Conference Agenda

As eight co-convenors of DRS's Pluriversal SIG and pluriversal design researchers ourselves, we come together at DRS 2026 to offer a "liberatory and radical space" for an embodied and generative conversation about how design research is, can, and must be pluriversal, which we define broadly as valuing diverse ontologies (ways of being) and epistemologies (ways of knowing). Our central question is: How can design research authentically embody pluriversal values? The following sub-questions will support this discussion:

● How might we foster and cultivate equitable collaborations and mutual learning in and through design research?

● What design approaches and engagement methods might be exclusionary or harmful? How might we remake these so they value diverse ecologies of knowledges and making?

● What boundaries or limitations do we currently experience when attempting equity in pluriversal collaborations?

● What are some ways to move beyond the idea of transactional "projects” when seeking to build pluriversal relationalities?

● How might we foster transversality in pluriversal dialogues and interactions within–and beyond–the design field?

● How might we navigate the limitations of language, meanings, and translation to reduce the "illusion of understanding" inherent in translation?

Everyone interested in these topics is welcome to join. We recognize that perspectives and lived experiences traditionally excluded can offer invaluable insights into contexts, questions, and knowledges that have so far been neglected in design research.