Modelling single agent design processes is an acknowledged challenge to the Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence research communities. Modelling multi-agent design processes is a new challenge. This challenge - acquiring the ability to model and implement design processes as distributed reasoning systems - has given new impetus to the study of design theory and methodology.

The international Workshop on Intelligent Agents in Design (WAID'2002), held at MIT, and the Intelligent Agents in Design Workshop at AID'02, held at Cambridge University, focussed on research progress, objectives and directions. The goal of this special issue is to further this area of research, exploring and extending the borders of the use of agent technology in and for design.

Topics that may be addressed include:

• Agent-based design communities
• Agent ontologies for design
• Agent reasoning for design
• Co-ordination of design agents
• Creativity and design agents
• Emergent behaviour in multi-agent design systems
• Multi-agent design systems
• Virtual design environments with agents

Important dates