Hello!

It's conference season, so a quick newsletter with one time-sensitive invitation and a few bits of news.

DRS P.S! — Friday 12 June, Edinburgh

If you're at DRS 2026, or just nearby and curious, come along to a Fringe event I'm helping run. DRS P.S! is the antidote to a week of panels: livelier, more interactive and a good deal more irreverent than the usual academic affair, hosted by geek-comedian-presenter Dr Steve Cross. It hangs on three questions — What now? What not? What next? — with a tag-team panel followed by an open mic where anyone in the room can step up and have their say.

Friday 12 June, 11.00–13.00, at Inspace, 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh. Grab a ticket here.

It's free, you don't need a DRS conference ticket, and there's even a free lunch courtesy of the fab* showcase we're sharing the room with (you'll just need to RSVP to fab* separately to guarantee the lunch). Not in Edinburgh next week? You'd help enormously by sharing this invitation with anyone who is and might want to come.

The Design Research Observatory is live

In the last few months we launched the Design Research Observatory. It's a curated, growing collection of the best examples of Design Research, that emerged from our Lab Engagements programme and tries to fill a significant gap in the Design Research world—a beautiful, simple home for inspirational Design Research projects. Please go and have a poke around, share it with anyone who'd find it useful, and, most importantly, contribute. If you've got something that belongs in there, we want to hear about it.

BRIDGES has launched

BRIDGES is a new network rethinking how technology can help people living with dementia lead full, independent lives. We're bringing design research into the mix to help the network understand real lives and real needs, and to keep a check on 'solutionism' (building technology because it's possible rather than because it's needed). Funding calls are coming soon, so if that's of interest, sign up to the mailing list here.

Shadowplay at Shambala

Later this year we'll be at Shambala Festival with Shadowplay, a project with Roger Whitham and Loura Whitham. If you're heading to Shambala, come and find us and say hi (if you're not, and can go… please do[!] it's one of the most varied and fun festivals I've ever been to).

And finally… a new era at Imagination

News that is hot off the press, I'm the new co-director of Imagination, alongside my friend and colleague Dr Naomi Jacobs. I'm genuinely excited to help guide the group into a new era.

I won't pretend it's all straightforward. These have been turbulent times across the university sector, and in just a couple of weeks three of our most experienced team members leave the university for good: Professors Paul Coulton, Emmanuel Tsekleves and Nick Dunn. And last year we lost our matriarch and founder, Professor Rachel Cooper, to cancer, which was a huge blow for everyone in the group. But we are nothing if not resilient: it's a wonderful, close, committed and imaginative team, and I'm looking forward to the challenge. If you'd be interested in collaborating with Imagination, please do reach out.

End

That's it for now. Thanks for reading.

What's going on with you?

All the best,

Joe