-17:30 BREAK / REGISTRATION [L:Tori]
17:30-18:45 OPENING by Anna Valtonen,Vice President of Aalto University
KEYNOTE by Rauna Kuokkanen

Care, who and where? [L:Makerspace]
18:45-20:00 GET-TOGETHER [L: Tori]

Monday 3 June


08:30-09:00 REGISTRATION [U: 1fl Lobby]
09:00-10:30 WELCOME
KEYNOTE by Tomás Sánchez Criado

How to care? [U: Hall A]
INTRODUCTION OF POSTERS
10:30-11:00 BREAK
11:00-12:30 PARALLEL PAPER SESSIONS 1
1A: Care and common/public interests [U: Hall B]
1B: Caring bodies and abilities [V: F101]
1C: Care-full everyday practices [V: F102]
12:30-14:00 LUNCH [U: 2fl Lobby]
14:00-15:30 PARALLEL PAPER SESSIONS 2
2A: Care in/for diverse contexts [U: Hall B]
2B: Ecologies and care [V: F101]
2C: Caring for design identities and roles [V: F102]
15:30-16:00 BREAK [U: 2fl Lobby]
16:00-17:00 PLENARY PANEL SESSION
We care [U: Hall A]
18:30- MINI CRUISE + CONFERENCE DINNER
Water buses leave at 18:30 from the pier Otaranta (outside Hotel Radisson Espoo) to Hanaholmen

Tuesday 4 June


09:00-10:30 PARALLEL PAPER SESSIONS 3
3A: Materialities and care [U: Hall B]
3B: Caring for pasts and futures [V: F101]
10:30-11:00 BREAK [U: 2fl Lobby]
11:00-12:30 PARALLEL PAPER SESSIONS 4
4A: Politics and ethics of care [U: Hall B]
4B: Caring for material systems [V: F101]
4C: Caring in/for other contexts [V: F102]
12:30-13:30 LUNCH [U: 2fl Lobby]
13:30-15:00 PLENARY PANEL SESSION
Considering care in design [U: Hall A]
15:00-15:30 BREAK [U: 2fl Lobby]
15:30-17:00 KEYNOTE by Lisa Nugent
Care (in)action
CLOSING [U: Hall A]
17:00-18:00 NORDES COMMONS MEETING

Note!
> Lunch is not provided on Sunday, but a list of nearby restaurants will be provided.

REGISTRATION

Welcome to register for NORDES 2019 here (LINK)
Early Bird prices are valid until 15 April

Registration fees

Conference package including
2 June Doctoral Consortium / Workshops
2 June Opening & Get-together, refreshments
3-4 June Main conference, coffees & lunches
3 June Conference dinner

All fees are excluded from VAT.

Note!

  • Your registration will not be valid until you have paid your registration fee.
  • Students (masters or doctoral) should be prepared to show their full-time student status.
  • Fill out the form carefully. Your contact information will be used for the name badges.
Registration option Standard fee Student fee
Main conference package
Early Bird until 15 April
420€ 240€

Main conference package
after 15 April
500€ 300€

Late on-site registration
after 1 June
550€ 350€

 

Dinner for an accompanying person is 85€ – payment to be made here (LINK)

INSTRUCTIONS AND TERMS

Payment methods

  • Online secure credit card payment with one of the following cards: VISA, Mastercard or American Express through NETS credit card service company.

Cancellations of registration

Cancellations should be done by email to the organizer registration2019 (a) nordes.org. For cancellations made before 6 May, 100% of the fee will be refunded. For cancellations made between 6 May and 20 May, 50% of the fee will be refunded. No fee will be refunded for cancellations made after 20 May. A processing fee of 50€ will be deducted from all refunds. Reimbursement will not be given for late arrival, unused services, unattended events or early departure from the congress. Replacement of participant is accepted by 27 May for an extra charge of 50€.

Letters of invitation

The organizer will send you a letter of invitation upon request and after the conference registration payment has been received.

If you have any questions regarding the registration or payment, please contact: registration2019 (a) nordes.org

LOCATION

 

Nordes 2019 is hosted at Aalto University’s Otaniemi campus in Espoo, Finland. The campus includes historical buildings designed by Alvar Aalto, including the ‘Undergraduate Centre’ and ‘Learning Centre’, historical landmarks that have been recently renovated, and the spectacular new premises of Aalto School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Väre.

