{"id":7612,"date":"2026-07-24T17:50:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T15:50:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.padjournal.net\/new\/?p=7612"},"modified":"2026-07-24T17:50:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T15:50:59","slug":"materials-and-design-rethinking-their-relationship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.padjournal.net\/new\/materials-and-design-rethinking-their-relationship\/","title":{"rendered":"Materials and Design: Rethinking Their Relationship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Call for Articles (2026) \u2014 PAD #31 (December 2026)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guest Editors: Marinella Ferrara (Politecnico di Milano, Sabrina Lucibello (Sapienza University of Rome) and Paulo Eduardo Tonin (Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout history, every major transformation in design has been accompanied by transformations in materials. Scientific discoveries, technological innovations and material developments have continuously expanded what designers could imagine, produce and communicate \u2013 from industrial metals and synthetic polymers to smart materials, biofabrication and digital manufacturing (Manzini, 1986; Ashby & Johnson, 2002; Doordan, 2003). Materials have never been merely technical resources; they have also shaped design cultures, practices, and imaginaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designers and researchers are increasingly moving beyond selecting existing materials to actively participate in their conception, development and experimentation. This emerging role can be observed across biofabrication, circular materials, advanced manufacturing, bio-digital material systems, material experimentation, craft, AI-assisted material development and many other fields (Lucibello & Rotondi, 2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The relationship between design and materials is undergoing a profound transformation (Ferrara, 2017; Squatrito & Ferrara, 2023). This transformation is not simply driven by the emergence of new materials. It also reflects the convergence of ecological, digital, biological and geopolitical transitions, fostering new hybrid material systems and interdisciplinary forms of innovation (Escobar, 2018; Fry, 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This shift raises fundamental questions. The central question is therefore no longer which materials designers use, but how the relationship between design and materials is itself evolving.
For decades, Material Design has explored the technical, aesthetic, cultural, expressive and experiential qualities of materials. Increasingly, however, designers are participating not only in selecting materials, but also in framing research questions, conceiving new material visions, developing interdisciplinary collaborations and contributing directly to material innovation (Ferrara, 2017; Squatrito & Ferrara, 2023).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consequently, material development is progressively becoming a design activity rather than solely an engineering outcome. At the same time, material research is contributing to the recognition of design research itself as a form of knowledge production (Sch\u00f6n, 1983; Cross, 2006). Materials are increasingly understood not as stable entities to be specified and applied, but as dynamic processes of exploration, experimentation and transformation (Ingold, 2013).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding this shift requires moving beyond individual material innovations to examine how changing material conditions are reshaping design itself\u2014its knowledge, methods, research practices, professional roles, educational models, cultural imaginaries, societal transformations, and the multisensory dimensions through which materials generate meaning and human engagement (Tonin et al., 2025).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This issue welcomes researchers, educators and practitioners from all design disciplines\u2014including product, industrial, interior, fashion, communication, service, interaction and strategic design\u2014to contribute theoretical, historical, empirical, methodological and practice-based research that explores the evolving relationship between design and materials.
We particularly welcome systematic reviews, historical investigations, case studies, experimental research, Research through Design, methodological contributions and interdisciplinary perspectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We ask to send:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n