Hong Kong・2025: International Forum on Design Service & Social Innovation

Official Website：https://michelangelo-scholar.com/Home

1. About the Forum

Design service and social innovation are not new topics, yet they continually evolve with fresh perspectives and expectations. Society has come to recognize the growing influence of cultural values and social dynamics on design challenges—issues that often cannot be resolved through the analysis of surface-level factors alone. Existing design knowledge and experience reveal clear limitations. We attempt to invite outstanding scholars and innovative practitioners to gather in Hong Kong through international forums, share experiences and best practices, and jointly explore how design services can solve complex and challenging problems, promoting sustainable development of society.

One of the challenges we face is that the application of new technologies is changing the old model of design services, and technological tools are attempting to analyze humanistic and emotional needs through quantitative means. Designers are in a passive position to upgrade their service quality.

This forum adheres to the purpose of non-profit academic activities, implements rigorous academic admission and evaluation standards, and adopts an academic route that integrates theoretical research and design practice. This forum consists of three parts: the keynote speech of the main-forum, the oral report of the sub-forum, and the poster display. A "Design Night" exchange session will be arranged for participants to actively promote the new integration of academic research, industrial development, and social practice knowledge. The forum mainly focuses on design science, design criticism, social ethics of design, Artificial Intelligence and Design, vulnerable groups, and Sustainable Design. Our fundamental goal is to harness the transformative power of design research and service innovation, and towards a world of sustained prosperity and greater inclusivity.

2. Main topics

Scope of submission

1. New paradigm： Rethinking the Nature of Innovation

2. Cultural Identity and Design Criticism

3. Social Ethics in Design

4. Artificial Intelligence and Design

5. Sustainable Design and Environmental Justice

 Due to the forum's time constraints, the final number of accepted papers will not exceed 20. All accepted papers will be published free of charge in the Journal of Design Service and Social Innovation(JDSSI) (https://michelangelo-scholar.com/JDSSI) and the Journal of Architecture and Urban Design (JAUD) (https://michelangelo-scholar.com/JAUD).

3. Experts

Main-Forum

Forum chairman: Xiangyang Xin, Ph.D., Professor, Tongji University, Shanghai

Keynote Speakers

Richard Buchanan, Ph.D., Professor, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland

Stephen Boyd Davis, Ph.D., Professor, Royal  College of Art, London

Fangwu Tung, Ph.D., Professor, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu

Shashank Mehta, Principal Faculty, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad

Matthew Robb, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Parsons School of Design, New York

Lawrence Marcelle, Ph.D., Part-time Assistant Professor, Parsons School of Design, New York

Henry Duh, Ph.D., Professor, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

Mitamura Ariyoshi, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Kyoto University of the Arts, Kyoto

Juan Salamanca Garcia, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Fanke Peng, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of South Australia, Adelaide

 * Continuously Update (Arrange according to the order of invitations)

4. Important Dates

• Deadline for the manuscripts that have passed the abstract review: June 25, 2025.
• Authors who have not submitted an abstract for review can directly submit a completed manuscript. Deadline: June 25, 2025. These manuscripts  notification date: July 1, 2025.
• Registration deadline: August 1, 2025.

Submission email: m.scholar2023@gmail.com

                                        mspl-editor@michelangelo-scholar.com

Manuscript requirements 

The Forum accepts English manuscripts only, and the papers should have academic innovation or practical reference value and should not have been publicly published in national and international academic journals and conferences. All submitted manuscripts will be peer-reviewed. The authors must provide a Turnitin plagiarism report. The manuscript with high plagiarism rates will not be accepted (less than 10% plagiarism and no key points copied). 

After the forum ends, follow-up work will be improved, and certificates and registration fee receipts for participating in the forum will be sent electronically to the email address. The authors need to revise the suggestions put forward by experts actively. After the final quality review (academic quality and language polishing), the manuscripts will be officially published in two academic journals, JDSSI and JAUD. Oral and Poster are two parallel channels for participation, and there is no difference in the formal publication process.

5. Date and Location

Date: August 6-8，2025

Location: Hong Kong (Hybrid Conference)

Organizer: MICHELANGELO SCHOLAR PUBLISHING LIMITED (MSPL)

6. Registration Fee

[Early-bird ticket]（before July 5th）: 550 USD for individuals; 500 USD for group (3 people or more)

[Standard ticket]（after July 5th）: 600 USD 

[Conference only] (before July 5th): 500 USD

[Conference only] (after July 5th): 600 USD

 Note:  Authors who have passed the review and paid the registration fee, if they participate in the annual international design forum of MSPL again in the future, only need to apply to obtain participation qualification (free of registration fee).