How to Get to Aalto University’s Otaniemi Campus

The campus is located in the city of Espoo and it is easily accessible from Helsinki city centre via Metro (about 20 minutes). The metro station’s name is Aalto University

Also check this map to explore the campus: http://usefulaaltomap.fi


CONFERENCE VENUES (SEE MAP)

1. Undergraduate Centre: Otakaari 1F
2. Harald Herlin Learning Centre: Otaniementie 9
3. Väre: Otaniementie 14

The conference venue (photograph: Mikko Raskinen)

VENUES FOR SOCIAL EVENTS

+ Opening and Get-together: Sunday 2 June, 17:00 – 20:00
Harald Herlin Learning Centre, Otaniementie 9

Welcome to the Opening of Nordes 2019! Keynote speaker Professor Rauna Kuokkanen will lead us to the conference theme with her keynote “Care, who and where?” After the keynote, refreshments are served. Welcome to drop-in, meet-up with your colleagues as well as to register for the conference. Our meeting place is the Harald Herlin Learning Centre by architect Alvar Aalto in the heart of the Aalto University campus.

+ Conference dinner: Monday 3 June, 19:00
Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre Hanaholmen, Hanaholmsstranden 5

Our seaside dinner venue Hanaholmen is located on its own island on the border between Espoo and Helsinki, about 4 km from the Aalto University campus and conference venue. The mission of Hanaholmen is to convey the benefits of Finnish–Swedish cooperation and to strengthen the Finns’ belonging to the Nordic family. Echoing the conference theme, the values and mission of Hanaholmen are peace, security and inclusion; culture, knowledge and education; sustainable welfare. The attracting building features many Nordic design details.

How to Get to Hanaholmen

Water buses will leave at 18:30 from the pier Otaranta (outside Hotel Radisson Espoo). The tour will take approximately 30 minutes. You can reach also Hanaholmen by public transport (Metro: Koivusaari station-2 stops from the Aalto University station). The dinner will be served at 19:30 and we have bus transport back to Otaniemi and/or Helsinki city centre.

Hanaholmen (photograph: Robert Lindström)

ACCOMMODATION
We have booked quotas of rooms from the nearby the conference venue in Espoo and Helsinki.

  • The rooms can be booked by email or online, the quotas and prices are valid until 15 April.
  • As Helsinki and Espoo hotels are in high demand in June, we strongly recommend early reservation.
  • All rooms are comfortable standard category and the rates include breakfast buffet, Wi-Fi, guest sauna and VAT. We reserve the right to change rates.

Please mention the reservation code when making a booking.

Radisson Blu Hotel Espoo

Otaranta 2, 02150 Espoo / +358 201234700

The hotel is located along the Otaranta waterfront. The adjacent Aalto University campus and the conference venue, Otakaari 1, are within a 10 min walk. Easy access to Helsinki city centre by metro or car (15 min).

Price
123 (single room) / 153 (double room)

Radisson Blu Sales
Tel. +358 201234700

Email
reservations.finland@radissonblu.com
Reservation code NORDES

Online reservations
www.radissonblu.com/fi
Reservation code NORD

http://www.radissonblu.com/hotel-espoo


Original Sokos Hotel Tapiola Garden

Tapionaukio 3, 02100 Espoo / +358 201234600

Hotel Tapiola Garden is a meeting place in the heart of the vibrant Tapiola district in Espoo, close to good public transportation connections. Nearly all of the rooms have a balcony

Price
170 (single room) / 190 (double room)

Sokos Hotel Tapiola Garden Sales
Tel. +358 201234600

Email
sokos.hotels@sok.fi
Reservation code NORDES

Online reservations
Online reservations: www.sokoshotels.fi
Reservation code BNordes

https://www.sokoshotels.fi/en/espoo/sokos-hotel-tapiola-garden


Radisson Blu Royal Hotel

Runeberginkatu 2, 00100 Helsinki / +358 201234700

The Radisson Blu Royal Hotel welcomes guests to the bustling city center. Helsinki Airport is just 20 kilometers away, and public transport hub is across the street from the hotel. Shopping, museums and entertainment are close.

Price
200 (single room) / 220 (double room)

Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Sales
Tel. +358 201234700

Email
reservations.finland@radissonblu.com
Reservation code Nordes

Online reservations
Online reservations: www.radissonblu.com/en
Reservation code BNord

https://www.radissonblu.com/en/royalhotel-helsinki


For economy accommodation, the best option is Forenom Hostel Espoo Otaniemi, Kivimiehentie 2, a 10 min walk to the conference venue. Price example: private twin room with shared bathroom from 62-75€ night/person (breakfast is an additional 9€ /person)

ABOUT

ORGANIZERS

Nordes 2019 is the 8th biannual conference of the Nordic Design Research Society. Convened in 2005, the society is an informal net- work of people interested in design research. Norde convenes biannual conferences and, on opposite years, biannual summer schools. The conferences and summer schools are hosted and self-organized on a voluntary basis by Nordic institutions of higher education, and the location of each rotates between the Nordic countries. Interest in hosting such an activity can be made by contacting the Nordes board or by attending the open ‘Commons’ meeting that takes place at each Nordes conference. In addition, Nordes promotes the pub- lication and dissemination of design research through the Nordes Digital Archive.

