Singapore, 13 – 17 June 2026
We invite you to Singapore, the Hub of Southeast Asia!
Beyond Interaction
In the face of climate change, pandemics, economic and political instability, and the accelerating pace of emerging technologies, the responsibilities of designing interactive systems have expanded well beyond the scope of traditional human-computer interaction. Today, interactive systems are entangled with broader sociocultural, political, economic, and ethical dimensions. We are increasingly witnessing how the deployment of new interactive technologies can produce unforeseen ripple effects across diverse domains.
This calls for a paradigm shift: from a focus on isolated interactions to an ecosystemic perspective—one that attends to the complex networks surrounding humans and more-than-human actors, and that engages with layered sociotechnical, cultural, political, economic, and ethical concerns.
We seek to provoke fundamental reexaminations of what it means to design interactive systems by asking:
- To what extent does the notion of “interactivity” reinforce a dyadic model of human-system relations, potentially limiting our understanding of more distributed, entangled, or systemic forms of interaction?
- How do the things we design interact with broader sociocultural, political, economic, and planetary forces?
- What lies beyond “interaction” that should be made visible in our design processes?
- Given these interconnections, how should we redefine what is “interactive” in interactive systems? And how might such a redefinition help us better navigate their systemic impacts?
Singapore offers a rich context for engaging these questions. As a hyper-urbanized, multicultural hub at the heart of Southeast Asia—and a global testbed for technological innovation—it provides a unique vantage point for rethinking the boundaries of interaction. At DIS 2026 in Singapore, we invite researchers, practitioners, and educators to critically and creatively explore the complexities beyond interaction.
Important Dates
| Submissions | Deadline | Notifications | Camera Ready |
|---|---|---|---|
| Submissions open | 15 December 2025 | ||
| Abstract for Full Papers / Pictorials | 9 January 2026 | ||
| Full Papers /Pictorials | 19 January 2026 | 18 March 2026 | 8 April 2026 |
| Workshops | 6 February 2026 | 23 March 2026 | 10 April 2026 |
| PWiP / Doctoral Consortium | 13 February 2026 | 1 April 2026 | 10 April 2026 |
| Interactivity (Demonstrations) | 27 February 2026 | 1 April 2026 | 10 April 2026 |
| Student Design Competition | 27 February 2026 | 10 April 2026 | |
Hosting Organisation
National University of Singapore (NUS) is Singapore’s flagship university, recognized as the leading university in Asia for its global approach to high-quality education and research, with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise.
The main host of DIS 2026 is the Division of Industrial Design (DID) at NUS. Situated within the College of Design and Engineering, NUS DID fosters distinctive interdisciplinary research in design and human-computer interaction (HCI), integrating technology, engineering, artistic practice, and business innovation into imaginative and impactful design work. As the primary host, NUS DID brings together a vibrant ecosystem of neighboring disciplines across NUS—including the Department of Communications and New Media, the School of Computing, and the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health—as well as collaborators from other local institutions such as Singapore Management University, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore University of Technology and Design, and so on.
Singapore is a leading innovation hub in Asia, with a strong focus on technology, design, and creative industries. The government supports the creative economy through initiatives like DesignSingapore Council, which promotes design as a key driver of innovation. DesignSingapore Council hosts Singapore Design Week, an annual event that showcases the best in design, attracting local and international participants. Singapore is also known for its Smart Nation initiative that promotes the integration of digital technologies in urban policy and design, enhancing connectivity and quality of life. The DIS 2026 Singapore participants will engage in a rich mix of cultures, cutting-edge innovation and creative industries in Asia.
Open Access Publishing
Starting January 1, 2026, ACM will fully transition to Open Access. All ACM publications, including those from ACM-sponsored conferences, will be 100% Open Access. Contributions published at DIS2026 will now come under the new ACM Open Access Publishing Model. Read the details of what this means and how it will affect publications here.
*The logo of DIS 2026 invites you to reimagine the meaning of “Interactive” in “Designing Interactive Systems”. In this logo, the character between D and S is not a singular “I”, it is a composition of multiple squares, symbolizing plurality, complexity, decentralization, and ecosystems that extend beyond dyadic human-technology interactions.
When you look at it closely, you will find within and beyond “I”, the entanglement of lived realities, cultural plurality, and more-than-human agents, all coexisting as part of a rich and multifaceted system. The logo extends an open invitation to all: to take part in this reimagining and to ask, what lies beyond interaction?
The logo was designed by Syafiq Bin Rahim (Master’s student) and Daniel Campos Muniz (PhD student) from the Division of Industrial Design, National University of Singapore.