DIS 2024 — Designing Interactive Systems Conference

“Design” has taken on the role of a universal solution to any problem—the power of design to create innovation and develop new industries has been eclipsed perhaps by only the conceit that design can save the world from the ills that innovation has created. “Design thinking” proposes a world where design is a frame for understanding the world through the eye of a designer and, in this mode, creating a better one. Lost in all this is what design is for, who should do design, and why design matters. We ask: “why design?” not to question the value of design and its practices, but instead to prompt reflection on the role and power that design has— and may not have.