Call for Papers
TU Dublin, Ireland, 2 - 3 March 2027
Theme
retAIl: to AI or not to AI
Call for papers: submission date Midnight January 4th, 2027 (CET)
The Special Interest Group RETAIL Branded Spaces (formerly Designing Retail and Service Futures) from the Design Research Society (DRS) was established in 2021 under the guidance of the Design Research Society. The SIG strives to gain a better understanding of the value of design in the commercial sector, including disciplines, such as interior design, architecture, retail and hospitality, branding, marketing, strategic design, design management and consumer psychology.
This colloquium will be held in a hybrid format to maximise participation. The intention of this colloquium differs from the special tracks organised at the bi-annual DRS conference. The aim is to encourage more open discussion, taking time to give proper feedback for each presentation. To facilitate this the format is a 10-minute presentation followed by a 10-minute feed-back/discussion session.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly entering the world of design. It changes how we research users, generate ideas, visualise concepts and make design decisions. AI is becoming part of the environments we design, enabling spaces to recognise, predict, personalise and respond to their users. Yet, in parallel with this technological development, we also observe a growing interest in more analogue concepts that value physical presence, human interaction and local connection.,
As these parallel trends develop, what will the future of branded spaces look like?
With retAIl: to AI or not to AI?, this colloquium deliberately opens up both sides of the debate. Rather than assuming that AI is the inevitable next step, we invite researchers, designers and practitioners to critically examine when, where, how, and why AI adds value to branded spaces — and when it does not.
AI undoubtedly creates new opportunities. It can help designers better understand users, support creative and co-creative processes, connect physical and digital touchpoints, personalise customer experiences, optimise resources and enable environments to adapt over time. AS a result, stores, hotels, restaurants, banks, museums and other branded spaces may become increasingly intelligent, responsive and data-informed.
Yet physical space possesses qualities fundamentally different from digital environments. People visit places not just for efficiency or personalisation, but also for discovery, sensory richness, social interaction, human contact, materiality and unexpected encounters. In a world increasingly mediated by algorithms, could the physical environment become more valuable precisely because it is not fully predictable or personalised? Could analogue, low-tech or deliberately AI-free spaces offer an alternative form of innovation?
This tension raises broader questions for design. What should remain human? How much personalisation do people actually want? What happens to serendipity when environments anticipate our preferences? Does AI foster more distinctive branded spaces, or could it lead to greater homogeneity? Can AI contribute to more sustainable environments, or does its own environmental footprint challenge that promise? Who owns AI-generated and assisted design and interactions when AI systems are fed existing creative works, knowledge and data? How might AI influence bias and representation in the design of retail and branded spaces? And how does the growing use of AI affect creativity, authorship, expertise and the role of the designer?
Therefore, “To AI or not to AI” is not a question with a predetermined answer. It is an invitation to investigate, experiment, speculate and critically reflect on different futures for branded spaces. We welcome contributions exploring spaces with AI, without AI, and everywhere in between.
The colloquium seeks to explore what makes branded spaces meaningful in an increasingly intelligent world — and how design can determine not simply what is technologically possible, but what is humanly desirable.
Themes
This two-day colloquium will bring together scholars and practitioners working in retail, hospitality and other branded environments to share research, critical perspectives, methods, experiments and practice-based insights. Scholarly, conceptual, empirical and practitioner contributions are welcomed.
Topics may include, but are not limited to:
• To AI or not to AI? – critical perspectives on where AI adds value to branded spaces, where it fails to do so, and how designers discern the distinction.
• AI in the design process – how AI is reshaping research, ideation, co-creation, visualisation, prototyping and design decision-making.
• Designing without AI – analogue, low-tech, human-led and intentionally non-AI approaches to future branded environments.
• AI-enhanced customer experiences – intelligent, adaptive and personalised interactions within physical and hybrid environments.
• The value of the unpredictable – serendipity, discovery, spontaneity and other qualities that may resist algorithmic optimisation.
• Human connection in intelligent environments – the changing role of employees, social interaction, hospitality and human contact.
• AI and spatial experience – how intelligent and responsive environments affect perception, behaviour, emotion and experience.
• Physical versus digital experience – what remains distinctive about embodied, sensory and material experiences in an increasingly digital world.
• AI, brand identity and authenticity – opportunities and tensions surrounding AI-generated or AI-mediated expressions of brands.
• Phygital and hybrid branded spaces – evolving relationships between physical environments, digital interfaces, AI and connected services.
• Adaptive and responsive environments – spaces that learn from and dynamically respond to users, context and changing needs.
• AI and sustainability – whether and how AI can contribute to circular, regenerative and resource-efficient branded spaces, while critically considering its environmental impact.
• AI, inclusivity and accessibility – the potential and limitations of intelligent environments in supporting diverse users.
• The future role of the designer – emerging competencies and responsibilities, and the changing relationship between human and artificial intelligence.
• Slow, sensory and human-centred spaces – alternative futures centred on materiality, wellbeing, attention, human interaction and meaningful experience.
• Reimagining future branded spaces – speculative and experimental visions of future retail, hospitality, service and commercial environments.
Venue
The event is hosted by Technological University Dublin, Ireland. The third International Colloquium of the SIG branded spaces will be held from March 3-4, featuring presentations by leading academics and practitioners. The third colloquium organised by the Special Interest Group (formerly the SIG Designing Retail & Service Futures) allows the SIG to expand its international ambition and foster a global research community. More information about the venue can be found on our Venue page.
Participants
This interdisciplinary colloquium welcomes academic papers from researchers across all fields of design, management, marketing as well as related areas of the humanities and social sciences, provided design is studied.
Doctoral students are particularly welcome. We will host a PhD-event exploring (new) methods and approaches to retail & service design research.
The colloquium organisers also extend an invitation for collaborative papers between academics and industry practitioners.