Design4Health2024 Sheffield

Design4Health 2024 conference

Our 7th international Design4Health conference is hosted by Lab4Living at Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK, from 25-27 June 2024.

These pages are no longer being updated except for the PUBLICATIONS pages. For all further conference updates, please visit www.lab4living.org.uk/design4health

For all conference announcements, please visit visit www.lab4living.org.uk/design4health, join our mailing list or follow @design4health.

Context

We continue to live in a time of unprecedented change. Since Design4Health2018, we have experienced a global pandemic, been confronted by economic uncertainty, witnessed climate change’s devastating impact, and continue to experience societal inequality. Advances in AI and other technologies promise new opportunities while raising ethical challenges.  

Themes

Permacrisis is a term used to describe an extended period of instability and insecurity. We have taken this as the overarching theme of Design4Health 2024, which will be hosted by Lab4Living in Sheffield, UK. History has shown that new ways of thinking can be borne in times of overwhelming change and crisis. We hope the 2024 conference will offer space to pause, reflect and examine the role of design and design research in re-imagining the discipline of design for health in the context of rapidly evolving challenges. D4H2024 will allow us to explore how design research and creative practice might enable us to envision alternative futures as we consider a new equilibrium.

As in previous conferences, we welcome contributions of research that explore any aspect of design and creative practice in the context of health and healthcare. Within the overall theme of the conference, we particularly welcome submissions that consider the role of design in: 

  • Redressing power imbalances
  • Responding to planetary health and our relationships with the planet
  • Exploring future design pedagogies
  • Debating the role of new technologies in health
  • Addressing ethical questions relating to the field

Who is the conference for?

The global pandemic has changed many aspects of our lives, the places in which we live and work, where and how we undertake our research, and the insights that emerge. Design4Health2024 is an opportunity for designers, creative practitioners, film-makers, service users, clinicians and researchers in healthcare and the creative industries to come together to discuss, disseminate and share their work, test their approaches and methods. We will also be including activities specially designed to bring PhD students in related areas together.

Submissions

For this conference, Lab4Living invites submissions to our submission portal in the following formats:

Paper submissions: extended abstract

The abstract should be a minimum of 300 words and a maximum of 1200 words (including all text e.g. title, authors, captions, references, tables), and may include up to 6 images.  Alternatively, you may choose to submit your paper in the form of a 2-minute video proposal.

Abstracts will be blind reviewed by the review panel. If accepted, the author will be invited to present the work in person at the conference and the abstract published in the online Book of Abstracts. We will not be publishing full proceedings but authors may develop abstracts into a full-length journal article for submission to Design For Health journal which would be subject to the journal’s standard review process.

Poster submissions: poster proposal

A 150-word proposal should summarize the research to be presented in the final poster. You may also include one single-sided A4 or A3 PDF text / visual representation of your work in pdf format. Poster proposals will be reviewed by the review panel. If accepted, presenters are requested to produce a visually engaging poster in A1 format, using a provided template.

Stylesheet and submission guidance

Click here for more information.

Ready to submit? SUBMIT NOW

Additional information

You may submit more than one abstract / poster.

Authors of accepted abstracts and posters are expected to attend the conference in person as regular paying delegates.

Design4Health2024 is an in-person conference.

Conference timeline

Submissions should be made online through our submission portal by 23.59 GMT Sun 7 Jan 2024.

Submission portal opens on Wed 25 October 2023.

SUBMIT NOW

Reviewing takes place in January and February with initial decisions due in February. Authors may be asked to revise their submission, and a further round of review will take place before final decisions are made.

Delegate fees

The following delegate tickets will be available from 1 Feb 2024:

D4H2024Full conferenceDay rate
Early bird£450£200
Student£300£150
Standard (from 1 May 2024)£550£250
Loyalty£400£180

Delegates who have attended two or more previous Design4Health conferences (excluding Festival of Design4Health 2022 and UK Design4Health symposium 2017) are eligible for the Loyalty rate. Contact Kirsty Christer for eligibility and a coupon before booking your place.

Accommodation

To book hotel accommodation for your visit to Sheffield, please visit our Accommodation Portal. The portal has a selection of hotels with preferable rates. If you are seeking student / budget accommodation, please contact us.

  • Submit to D4H2024!

    Read the submission info and stylesheet?

    When you have prepared your extended abstract or poster proposal, click here to submit:

    SUBMIT NOW!

  • Lab4Living, Sheffield Hallam University
    The White Building
    Fitzalan Square Sheffield S1 2AZ
    Phone (+44)114 225 3143
    lab4living@shu.ac.uk