 

Abstract Book
Download the Book

Photos from Conference
See photos on Flickr

Digital Archive
www.nordes.org

Twitter:
#Nordes2019

Facebook:
Nordes Facebook Page

Contact for general inquiries:
nordes2019 (at) nordes.org

Contact for registration inquiries:
registration2019 (at) nordes.org

General conference chairs

Tuuli Mattelmäki, Aalto University, Finland

Ramia Mazé, Aalto University, Finland

Satu Miettinen, University of Lapland, Finland

Full paper chair

Mette Agger Eriksen, Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation, Denmark

Henry Mainsah, Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway

 

Exploratory (short) paper chairs

Henric Benesch, Academy of Design and Craft, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Sissel Olander, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation, Denmark

Poster chairs

Lily Diaz-Kommonen, Aalto University, Finland

Synne Skjulstad, Westerdals Oslo School of Arts, Communication and Technology, Norway

Danielle Wilde, University of Southern Denmark

Workshop chairs

Sune Klok Gudiksen, Design School Kolding, Denmark

Karen Marie Hasling, Design School Kolding, Denmark

Heidi Pietarinen, University of Lapland, Finland

Virpi Roto, Aalto University, Finland

Doctoral Consortium chairs

Loove Broms, Konstfack and KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

Jacob Buur, University of Southern Denmark

Idil Gaziulusoy, Aalto University, Finland

Eija Timonen, University of Lapland, Finland

Proceedings, Digital and Media chairs

Namkyu Chun, Aalto University, Finland

Kristiina Koskinen, University of Lapland, Finland

Enni Mikkonen, University of Lapland, Finland

Mari Mäkiranta, University of Lapland, Finland

Melanie Sarantou, University of Lapland, Finland

Salu Ylirisku, Aalto University, Finland

Conference Producers

Mary-Ann Alfthan, Aalto University, Finland

Namkyu Chun, Aalto University, Finland

Visual Identity

Robynn McPherson, Aalto University, Finland

Pauliina Nykänen, Aalto University, Finland

Session chairs

Thomas Binder, Andrea Botero, Eva Brandt, Guy Julier, Jung-Joo Lee, Ann Light, Julia Lohmann, Synne Skjulstad, Andrew Morrison, Maarit Mäkelä, Sissel Olander, Mathilda Tham and Martín Ávila.

Review Committee

In addition to conference chairs, the review committee includes: Petra Ahde-Deal, Yoko Akama, Cheryl Akner Koler, Canan Akoglu, Ariana Amacker, Martin Avila, Anne Louise Bang, Eeva Berglund, Thomas Binder, Andrea Botero, Eva Brandt, Jörn Christiansson, Ashley Colley, Carl DiSalvo, Claudia Garduno Garcia, Lise Hansen, Liesbeth Huybrechts, Sampsa Hyysalo, Jonna Häkkilä, Sara Ilstedt, Mikko Jalas, Tom Jenkins, Troels Degn Johansson, Hannah Jones, Guy Julier, Masashi Kajita, Turkka Keinonen, Tobie Kerridge, Mahmoud Keshavarz, Cindy Kohtala, Ilpo Koskinen, Kristiina Koskinen, Helena Kraff, Jung-Joo Lee, Yanki Lee, Yichen Lu, Tau Lenskjold, Ann Light, Kristina Lindström, Julia Lohmann, Thomas Markussen, Tatu Marttila, Andrew Morrison, Maarit Mäkelä, Kirsi Niinimäki, Silja Nikula, Anna Maria Orru, Heidi Paavilainen, Antti Pirinen, Kirsten Marie Raahauge, Johan Redström, Joanna Saad-Sulonen, Gunnar Sandin, Tiina Seppälä, Anna Seravall, Else Skjold, Eric Snodgrass, Dagny Stuedahli, Åsa Ståhl, Mathilda Tham, Evren Uzer von Busch, Otto von Busch, Anders Warell, Bo Westerlund, Katarina Wetter Edman, Åsa Wikberg Nilsson, Ulrika Wänström Lindh and Signe Louise Yndigegn.

Student / Alumni volunteers

Ming Unn Andersen, Jiaying Chew, Nur Horsanali, Petra Jääskeläinen, Akbar Khatir, Eeva Lehto, Alessia Menegolli, Tuuli Saarinen, Jungae Seo, Nesrin Türer, Daud Imran Shamsul Amri and Xinquan Wen

Sponsors

City of Espoo

Department of Design at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture

TSV (Federation of Finnish Learned Societies)