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
New article on Design Fiction accepted for the IASDR Conference 2023
New article on Design Fiction accepted for the IASDR Conference 2023 Based on our company collaboration with EWII on Sustainable Energy Futures and our continued and ardent interest in speculative design and design fiction, we have authored a new article entitled Design Fiction and the Art of Anticipation. It [...]
The Social Design Unit joins new International Doctoral Network within Design Research
The Social Design Unit joins new international Doctoral Network within Design Research! In June 2023 the Social Design Unit received the wonderful news that we have become partner in a new, unique Doctoral Network, entitled Sustainable Transition through Democratic Design that is EU-funded by the Marie Slodowska Curie Actions program. [...]
The Social Design Unit completes a new project with primary school pupils, librarians and reading consultants
The Social Design Unit completes a new project with primary school pupils, librarians and reading consultants Children and young people's desire to read is rapidly decreasing. This of course cause worries for many parents, school teachers, librarians and also the Danish Minister of Education. Since 2021, the Social Design [...]
PhD course “Research on and into Practice”
PhD course "Research on and into Practice" On January 26 the Social Design Unit delivered a half-day PhD workshop at SDU for doctoral fellows doing research in which understanding “practices” in various contexts is central. Whether doing research on practice or to contribute to practice, researchers often face the [...]
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
