Abstract
The field of design research is now over 60 years old but, despite comprehensive archives existing, such as the DRS Digital Library, little systematic historical research has been done looking critically at how concepts in the field have developed over time. Studies looking at how certain discourses have come to dominate in design research, and those that have been disregarded, are long overdue. The theme-track Discourses in Design Research: Historical, Critical, and Speculative Perspectives invited submissions engaging historically and critically with ideas and concepts that have helped shape the discipline of design research. The papers share a concern both with origins and histories, but also uses and misuses of terms that might be familiar to us as design researchers, yet still carry complex meanings. The theme-track papers represent a way of viewing design research and design in a careful, multi-layered, and textured way, revealing an affiliative network of concepts and approaches with which to take the sub-discipline of design research history forward.
Keywords
Design research discourse; historical analysis; critical studies; genealogy
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.163
Citation
Lloyd, P., Vardouli, T., Carlsson, M., Oak, A., Talley, A., and Xue, H. (2026) Discourses in Design Research: Historical, Critical, and Speculative Perspectives, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.163
Creative Commons License
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Included in
Discourses in Design Research: Historical, Critical, and Speculative Perspectives
The field of design research is now over 60 years old but, despite comprehensive archives existing, such as the DRS Digital Library, little systematic historical research has been done looking critically at how concepts in the field have developed over time. Studies looking at how certain discourses have come to dominate in design research, and those that have been disregarded, are long overdue. The theme-track Discourses in Design Research: Historical, Critical, and Speculative Perspectives invited submissions engaging historically and critically with ideas and concepts that have helped shape the discipline of design research. The papers share a concern both with origins and histories, but also uses and misuses of terms that might be familiar to us as design researchers, yet still carry complex meanings. The theme-track papers represent a way of viewing design research and design in a careful, multi-layered, and textured way, revealing an affiliative network of concepts and approaches with which to take the sub-discipline of design research history forward.