The Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design is proud to host Decipher, a three-day, hands-on design research conference that will take place on the U-M campus September 27-29, 2018.

Presented by the AIGA Design Educators Community in partnership with the new DARIA Network (Design as Research in the Americas), Decipher is co-chaired by Stamps professors Kelly M. Murdoch-Kitt and Omar Sosa Tzec.

Decipher will adopt a unique, interactive format to address crucial themes of defining, doing, disseminating, supporting, and teaching design research. There will be no formal “paper presentations,” instead all conference attendees will participate in focused conversations, activity groups, and workshops. These sessions will be comprised of Participants and Facilitators. Participants attend the conference and are expected to engage in all of the sessions. Facilitators plan and lead the sessions for participants. Facilitators also have an additional expectation of documentation and dissemination of their session following the conference. The submission, review, and selection process of Facilitators has been completed, but our call to people interested in joining us as Participants is still open!

For information about the brief written submission required to attend the conference as a participant (deadline: September 1st, 2018): https://educators.aiga.org/participate-in-decipher-2018/

For answers to common questions about the conference: https://educators.aiga.org/decipher-faq/

For questions about the conference: decipher2018@umich.edu

There are also volunteer opportunities at Decipher for students from the Stamps community and beyond. Join the Decipher team to gain insights into design research and contemporary design dialogues, meet and network with design practitioners and faculty from a variety of disciplines and perspectives, take part in some conference sessions and events for free, and add a great line to your resume! Volunteer activities may include manning registration tables, assisting session facilitators, helping with wayfinding for guests, producing photographic and video documentation, installing exhibitions, hanging signs, assisting with special events, making social media updates, and more.  We ask that each volunteer work approximately 10-20 hours before and during the conference, depending upon availability.

To sign up as a student volunteer: http://bit.ly/deciphervolunteers

For questions about volunteering: deciphervolunteers@umich.edu