AI and Design

This area invites papers that make a design contribution to artificial intelligence. We hope to receive papers on design for AI (making AI things), design with AI (using AI to help or automate design), design of agents and robots (such as their social presence), responsible design of AI, and implications of AI on design and its necessary regulations. Contributions may include resources, methods, and tools for design; AI artifacts and systems; first-person experiences of designing with or for AI; conceptual frameworks for combining design knowledge and AI; empirical studies of design with a sensitivity for human needs and AI capabilities. Contributions to this subcommittee should aim to develop durable knowledge about AI and design. In general, contributions should tell us something about how AI can be used for design or about how designers use AI that will stand up even as AI capabilities improve. Many papers that authors consider submitting to this subcommittee will also be a match to one of the other subcommittees. As a guide, we suggest you submit papers to this subcommittee when the paper makes an equal contribution to Design and to AI or in cases where reviewers need a deep background in both design and AI.

Example Papers

    Jeff Huang, Rui-Jie Yew, and Suresh Venkatasubramanian. 2025. Copyrighting Generative AI Co-Creations. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 1156–1164. https://doi.org/10.1145/3715336.3735683
    Hauke Sandhaus, Qiuquan Gu, Maria Teresa Parreira, and Wendy Ju. 2025. Co-Designing with Transformers: Unpacking the Complex Role of GenAI in Interactive System Design Education. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 1228–1243. https://doi.org/10.1145/3715336.3735805
    Martin Lindrup, Rune Møberg Jacobsen, Joel Wester, Niels van Berkel, Dimitrios Raptis, and Peter Axel Nielsen. 2025. Prompt Machine: A Tangible Generative AI Tool for Supporting Children’s Learning and Literacy. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 489–505. https://doi.org/10.1145/3715336.3735673
    Imke Grabe and Tom Jenkins. 2025. Hidden Layer Interaction: A Technique to Explore the Material of Generative AI. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 1913–1927. https://doi.org/10.1145/3715336.3735437
    Savvas Petridis, Michael Terry, and Carrie J Cai. 2024. PromptInfuser: How Tightly Coupling AI and UI Design Impacts Designers’ Workflows. In Proceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 743–756. https://doi.org/10.1145/3643834.3661613
    Macy Takaffoli, Sijia Li, and Ville Mäkelä. 2024. Generative AI in User Experience Design and Research: How Do UX Practitioners, Teams, and Companies Use GenAI in Industry? In Proceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 1579–1593. https://doi.org/10.1145/3643834.3660720

Artifacts and Systems

This subcommittee invites papers that design, evaluate, and/or reflect on artifacts and interactive systems. Such artifacts and systems can be designed using a wide range of materials and technologies (e.g., digital, tangible/physical user interfaces, fabrication methods, AR/VR). We encourage papers that expand our understanding of meaningful interactions (e.g., sensing and actuation, unconventional interactions) and how they can be designed to contribute to specific outcomes (e.g., sustainable, equitable, or resilient futures). We call for projects that address different aspects of designing objects, systems, and spaces including but not limited to discussing the material, temporal, and/or spatial aspects of design. We encourage a reflection on the evolution of artifacts and systems, including the considerations and choices that shaped the work, especially where these connect to evaluation, deployment insights, or experiences of how the artifact or system performs and is taken up in context.

Example Papers

    Sujay Shalawadi, Christopher Getschmann, Niels van Berkel, and Florian Echtler. 2024. Manual, Hybrid, and Automatic Privacy Covers for Smart Home Cameras. In Proceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference 3453–3470. https://doi.org/10.1145/3643834.3661569
    Nadine Wagener, Arne Kiesewetter, Leon Reicherts, Paweł W. Woźniak, Johannes Schöning, Yvonne Rogers, and Jasmin Niess. 2024. MoodShaper: A Virtual Reality Experience to Support Managing Negative Emotions. In Proceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 2286–2304. https://doi.org/10.1145/3643834.3661570
    Xiyun Hu, Dizhi Ma, Fengming He, Zhengzhe Zhu, Shao-Kang Hsia, Chenfei Zhu, Ziyi Liu, and Karthik Ramani. 2025. GesPrompt: Leveraging Co-Speech Gestures to Augment LLM-Based Interaction in Virtual Reality. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 59–80. https://doi.org/10.1145/3715336.3735769
    Yingjie Chang, Junyu Chen, Yilong Lin, Xuesong Zhang, and Seungwoo Je. 2025. HapticWings: Enhancing the Experience of Extra Wing Motions in Virtual Reality through Dynamic 2D Weight Shifting. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 15–27. https://doi.org/10.1145/3715336.3735755
    Samuelle Bourgault, Li-Yi Wei, Jennifer Jacobs, and Rubaiat Habib Kazi. 2025. Narrative Motion Blocks: Combining Direct Manipulation and Natural Language Interactions for Animation Creation. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 1366–1386. https://doi.org/10.1145/3715336.3735766

Critical Computing and Design Theory

This area invites papers on the topics of critical computing, design theory, and their overlap. Critical computing encompasses the reimagination as well as analysis and critique of technologies in the world—i.e., the political, ethical, and societal dimensions of computing and the interactive systems we create. Design theory encompasses knowledge around critical-reflective design and research practice. We welcome epistemologically pluralistic approaches, spanning disciplines, theories, and methods, including those that question or confront technological progress. The area seeks papers that explore and expand the relationships among design inquiry, politics, aesthetics, ethics, ontologies, pragmatism, craft, and epistemics.

