Presentation:

Welcome to “where the land ends and the sea begins”, welcome to the land of the poets, welcome to the ninth edition of the ICDHS – the International Committee of Design History and Design Studies, and welcome to the home of regional sweet ‘soft eggs’, welcome to Aveiro.Since the inaugural event held in Barcelona (1999), the ICDHS conferences that followed were held in three continents, bringing to the fore both peripheral countries and the importance of bringing to light hidden, or little known, ‘stories’ of design. The journey to reveal these histories continued in Havana (2000), Istanbul (2002), Guadalajara (2004), Helsinki and Tallinn (2006), Osaka (2008), Brussels (2010), São Paulo (2012) until now when we have arrived in the territorial waters of Aveiro (2014).In order to underpin the rationale for the organization of this ICDHS 2014 we sought to trace new routes of research, to attract national and international travellers, fearless explorers who, in the spirit of the explorer Fernão Magalhães (1480-1521) 500 years earlier, will brave the difficulties and risks of journeying around the globe to meet others. They will bring with them fresh ideas and approaches accompanied by a strong desire to disseminate their culture. In this spirit, the title to capture the essence of Aveiro 2014 emerged – Tradition, Transition, Trajectories: major or minor influences?Tradition has a powerful significance in our culture, and is responsible of the transmission of knowledge between generations. Looking at tradition through design (ideas, concepts, experiences and practice) it is possible to identify different influences and to understand how industrialization affected culture.