Design Frontiers. Territories, Concepts, Technologies.

This book contains a series of articles based on some of the best papers presented during the 8th Conference of the International Committee for Design History and Design Studies (ICDHS) held in São Paulo, Brazil, in September 2012. The conference gathered researchers from 26 different countries from America, Europe, Asia and Australasia. The topic chosen for the 8th edition of the conference, ‘Design Frontiers: territories, concepts, technologies’, which is consistent with the title of this book, aimed at fostering discussion on how design history and design studies may push the limits of design knowledge. The topic suggested that frontiers of design could be challenged in many ways: by the exploration of new territories, by the establishment of new concepts, by the emergence of new technologies, as well as by rediscovering the past and by finding new ways of applying current wisdom. The papers published in this volume all address one or more of those challenges. It is our hope that the articles published in this book will enlighten, inspire and provoke, fostering further research on design history and design studies.