THE CONFERENCE WAS HELD
FROM 8 TO 11 JUNE 2021
PROCEEDINGS AVAILABLE
HERE
Dear Cumulusians,
thank you for attending Cumulus Roma 2021 ‘Design Culture(S)’ conference. We wish you enjoyed four days full of parallel sessions, working groups, poster sessions, exhibitions, social events, and more.
While feeling the responsibility of filling a long void caused by the pandemic, we tried to re-design the whole experience to deliver a new form of conference which is keeping the in-presence through the online opportunities, so to bring you all to Rome and get the colors, the smell and the taste of the city, the architecture, the arts, the food, and the wine, always giving a cultural and a scientific perspective.
When facing the challenges, we wanted to deliver a new format to the whole Cumulus community, with the aim of innovating with technology, enhancing networking and the sociability of the experience, and keeping everyone on board to ensure the participation and democracy to our association from anywhere in the world, no matter of the time zone.
After four full days, we trust this conference at Sapienza University of Rome to be one of the longest Cumulus initiatives, counting with approximately 680 registered attendees, more than 350 papers and posters, 10 exhibitions, 10 tracks and 80 parallel sessions, 20 track keynotes and four plenary keynotes, more than 50 schools exhibiting in the New Members Fair from everywhere in the world, and 18 schools participating in the Italian Members Fair.
Our aim was to develop a new form of hospitality to welcome and to make all of you feel at home in Rome but in a new virtual environment, while sharing design research and knowledge, along with the true spirit of Cumulus.
It is not enough to have a good project to gain good results, but it is necessary to get good responses. Your reaction was extraordinary, not only for the massive number of registered participants, but for the involvement, the enthusiasm and not lastly the patience you have shown during the days of the conference.
You joined in perfect Cumulus style from all over the world: from Oceania to the Americas, from Africa to Europe, to Asia, and you have actively followed the four days continuously, participating in a chat that often could not make your voices heard, but made us feel your presence very close.
Thank you for trusting us since the very beginning to the very end, while making this event possible. We will remember it for a long time for its extraordinary nature.
We wish to meet you soon without mask, and we will keep the memory of these days together among the best memories of this difficult period.
As a very final note, we promised to publish the conference proceedings timely and we are committed to finalize the publication in record time.
Please stay tuned!
Loredana Di Lucchio, Lorenzo Imbesi (Conference Chairs)
Angela Giambattista, Viktor Malakuczi (Conference Managers)
Luca D’Elia, Gianni Denaro, Paolo Cenciarelli (Conference Design Team)
[ more photos on facebook instagram linkedin ]

Conference theme
Aligned with the vision of Cumulus Association and its commitment for sharing design knowledge and practices in a global and multidisciplinary perspective, Sapienza University of Rome will host the Annual Cumulus conference with the aim to house and to foster the international debate on the current cultural, social, and economic challenges in design.
In particular, the conference is calling designers, academics and experts to tackle the relationship between Design and Culture, with the purpose of valorizing interdisciplinarity and diversity in Cumulus community.
The working title of the Conference is “Design Culture(s)” and it is aimed to map the most advanced research and education in design, by reflecting on the idea of design as a form of culture, while drawing its field and opening to new directions.
Design Culture(s) is investigating not simply on the concept of culture as a monolithic expression of a specific knowledge that reflects on itself, but as the product of an investigation that is open to many different “Cultures” which are emerging and revolving around it in society, in the places and in history.
We live in an increasingly complex society, which is crossed by new social, cultural and economic challenges and at the same time it is more global and multicultural than ever, more and more enriched by new languages and the flows of people.
As a consequence, design is evolving as a wide-open field with many new applications and cultural meanings.
Design as expression of Culture(s) is taking into consideration the cultures we are inheriting from the past and which should be granted for the benefit of future generations, so intertwining past and future, tangible and intangible, innovation and tradition.
This is the time when it is urgent to multiply the opportunities for knowledge sharing and dissemination, in order to tackle the cultural, societal, economical, technological and industrial shifts of the future, through design education and research.
Key Dates
Launch of the Call For Paper
Deadline for Paper Abstract
Launch of the Call for Poster and Exhibition
Notification of acceptance of Paper Abstract
Deadline for Full Paper, Poster and Exhibition
Notification of acceptance of Full Paper, Poster and Exhibition
Deadline for Camera-ready Paper Submission
Early Bird Registration
Regular Registration
Late Registration
Design Culture(s) Conference