ABOUT US
The social design research group was established in 2015 at the Department of Design, Media and Educational Science / SDU
The social design research group was established in 2015 at the Department of Design, Media and Educational Science / SDU
The group has a keen interest in how people can be involved in participatory design processes leading to social value for the individual and society at large. By social value, we refer to changes at a human scale that is felt to be beneficial for marginalised or vulnerable societal groups and communities.
The group has a keen interest in how people can be involved in participatory design processes leading to social value for the individual and society at large. By social value, we refer to changes at a human scale that is felt to be beneficial for marginalised or vulnerable societal groups and communities.
Design research practice is essential for our work
We use design methods to make sense of wicked problems, as a way of engaging and co-designing with people and as a process of making artefacts or services enabling people to cope with difficult situations in life.
Through a number of research projects we have documented our ability to evaluate social design outcomes by bridging disciplines from the human and social sciences.
RESEARCH AREAS
In our social design unit we are concerned with the urgent societal need for rethinking core services of the Scandinavian and European welfare states. In particular, our research projects lies within the following four areas:
NEWS
Upcoming events
Upcoming events The Danish Centre for Design Research and the Social Design Unit co-organise the seminar Insights into Danish Design Research which will be hosted at Design Museum Denmark on August 19, from 12:00-18:00. There are limited seats so registration is required. The seminar will be held in English and [...]
New and forthcoming publications
New and forthcoming publications Knutz, E. & Markussen, T. (2026) Children as evaluators in the fuzzy back-end of participatory design, CoDesign, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/15710882.2025.2603294 Knutz, E. & Markussen, T. (2026). Design Fiction and the Art of Anticipation within Energy Futures, World Futures Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/19467567261432212 Markussen, T, Selloni, D. & Yee, J. [...]
Field work on Danish Alternative Food Networks presented at the Anticipation Conference
Field work on Danish Alternative Food Networks presented at the Anticipation Conference Alternative Food Networks demonstrate what worlds might be possible if the dominant industrialised agro-food system was to be changed fundamentally. The change consists in sustainable transitions in food provisioning and alternative political economies that transcend the capitalist food [...]
Upcoming Anticipation PhD Summer School in Milan, June 29-30
Upcoming Anticipation PhD Summer School in Milan, June 29-30 Eva Knutz and Thomas Markussen from the Social Design Unit have co-organised the PhD Summer School, ahead of the Anticipation Conference 2026 at Politecnico di Milano, together with Manuela Celi, Marzia Mortati and Victoria Rodriguez Schon. During the Summer School doctoral [...]
Thomas Markussen
thma@sdu.dk
+45 93507196
Eva Knutz
evak@sdu.dk
+45 93507135
University of Southern Denmark
Department of Design, Media and Educational Science
Universitetsparken 1
6000 Kolding, Denmark
