Publications of the DRS include a leading academic journal (Design Studies), published six times a year; electronic newsletters (Design Research News and the DRS Newsletter); conference proceedings for the DRS biennial and other DRS conferences; and reports associated with the activities of the Society. Please visit the DRS Digital Library to explore publications of the DRS
Design Studies Journal
Design Studies is the international academic journal of the Design Research Society focused on developing understanding of design processes. The journal is published by Elsevier and studies design activity across all domains of application, including engineering and product design, architectural and urban design, computer artefacts and systems design. It therefore provides an interdisciplinary forum for the analysis, development and discussion of fundamental aspects of design activity, from cognition and methodology to values and philosophy. The current Editor-in-Chief for the journal is Peter Lloyd, who took over from Nigel Cross in January 2018.
Annual Best Paper Award
Once every year nominations for the best paper from the previous year are made according to the following criteria: contribution to the development of the field of design research, originality of research or scholarship, breadth of relevance, and clarity and style of presentation. From the shortlist the best paper is chosen by the Chair of the DRS together with the Editor-in-Chief of the journal. A prize of £500 is jointly funded by the DRS and Elsevier.
Accessing Design Studies
DRS members benefit from a 40% discount (£132) for a personal subscription to Design Studies though many will be able to access the articles in Design Studies for free in the following ways:
- The journal supports open access publishing, and an increasing number of articles are published in this way;
- The first volume of the year is free to access throughout the year;
- Nominations for best paper awards are published in Virtual Special Issues which are free to access for a period of time;
- Members in developing countries are eligible for free or low cost access to all Elsevier journals via the Hinari UN Programme;
- Post doctoral members who have not yet found permanent employment can apply for free access to Elsevier journals.
Design Research News
Design Research News (DRN) is a free electronic newsletter, established in 1998, that communicates news and events relating to the design research field throughout the world. DRN is mailed automatically via the Jiscmail service at the beginning of each month. DRN currently has over 10,000 subscribers worldwide and is edited by David Durling.
Accessing Design Research News
Subscription to DRN is a service provided by the DRS and is free to members and non-members alike. you can subscribe to DRN by visiting the Jiscmail website and following instructions to subscribing to the Design Research list.
A searchable archive of all back issues of the DRN is available through the customisable JISC search engine at: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/design-research ('Search Archives').
DRS Newsletters
As part of the DRS 50th Anniversary conference the covers of all paper-based DRS Newsletters (1967-1999) were added to an online archive. Copies of these newsletters are held at the University of Brighton Design Archives.
Conference Proceedings
Proceedings have been published from almost all biennial DRS conferences, which are available in the open access DRS Digital Library.
Reports
The DRS publishes reports relating to the activities of the Society. These include a report for the Annual General Meeting, accessible below, and reports of bursary projects awarded.
Design Research Quarterly
Between 2006 and 2009 the DRS published a quarterly journal called Design Research Quarterly (DRQ). The journal was a hybrid, with timely news of Design Research Society, its members and regions and its sister societies, and articles about issues of importance and interest to design research, theory and knowledge. DRQ was set up by the then Communications Secretary, Ken Friedman, and edited by Peter Storkerson. All issues can be found in the DRS Digital Library: