PDC 98

 Conference email:
   pdc98@cpsr.org

The fifth biennial   Participatory Design Conference  took place in Seattle, Washington, USA November 12-14, 1998

Post-Conference Information

Over 200 people from 14 countries and four continents attended PDC 98. The Participatory Design Conference is held in even-numbered years in North America.
PDC 2000 will take place in New York City, November 28-December 1, 2000. The conference will take place right across from the Empire State Building, in the newly-completed City University Graduate Center conference facilities.

Conference Proceedings can be ordered online. Note the following information:

PDC 98 Proceedings of the Participatory Design Conference: Broadening Participation
Edited by Rebecca Henderson Chatfield, Sarah Kuhn, and Michael Muller.
November 1998, 271 pages. $25.00.

Then go to the CPSR Publications Order Form

Conference Theme: "Broadening Participation"

Who is to be included in design processes and design decisions? How might they be included? The 1998 Participatory Design Conference is an international event featuring state-of-the-art thinking in this field. Conference participants and presenters address these and other important questions and share their experiences.

PDC 98 pays special attention to the theme of "broadening participation". In design, organizations, and services, what challenges and strategies exist for broadening involvement? The program features papers, presentations, workshops, and displays that address these questions. Additionally, this year's conference brings together leaders in multiple fields employing participatory approaches to stimulate exchange and to generate fresh ideas for future practice and research.

About Participatory Design

Participatory Design (PD) is a set of diverse ways of thinking, planning, and acting through which people make their work, technologies, and social institutions more responsive to human needs. PD practitioners aim to improve conditions of work and the quality of life by involving workers, users, and community members in design and development. PD enables users, stakeholders, and other interested parties to play powerful roles in shaping technological and work outcomes to reflect their interests. Through Participatory Design, people around the world are accomplishing significant achievements in collaboratively shaping technology and social environments.

The Participatory Design Conference attracts researchers, designers, practitioners, workers, and managers. Participants share and learn about advances in practices, methods, and theory throughout the cycle of design. PDC 98 is an international forum where diverse communities can meet, exchange ideas and experiences, and collaboratively invent the future of participatory work.