The Cumulus Genk Conference will be hosted by the Media and Design Academy of Katholieke Hogeschool Limburg Belgium, from 26th May to 30th May 2010. The theme of the conference is BORDERLINE-Pushing Design over the Limit.

CALL FOR PAPERS and POSTERS

CUMULUS GENK CONFERENCE 2010:

BORDERLINE - PUSHING DESIGN OVER THE LIMIT

Themes

The Cumulus Genk Conference will be hosted by the Media and Design Academy of Katholieke Hogeschool Limburg Belgium, from 26th May to 30th May 2010. The theme of the conference is BORDERLINE-Pushing Design over the Limit.

In this conference we wish to explore and to experience the various facets of borderlines and how limits and limitations are overcome. This is a multidimensional, social and societal relevant theme that will illustrate how geographical, cultural, social, philosophical and virtual boundaries are crossed.

Teachers, managers, artists, researchers are invited to take part and submit work relating to the general theme, the two sub-themes and concept tags that are listed below. They can participate as speakers in parallel sessions, or organise a poster session.

BORDERLINE - PUSHING DESIGN OVER THE LIMIT

CRITICAL DESIGN

BOUNDLESS CURIOSITY

PUSHING DESIGN OVER THE LIMIT

Borderlines are lines that establish or mark borders, but it is also proof of an indefinite area that is intermediate between two qualities or conditions. It also suggests something that is barely acceptable or belonging to a grey area. Taken metaphorically it immediately shows both the materiality and the conceptuality of the term thereby illustrating the value of coexisting dichotomies and shaping ambiguity. Increasingly, design nowadays appears to mirror this ambivalence, as a reference to openness and freedom of expression but also as a sense of fear of the unknown, the unwanted, the illegitimate, and the undiscovered.

It is this territory of ambiguity which will inspire the conference days in Limburg. They will be an exploration of the in-between spaces which have no name, the undefined, the unconfigured, those spaces which cross borders. Geographically speaking, Limburg is per definition already a place (of) crossing borders: linguistically, culturally, statewise, etc. Mixtures and hybrids are more than mere hollow terms here: borderlines transcend their metaphor, shaping the societal tissue.

Borderlines are a world apart which literally seems to fight for its unicity, in order not to be framed, not to become encapsulated within borders. Yet, in view of our event, we shall give it a try and speak

about that which escapes categories, about those who seek not to be defined. We welcome you to join us on our exploratory journey.

SUB THEMES

1 . CRITICAL DESIGN

Design as such is being questioned as it becomes increasingly conceptual, to the point at which one starts to wonder what is covered by the label ‘design' or where design is going. This is a question concerning its ‘delimitation', its borderlines, if you want, which scares people as they step into the territory of the unknown. How can we get a clearer view of this unknown territory? What happens to design when the word "applied" no longer means to have a final and finite application in the real world? If we once addressed art as "l'art pour l'art", could we still say that conceptual design differentiates itself from art, even without having an immediate application in the (material) world? Could "design pour design" make sense? Although it might sound like a paradox, design nowadays seems to join opposites, e.g.  high level conceptuality and sophisticated craftsmanship, and an increasing value of visualization and materialization.

Design is also defined by different terms: it is instrumental for social innovation, a product and a process, artistic practice but also an innovation or marketing catalyst for enterprises. It is a way to re-think aesthetics and ethics within society, and as a means to amplify the role and reach of individuals.

The list of critical perspectives on design goes on and will remain open-ended , demanding continuous redefinition. Design often colours outside the lines, and shifts shapes, it constantly reconfigures. Many connotations are controversial to the point of becoming contradictory. The borderline metaphor appears opportune and adequate in order to interface with what design is becoming nowadays or - more importantly - what it may become. To which extent can design cover its own contemporary dichotomies? And, most of all, what does critique and criticism mean today within the context of design? We will welcome ambiguity as our friend, convinced that in its openness lies its value, its possibility to move closer to the true nature of things than perhaps anything else. Society indeed appears to generate contradictions, and these contradictions call out for new solutions that emerge within society itself.

