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Aims and Scope
Design Issues is the first American academic journal to examine design history, theory, and criticism. Since its founding in 1984, it has provided a vital forum for informed discussion of design as a cultural and intellectual practice, examining the role of design in shaping our material and social worlds. The journal draws from a range of disciplines—including art, architecture, philosophy, cultural studies, and the social sciences—to explore the impact and evolution of design across contexts.
The journal invites manuscripts that enrich the understanding and practice of design in any area of human endeavor. Their orientation may lie in the investigation of design in the past, present, or future and may employ any approach or method suited to the exploration of design issues. Submissions must demonstrate originality, rigor, and significance.
Journal Information
Publication model: Subscription-based, with online and print access provided by MIT Press
Publishing formats: Scholarly articles, review essays, book reviews, and visual projects
Publication frequency: Quarterly (March, June, September, December)
Launch date: 1984
Peer Review model: Double-anonymized peer review
Indexed in: Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCOhost, JSTOR, ProQuest, and others
Digital archive: Full back issues available via MIT Press Journals and JSTOR
Unique article identifiers: DOI assigned via CrossRef for each published article
AI disclosure policy: Authors must disclose any use of AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) in the manuscript and in the cover letter, following MIT Press’s AI use guidelines
Author information: Authors must submit via the Scholastica submission system. Detailed author guidelines are available here
Journal Statistics
Acceptance rate: Approximately 15–20%
Average time between submission & first decision: 2–4 months
Average time between submission & publication: 9–12 months
Publication Fee
There are no article processing charges (APCs) or submission fees for Design Issues. The journal does not charge authors for publication.
Rights and Permissions
Authors are responsible for obtaining proper permission to reproduce any copyrighted material for which they do not hold rights.
For reprint and licensing inquiries, please contact:
MIT Press Subsidiary Rights Department
255 Main Street, Suite 9
Cambridge, MA 02142-1059
Email: journals-rights@mit.edu
To request permission to reuse Design Issues content, complete the Journals Permissions Request Form. For articles published Open Access, most are distributed under Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 3.0 or 4.0) licenses. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/
Sponsors and Affiliated Institutions
Design Issues is published by MIT Press and hosted at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management. The editorial work is supported in part by Case Western Reserve University.