8th International Conference on Design and Emotion

Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design will host the 8th International Conference on Design & Emotion from 11-14 September 2012 at King’s Cross. 

Keynote speakers include: 

Ron Dennis CBE, Chairman McLaren Group

Hussein Chalayan MBE, Creative Director Puma

Professor Michael Apter, Research Psychologist and Director Apter International

Clive Grinyer, Director of Customer Experience at Cisco

Cecilia Weckström, Global Head of Consumer Experiences at Lego

Declan O’Carroll, Group Leader at Arup Associates

Bernardo Fleming, Olfactive Designer at International Flavors and Fragrances

Focus of the conference is design and the user experience across different commercial sectors and walks of life. For four busy days in autumn, CSM will welcome over 300 leading academics, industry practitioners, researchers, students and commentators.

While the overarching Design & Emotion agenda embraces all facets of design and the human experience, the conference’s theme this year is ‘Out of Control’.

As uncertainty, crisis and chaos loom large, a world framed or driven by fractured experiences demands new responses from design – as a community, a practice and a process.  On the one hand we can configure systems that withstand or manage the challenges – here the focus is on design as a ‘problem-solving’ activity. On the other, we can use these challenges as springboards to a creative future, with ‘opportunity mapping’ as our guide.

In addition  110 academic papers, case studies and posters, and 11 workshops, Design & Emotion will feature with the stunning line-up of keynote speakers reflecting the conference’s important emphasis on the engagement between academia and industry.

Chaired this year by Dr Jamie Brassett, MA Innovation Management course leader at CSM, and with lead support from CSM Head of Research Professor Janet McDonnell, the biennial conference invites contributions from prominent academics all over the world.

As the first major international conference to be hosted by Central Saint Martins, the event makes full use of the state-of-the-art teaching and learning environment now in place at the College’s King’s Cross campus.