Theme: "Design, Research and Development"

Hosted by Technikon Free State in association with
Cranford Conference Co-ordinators

The 5th National Design Education Forum of Southern Africa (DEFSA) 2002 conference was hosted by Technikon Free State in association with Cranford Conference Co-ordinators. The conference will be held in the picturesque town of Clarens, in the Eastern Free State region of South Africa.

Aim of the conference

The main aim of the conference was to promote research in design. The conference also endeavoured to facilitate the exchange of innovative design practice and development projects in all the design disciplines, not only through presentations but also through study groups at the conference.

The conference created a forum where staff and researchers met, exchanged ideas, discussed research projects, and presented the results of completed research, design practices and development projects.

The design fields included industrial and engineering, interior and architecture, clothing and textiles, visual communication, photography, the broad field of graphic design and visual communication, as well as design aspects in the fine and performing arts.

This conference was designed to afford postgraduate and post-diploma students the opportunity to present their results, as well as work in progress. Submissions were invited particularly from academics and design practitioners. Selected papers were published in a refereed conference publication.

The theme of the conference was addressed under the following sub-themes:

1. Research:
   There appears to be no specific methodology for research in the field of design. A wide variety of methods are available from other scientific disciplines, which designers can apply in their specific fields. A diversity of methods has undoubtedly been adapted for design from other fields, with new research methods continually emerging. Workshop presentations and papers on research in design and methods for design research were presented, in view of the debate and discussion of these issues. Papers and short-paper presentations reported on completed research and work in progress, in particular those projects that contribute to the improvement people's lives.
   
   
2. Design:
   Presentations addressed innovative design practices, approaches to design education, challenges of new technologies in design and multidisciplinary design activities. In particular, presentations addressed the relationship between design practice and theory, as well as issues of "practice-based research".

Development:
Presentations with a design basis and where the outcome provides employment opportunities, economic development, tourism development, and product and craft development.