VIRTUAL Prague Research & Teaching Conference
Abstract
This exploratory article presents a methodology aimed at guiding researchers in recognising and documenting authors within their fields of study. The approach builds on doctoral research conducted since 2021, focusing on the inscription of designer Helena Cardoso into Portuguese Design History. The study involved thirty in-depth interviews with specialists including historians, researchers, curators, artisans, manufacturers, and employed a range of ethnographic methods, including life stories, interviews, visual analysis, and observation. Comprehensive research was carried out on various contents such as newspapers, catalogues, leaflets, posters, photographs and pieces, covering specialised libraries, bookshops, galleries, museums, research centers, private and collectors’ collections. The proposed methodology outlines each phase of the process, from preliminary research to final inscription, illustrated through the detailed case study of Helena Cardoso. Designed to meet the challenges of working with individuals who have no significant records or whose contributions have been historically ignored, this methodology emphasises capturing the narratives of those who have had a significant impact on their communities or who have developed substantial work in their fields. Cardoso’s body of work fulfils the option of substantial work, developed through a design vision with resilience and courage that proposes solutions to contemporary problems. Designed to meet the challenges of working with individuals who have no significant records or whose contributions have been historically ignored. A visual infographic of the methodology serves as an additional output, offering researchers a clear and actionable framework for similar inscription efforts.
Maria Bruno Néo (Lisbon, Portugal) Current a Ph.D. Design candidate at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Porto (FBAUP). Maria holds a scholarship 2022.11272.BD from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia for the development of the research project “The Incomplete History of Portuguese Design: Contributions to Helena Cardoso’s inscription”, hosted by the Research Institute for Design, Media and Culture (ID+). https://www.cienciavitae.pt/portal/C115-774C-2811
Luís Mendonça is a Designer, Design Educator, and Researcher at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Porto (FBAUP), where he completed his Ph.D. in 2013 and currently is auxiliar professor. Luís is a member of Research Institute in Design Media and Culture (ID+) and ELOS-Galego-Portuguese Association for Research in Children’s and Youth Literature at the University of Santiago de Compostela. Luís has a multifaceted profile and is an awarded designer. Mendonça develops multidisciplinary work in the fields of Communication Design, Product Design, Social Design, Entrepreneurship, Illustration, Scenography, Architecture, Museography, and Sculpture. His work is between, from curatorship to editing, from public sculpture to industrial products, and from traditional workshops to contemporary technology. It is marked by transversality.
Susana Barreto is a Design Educator and Researcher at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Porto. Susana is a member of the Research Institute for Design Media and Culture (ID+). Susana’s scholarly inquiry is focused on the role of ethics in visual communication, design and crime, cross-cultural design and plural narratives in design through local stories. Susana has been involved in research projects focusing on the preservation of specialised knowledge at risk of disappearance that is embedded in the individual experiences of retired professors, artists, researchers, and practitioners in the fields of arts, crafts, and design.
11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Wednesday 11th June, 2025