Design Informatics 2026 research showcase archive – 12 June 2026

fab*

fab*

As part of the Design Research Society's 2026 conference Fringe Friday, the Institute for Design Informatics opened the doors to Inspace for a one-day pop-up showcase exploring the future of design and its implications for society and the world.

12 June 2026
Inspace
1 Crichton St, Edinburgh EH8 9AB

About the showcase

Design
+ data

The Institute for Design Informatics brings design and data together to create a world that is socially just, where people live well, have agency and autonomy, and are able to adapt and transition how they live to ensure the planet flourishes.

fab* speaks to the ways our research seeks to fabricate, fabulate and make visible the fabric of our work and the connections between us all.

When & where

One day,
over 30 projects.

Date

12 June 2026

Location

Inspace
1 Crichton St
Edinburgh EH8 9AB

Showcase

The one-day showcase took place during DRS 2026 Fringe Friday.

Reception lunch

The programme included a 13:00 reception lunch at Inspace.

Showcased

27 projects listed

A Neurosymbolic Architecture for Semiotic Screenplay Interpretation Nicolas Chiappucci, Susan Lechelt
Beyond the Clinical Body: Designing for Relationality in Health Technologies Somayeh Ranjbar, Tara Capel, Larissa Pschetz, Peter Lloyd The Attachment Index: Auditing Attachment Language Cues and Relational Safety Risks in Human-LLM Dialogue Cyndie Demeocq, Animesh Prasad, Marzieh Saeidi, Björn Ross AI Break-Ups and Lobotomies: Standards and Policy Recommendations for AI Companion Discontinuation Alex Gillespie, Laura Bishop, James Garforth
Paper Trail Billy Dixon, Bettina Nissen, Beverley Hood, Larissa Pschetz
Build & Connect: Collaborative Meaning-Making Through Data Physicalization Jenny Long, Tara Capel, Uta Hinrichs Visualizing Historical University Records Tomas Vancisin, Uta Hinrichs, Mary Orr, Aileen Fyfe, Rachel Hosker Can AI Represent Care? Melody Wang, Nichole Fernandez, John Vines Caring about Care Melody Wang, Eilidh Bowman, Yuxiang Zhai, Tara Capel, John Vines
Design contribution in temporal diversity for urban transformation. Lucie Urgel, Larissa Pschetz
Decentralised Service Design Playbook Chris Elsden, Adam de Linde, Ella Tallyn, Kyle Morrison, Frances Liddell, Evan Morgan A Token Gesture Chris Elsden, Evan Morgan, Ella Tallyn, Suzanne Black, Billy Dixon, Martin Disley, Burkhard Schafer and Theodore Koterwas
Senito: utilised agentic technology to foster sharing cultures Haili Wu, Bettina Nissen, Mark Kobine, Peter Bentley, Susan Lechelt
Digitising Glass Casts: building on Picture Your Poisons Caitlin McDonald, Inge Panneels, Simeon Newbatt, uCreate MakerSpace
Character Assassination Philosophical Compromises and Commercial Imperatives in the Making of the Unicode Standard Bríd-Áine Parnell
Keeping Public Access Defibrillators (PADs) Alive: The Maintenance, Repair, and Care Practices to Ensure Functionality and Accessibility in an Emergency Diane Lac, John Vines, Gareth Clegg
Children's Digital Money Futures Chris Elsden, Susan Lechelt, Caroline McKinley (Natwest), Cara Wilson, Carlos Guerrero Millan, Valentina Andries, Harvey Everson
CoSTAR Realtime Lab and CoSTAR Foresight Lab Sabrina Carter, Andrew Connor, Eleonora D'Arnese, Nichola Dobson, Xin Feng, Marc Jefferies, Vikki Jones, Theodore Koterwas, Calum Main, Caterina Moruzzi, Nicola Osborne, Caroline Parkinson, Mohan Sridharan, Melissa Terras, Frauke Zeller
Holding MenstaRay: Expressing Menstrual Pain through Tactile and Knitted Soft Robotic Interactions Yixun Li, Mingke Wang, Imogen A Young, Rebecca Stewart, Bettina Nissen
Weaving as Material Narrative Yixun Li, Andrea Ford, Bettina Nissen
Illustrating Creative Applications of Data and Technology: A Visual Vocabulary Susan Lechelt, Billy Franks, Peter Tilley, Chris Elsden
Reconceptualising Companionship: Learning from the lived experiences of older adults to critically assess companion robots Eilidh Bowman
INFINITY Andrea Kocsis, Suzanne R Black, Melissa Terras
Digital Ghosts Andrea Kocsis and Dorsey Kaufmann
Grasping Data: Tangible Activities for Young Children’s Understanding and Reflection on Personal Data Ayça Atabey, Dushani Perera, Andrés A. Ramírez-Duque, Susan Lechelt, Uta Hinrichs, Steve Brewster, John Vines, Andrew Manches
Pasts, Presents, and Futures of Digitally Mediated Theatre Emma Dorfman, Chris Elsden, Melissa Terras, Ellen Gledhill (Traverse Theatre)
Design Informatics Project Library Work by a range of Design Informatics students and staff.