Conference Agenda
Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
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PAPERS: Design Philosophies Location: Appleton Tower, LT4 Zoom link accessibility: https://www.accessable.co.uk/the-university-of-edinburgh/central-area/access-guides/appleton-lecture-theatre-4-edinburgh Session Chair: Peter Buwert, Edinburgh Napier University | |
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Fine observation and material care: An interactionist approach to design aesthetics 1: Aalto University, Finland; 2: Universidad de la República, Uruguay This paper argues that the question “How does the awareness of material sustainability change perceptions of aesthetics?” requires an interactionist framework from philosophical aesthetics, against both eliminativist and formalist models. Without treating materials as morally valuable entities, there is no room to integrate the ethical dimension into aesthetic evaluation. However, the question can be inverted, since aesthetic perceptions also contribute to how we ethically treat materials. Central to the argument is the claim that aesthetic properties, by virtue of their affective character, are partly constitutive of the moral dimension of visual representations, not mere embellishments but active elements in shaping ethical evaluation of materials. The framework is illustrated through analysis of visual strategies in fashion communication, examining how aesthetic smoke-screens occlude material ethics and how counter-images foster fine observation. Implications for design research and practice are discussed View Paper: https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2118
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