We decided to build off the momentum from last year’s Emergence conference and tackle service design again. But “again” is really the wrong way to put it, because that’s not how we’re thinking about it.

The theme is Exploring the Boundaries of Service Design, and it will take place September 7–9. Our goal is to explore the boundaries and interrelatedness of design disciplines within the realm of service design, which wasn’t really done last year. Specifically, we want to address service design’s relevance to communication design, interaction design, and industrial design. And really we hope to make this year’s conference different.

So does this mean Emergence is the service design conference? We considered this seriously, and the answer is no. Going forward, Emergence will remain a conference that focuses on emerging design themes. But with this being only the second year, and having only scratched the surface of service design last year, we believe it makes sense to give it another whirl this year.

I got the Emergence website up and running over the weekend. By up and running, I mean it’s dynamically driven and has an RSS feed, but it’s not in its final form. We outlined the content also this weekend, and will be finalizing the design and layout over the next few weeks.

The site will have regular updates on our progress and guest postings (we hope) to help build anticipation for those who plan to attend and create a dialogue with those who cannot. If you have any ideas for the site, let me know.

We are currently working on identifying keynote speakers, and will also get a call for papers out soon. Lots to do. Little time.