On June 11, at the closing ceremony of DRS 2026 in Edinburgh, the United Kingdom, the Design Research Society (DRS) officially announced that the next DRS Conference will be hosted by the School of Design at Hunan University. The conference is scheduled to take place in June 2028 in Changsha, Hunan Province, China. For the first time since DRS was founded in 1966, the conference will be held in Asia, marking a significant milestone for the growing international presence of design research from China.
As one of the world’s largest and most highly regarded academic organizations in the field of design research, the Design Research Society has played a leading role in shaping the development of design theory, research methods, and innovative practice. Its biennial international conference brings together leading design scholars, design educators, industry innovators, and doctoral researchers from around the world. Through in-depth dialogue, participants address key questions concerning the role of design in social transformation, technological change, cultural continuity, and sustainable development. The DRS Conference serves not only as a major platform for the exchange of academic achievements, but also as an important meeting point for intellectual exchange and collaborative innovation within the global design research community.
In recent years, the DRS Conference has been successfully held in internationally renowned cities including Bilbao in Spain, Boston in the United States, and Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. Each gathering has attracted wide attention from the global design research community. Across the three most recent DRS conferences, namely DRS 2022, DRS 2024, and DRS 2026, Hunan University has published a total of 49 papers, ranking second globally. In 2028, this major international conference will be hosted in Changsha, China, for the first time. The selection of Hunan University as the host of DRS 2028 reflects the international academic community’s strong recognition of the strength and influence of design research in China. It will also offer scholars from around the world a valuable opportunity to engage more closely with China’s design innovation practices, distinctive design education system, and rich cultural traditions.
Changsha, the host city of DRS 2028, is a UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts. In recent years, the city has emerged as a dynamic center for creative design, intelligent manufacturing, and cultural and creative industries. The School of Design at Hunan University is widely recognized as an important base for design research in China, with sustained engagement in frontier areas such as artificial intelligence, sustainable design, health and well-being, and social innovation. By hosting DRS 2028, the School of Design aims to build a bridge for deeper dialogue between Eastern and Western design research, support the more active participation of design research from China and the Global South in international academic exchange, and present to the world the achievements and future visions of emerging economies in design innovation.
Preparations for DRS 2028 are now underway. The School of Design will work closely with the Design Research Society to deliver a high-level, distinctive, and far-reaching international academic conference, contributing Chinese insight and Hunan University’s strength to the global design research community.
