On the occasion of the 2026 Annual Conference, Design Doing/Design Making, SID invites the Italian and international academic community to explore the theme of design making, both as the creation of something tangible and as a transformative and emancipatory capability.
The contemporary context in which design operates is undergoing profound transformation. The state of permacrisis and vulnerability seems to become a constant condition, a structural expression of contemporaneity. In this context, spaces of necessity and possibility open up within which the project intervenes to investigate, interpret, and understand, but also to think, imagine, and develop new strategies, scenarios, and ecosystems of design making.
What values, sensitivities, practices, and clients have guided design processes in the past, what guides them in the contemporary world, and what might guide them in the future?
How can design become a tool for transformation towards more just, sustainable, and supportive futures? Designing for and with whom?
Through which approaches, methodologies, and interdisciplinary interactions does design become a tool for the production of knowledge and innovation?
Important dates
October 20, 2025 – call launch
January 7, 2026 – deadline for submission of research projects (full paper) and research ideas (poster and short paper) in Italian or English
March 2, 2026 – notification of Double Blind Peer Review results
March 15, 2026 – deadline for submission of revised full papers, deadline for submission of posters accepted for the research ideas exhibition
May 18, 2026 – Registration Deadline
June 24, 2026 – Bottom-up groups and assembly
June 25-26, 2026 – SID conference Bolzano
September 1, 2026 – deadline for submission of camera-ready contributions for publication in Italian and English
December 2026-March 2027 – publication of proceedings
“Early bird” fee (from October 20 to April 15)
Research fellows and PhD students: 100 euros
RTDa, RTDb, RTT, PA, PO: 160 euros
Non-SID members: 200 euros
“Last call” fee (from April 16 to May 18)
Research fellows and PhD students: 140 euros
RTDa, RTDb, RTT, PA, PO: 200 euros
Non-SID members: 250 euros
Note: The registration fee is individual and entitles participation in all sessions, both plenary and parallel, and all activities included in the official conference program.
In order for accepted contributions presented in poster and oral sessions to be included in the conference proceedings, at least one author per contribution must be registered and present at the conference.
Useful information:
By train:
Bozen-Bolzano Central Railway Station.
7 minutes on foot from unibz and the main accommodations.
For more details, consult the Trenitalia, Italo, Trainline websites, etc.
By bus:
Every 10 minutes from Bolzano Central Railway Station. Check SASA schedules for precise times and stops.
By car:
Brenner Motorway A22
Brenner State Road SS12
By plane:
Where to stay:
Bozen-Bolzano Tourist Office
