Call for Papers: Design Tolerances 2027 – 21st International Conference on Design Principles & Practices
TU Dublin School of Art & Design, in partnership with the Design Principles & Practices Research Network, is delighted to host the 21st International Conference on Design Principles & Practices in March 2027. We warmly invite researchers, postgraduate students, scholars and practitioners to submit papers and participate in this international gathering of design thinkers and makers.
Under the theme Design Tolerances 2027, the conference explores how design operates between ideals and realities, precision and plurality, control and adaptability. As products, systems, and societies grow ever more complex, tolerance becomes a defining principle for innovation, reliability, inclusivity, and ethical responsibility.
Hosted in TU Dublin East Quad and online, the conference reflects Ireland’s long-standing commitment to dialogue and diversity. Here, tolerance is not only a social value but a creative force, shaping how communities balance heritage with innovation, craft with technology, and local identities with global change.
About the Conference
Design Tolerances 2027 will bring together researchers, educators, practitioners, and policy thinkers to examine tolerance not only as a technical measure but as a design philosophy, one that frames resilience, adaptability, and care in an uncertain world.
Plenary sessions and themed tracks will explore:
- Social & Cultural Tolerance (exploring how design engages with difference, inclusion and pluralism across human social and cultural contexts.)
- Ecological & Ethical Tolerance (addressing design’s responsibility within ecological limits, technological ethics and contemporary socio-political tensions.)
- From Blueprint to Reality (from abstract to situated and material, methodology, and interdisciplinary methods)
- Designing on the Margins (experimentation, alternative practices and the power of working outside of dominant norms, systems and standards.)
- Design Impact (frameworks and evaluation on systems change, policy, and real-world applications)
- Future of Design Pedagogies (explores how design education and profession must evolve in transformative and uncertain future)
By convening voices from across disciplines, Design Tolerances 2027 seeks to redefine tolerance not as a constraint, but as a catalyst for creativity, sustainability, and ethical innovation.
We invite papers, practice-based research, and theoretical contributions that critically and creatively address the conference theme and tracks. Submissions are welcomed from:
- TU Dublin academic staff and postgraduate researchers
- International researchers and practitioners
- Designers, artists, architects, technologists, and policy experts
- Interdisciplinary and collaborative teams
Contributors will join a global community committed to advancing design as a force for inclusion, sustainability, and responsible innovation. Whether you work in theory, practice, education, or policy, this conference provides a platform to shape how tolerance, difference, and adaptability inform the future of design.
Further details on submission deadlines and registration will be announced shortly.
Join us in TU Dublin or online in March 2027 to rethink tolerance as a creative principle for design in an uncertain world.