Example Papers

    Rob Comber, Cecilia Järdemar, Freddy Tsimba, Nadia Campo Woytuk, Akshata Murdeshwar, and Serge Lunyanga. 2025. Designing with Decolonial Intent: Towards a Decolonial Archive in Resistance to Epistemicide. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 884–898. https://doi.org/10.1145/3715336.3735739
    Brett A. Halperin, William Rhodes, Kai Leshne, Afroditi Psarra, and Daniela Rosner. 2024. Resistive Threads: Electronic Streetwear as Social Movement Material. In Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 69–85. https://doi.org/10.1145/3643834.3661537
    Udayan Tandon, Lilly Irani, Sarah E Fox, and Vera Khovanskaya. 2025. Can Smartness Fail? The Charisma of High Tech as Class Politics. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 982–998. https://doi.org/10.1145/3715336.3735732
    Anh-Ton Tran and Carl Disalvo. 2024. Counting Up: Designing Agonistic Data Collection in the Court Room. In Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 3257–3271. https://doi.org/10.1145/3643834.3661616
    Christine T. Wolf, Mariam Asad, and Lynn S. Dombrowski. 2022. Designing within Capitalism. In Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 439–453. https://doi.org/10.1145/3532106.3533559

Design Methods and Processes

This area invites papers that document, innovate, and advance the methods, approaches, and processes used in interaction design, UX design, and service design across industry, academia, and the public sector. We are particularly interested in methodological contributions that push the boundaries of current practice, exploring new scales, audiences, and contexts for design. This includes innovative methods that enable designers to address complex, multi-layered problems, engage with underrepresented or hard-to-reach communities, and adapt to diverse, evolving technological landscapes.

Example Papers

    Ceylan Beşevli, Lei Gao, Narsimlu Kemsaram, Giada Brianza, Orestis Georgiou, Sriram Subramanian, and Marianna Obrist. 2025. SONARIOS: A Design Futuring-Driven Exploration of Acoustophoresis. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 740–753. https://doi.org/10.1145/3715336.3735775
    Long-Jing Hsu, Janice Bays, Manasi Swaminathan, Weslie Khoo, Hiroki Sato, Kyrie Jig Amon, Sathvika Dobbala, Min Min Thant, Alex Foster, Kate Tsui, Philip B. Stafford, David Crandall, and Selma Sabanovic. 2025. Research as Care: A Reflection on Incorporating the Ethics of Care in Design Research with People Living with Dementia. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 3013–3027. https://doi.org/10.1145/3715336.3735678
    Claudia Núñez-Pacheco, Pedro Sanches, and Jorge Olivares-Retamal. 2025. Searching for the Words that “Feel Right”: Resonating with our Bodies and Felt Senses Through Haiku and Large Language Models (LLMs). In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 2901–2915. https://doi.org/10.1145/3715336.3735751
    Yuqi Wang, Sirui Wang, Shiman Zhang, Kexue Fu, Michelle Lui, and Ray Lc. 2025. From Temporal to Spatial: Designing Spatialized Interactions with Segmented-audios in Immersive Environments for Active Engagement with Performing Arts Intangible Cultural Heritage. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 3292–3312. https://doi.org/10.1145/3715336.3735787

Research through Design

We invite contributions relating to the Research through Design family of approaches, including:

    Practice-Based Design Research
    Speculative or Critical Design & Design Fiction
    Material Experimentation and Fabrication
    Emerging design approaches such as Regeneration/Unmaking/More-Than-Human
    Other related design-led research practices such as soma design, slow design, piratical perspectives and mischievous tinkering

Our emphasis is on the ‘through’ part of design. We welcome papers that tell the full story not as a quest to problem solve but as a journey, with the focus on continuous learning and reflexive practices. Submissions to this subcommittee are likely to build on or contribute to the methods and theories of RtD. We also welcome submissions that question, critique, and are transgressive towards RtD itself. Submissions may sit anywhere on a spectrum between polished, functional, and finished prototypes, through to experimental, failed, or unconventional design explorations.

Example Papers

    Joseph La Delfa, Rachael Garrett, Airi Lampinen, and Kristina Höök. 2024. Articulating Mechanical Sympathy for Somaesthetic Human-Machine Relations. In Proceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 3336–3353. https://doi.org/10.1145/3643834.3661514
    William Odom, Samuel Barnett, Nico Brand, Minyoung Yoo, Henry Lin, and Jordan White. 2024. Negotiating Conceptual and Practical Frictions in Making the Capra Short Film: Extending a Research through Design Artifact with Video. In Proceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 2866–2881. https://doi.org/10.1145/3643834.3660739
    Jayne Wallace, Kyle Montague, Trevor Duncan, Luís P. Carvalho, Nantia Koulidou, Jamie Mahoney, Kellie Morrissey, Claire Craig, Linnea Iris Groot, Shaun Lawson, Patrick Olivier, Julie Trueman, and Helen Fisher. 2020. ReFind: Design, Lived Experience and Ongoingness in Bereavement. In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376531
    William Gaver, Peter Gall Krogh, Andy Boucher, and David Chatting. 2022. Emergence as a Feature of Practice-based Design Research. In Proceedings of the 2022 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference. https://doi.org/10.1145/3532106.3533524
    Audrey Desjardins, Jena McWhirter, Justin Petelka, Chandler Simon, Yuna Shin, Ruby K Peven, and Philbert Widjaja. 2023. On the Making of Alternative Data Encounters: The Odd Interpreters. In Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Article 155, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3581323
    Kiersten Hay, Abigail C Durrant, Shema Tariq, Lynne Coventry, and Helen Anderson. 2024. Zineography: A Community-Based Research-through-Design Method of Zine Making for Unequal Contexts. In Proceedings of the 13th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, Article 54, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1145/3679318.3685390
    We also encourage authors to take a look at and be inspired by the whole RtD conference proceedings: https://researchthroughdesign.org/2017/proceedings/index.html