Abstract
The shift in design research caused by the escalation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is taking considerable space in the field. In a mixture of potential and undeniable risks, we looked for a blend of critique and practice, of analysis and foresight. In the set of papers to be published, we see a span of precisely that: reflexive re-orientations in the evaluation of what AI is doing to design, mirrored in current practices; and speculations on the after (en)during AI. In this editorial, we contextualize the research in the world it was produced in, exposing the during that unfolded hand-in-hand with it. We then describe the content of the corpus of papers, followed by the aftermath we hope for, including what we expect the design research community undoubtedly should discuss.
Keywords
Design Research, Artificial Intelligence, Hype Cycles, Critical Discourse
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.217
Citation
Lee-Smith, M., Benjamin, J., Gamboa, M., and Wensveen, S. (2026) Design Research During and After Artificial Intelligence, 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.2026.217
Creative Commons License
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Included in
Design Research During and After Artificial Intelligence
The shift in design research caused by the escalation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is taking considerable space in the field. In a mixture of potential and undeniable risks, we looked for a blend of critique and practice, of analysis and foresight. In the set of papers to be published, we see a span of precisely that: reflexive re-orientations in the evaluation of what AI is doing to design, mirrored in current practices; and speculations on the after (en)during AI. In this editorial, we contextualize the research in the world it was produced in, exposing the during that unfolded hand-in-hand with it. We then describe the content of the corpus of papers, followed by the aftermath we hope for, including what we expect the design research community undoubtedly should discuss.