2. BOUNDLESS CURIOSITY

The Grand Tour and the Wunderkammer or Cabinet of Curiosity  are old traditions that continue to exist, though in different forms. Young  often creative people used to go and challenge themselves and the conventions of their times. This particular kind of experience was called the Grand Tour. Many of these trips were so dangerous that the ones leaving never really knew whether they would make it back, so they asked their loved ones for their blessings on embarking on their journey.

The travel could be a lonely experience but in its process one would meet with other travellers. The explorers would share ideas around the campfire in the evening, or in the barn where they looked for shelter during the night. Somehow, we all carry images in our minds of these travellers. Many of us are still travellers like that.

The genius, the creative mind had to discover a mission in his work, an awareness of what it means to create. This awareness is a process which led poets, artists and philosophers to discover their "mission" in faraway lands. In the reports we read that the travellers infused adventure into other disciplines and mindsets as a means to learn, yet also to shape one's own discipline. These journeys went beyond the borders of one's own disciplinary and personal knowledge, language and culture, to the strange unknown where monsters could be encountered.

The fear associated with crossing borders is of all times and contexts . Fear is an important element of our existence. It is also what turns the journey into an adventure. A passage into the territory beyond the safe grounds of known disciplines and of the socio-academic establishment will be challenging in many ways. That which lies beyond today's territory of knowledge is what falls

beyond the definition of disciplines.

Considering the blurring borders requires courage and looking at and beyond some of the hybrid territories of knowledge that are re-shaping our ways of seeing the world today. In a complex world the dangers of oversimplification or unilaterality lurk in the dark, while it can only benefit from multidimensional answers. These are the monsters of the modern world, the elements and approaches that scare many academics: multidisciplinarity, transdiciplinarity, open structures, rhizomatic systems, experience based knowledge, etc.

TAGS

Within these two subthemes we are looking for papers and posters that can exemplify these two fields. We are looking for presentations focusing on:

curiosity, critical design, service design, social design, design thinking, transformation design, social innovation, experience design, transdisciplinarity, crossovers, open laboratory, city living lab, tribalism, sustainability, comeback city, open source, etc.

SUBMISSION

All submissions will be peer reviewed. Authors will be notified about acceptance of their abstract by the beginning of March 2010. Those whose abstracts are accepted will be invited to submit the full paper and their PowerPoint presentation by May 10, 2010.

DEADLINES

Abstract deadline extended: February 12, 2010

Notification of abstract acceptance: March 15, 2010

Full paper deadline: May 10, 2010

SPECIFICATIONS

Abstracts should be limited to 200 words and should be structured to summarize the

background, aims, significance and focus of the question addressed, as well as conclusions.

Please identify the relevant conference theme that the paper addresses. Please send us your

abstracts by February 12, 2010.

Papers should be limited to 4500 words (excluding references) and follow APA 5th referencing

style for in-text citation and reference lists. (www.apastyle.org) Body text should be in 11

point, Arial font. All papers must be written in English. As English is not the mother tongue of

most audience, the style should therefore be kept direct and easy to read.

Format: RTF and Word (.doc) formats are required for both abstracts and papers. Please

keep files less than 3Mb, (including your illustrations), and use a filename beginning with the

principal author's surname, for example (Chiara_paper.doc).

Copyright: By submitting papers for publication in the conference proceedings, authors are

assigning copyright of the submitted paper to the conference host. Authors' traditional rights

will not be jeopardized by assigning copyright in this manner, as they will retain the right to

re-use the content of the paper.

To submit abstracts and papers:

This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Call in pdf.  call_for_papers_and_posters_borderline_genk

CONTACT

For more information on the Cumulus Genk Conference 2010: www.borderlinedesign.eu

Conference General Secretary: Luk Van der Hallen

Conference Co-General Secretary: Eija Salmi ( This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it )

Cumulus Secretariat: Justyna Maciak ( This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it )

Questions about the call, please contact:

Coordinator for papers: Michael Joris ( This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it )

Assistant of coordinator: Christa Vandersmissen ( This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it )