As the DRS Special Interest Group on Design Ethics, we frame design ethics as an invitation to care and argue against reducing it to a methodology, framework, checklist, toolkit, or an afterthought. This broad framing acknowledges that ‘ethics’ can carry multiple meanings in different contexts (e.g. responsible, critical, democratic) and can be approached from various theoretical perspectives (e.g. historical, cultural, speculative). Consequently, we recognize the need for a nuanced and reflexive discussion on why, where and how ethical questions and dilemmas intersect with design research and practices. For this, we aim to look back with critical historical awareness, while also looking forward with cautious optimism.
We welcome both theoretical papers that unpack specific conceptual perspectives and practice-based explorations (e.g. in communities, organizations, policy-making). We invite submissions that are inspired by:
1. Responsible design and innovation: What are the ethical and societal implications of design for innovation (processes, strategies, artifacts)? How to nurture an ethical awareness and accountability in design and innovation practices?
2. The ethics of collaboration: What are the main questions concerning power, agency, and positionality that design should recognize and address in inter/transdisciplinary settings?
3. Ethics in education: How to embed critical-ethical reflection in design education?
4. Aesthetics of design: How do the value-laden imagery of design shape our perception of the world? What does this aesthetics say about design as a discipline?
5. Ethics for social and climate justice: What is the role of design in preventing/perpetuating social inequalities and the exploitation of natural resources?
The track will result in an edited book of selected papers.