Established in 1984, Design Issues remains at the forefront of academic research in design history, theory, and criticism
Today is World Design Day, and we are spending the day looking back on the history of one of our beloved journals, Design Issues—which celebrates 40 years of publication this year.
The first American academic journal to examine design history, theory, and criticism, Design Issues provokes inquiry into the cultural and intellectual issues surrounding design. Regular features include theoretical and critical articles by professional and scholarly contributors, extensive book and exhibition reviews, and visual sequences. Special guest-edited issues concentrate on particular themes, such as design history, human-computer interface, service design, organization design, design for development, and product design methodology.
We are thrilled to celebrate 40 years of Design Issues in 2024—and to mark the occasion, the journal has made 10 of their top articles free to access throughout the year on topics including biomimicry, typography, and more. Explore these articles below and learn more about Design Issues.
Emily Kennedy, et al. 2015. “Biomimicry: A Path to Sustainable Innovation.”
Elvin Karana, Owain Pedgley, Valentina Rognoli. 2015. “On Materials Experience.”
Stephen J. Beckett. 2017. “The Logic of the Design Problem: A Dialectical Approach.”
Per Liljenberg Halstrøm. 2017. “Rhetorical Tools for Discovery and Amplification of DesignArguments.”
Robert Wiesenberger, Elizabeth Resnick. 2018. “Basel to Boston: An Itinerary for Modernist Typography in America.”
Richard Buchanan. 2019. “Surroundings and Environments in Fourth Order Design.”
Ruedi Baur, Ulrike Felsing. 2019. “On the Cultural Anchoring of Knowledge Visualization.”
Kipum Lee. 2020. “From Margin to Institution: Design as a Marketplace for Action in Organizations.”
Elizabeth Guffey. 2021. “In the Wake of Universal Design: Mapping the Terrain.”
Boris Hennig, Matthias Rauterberg. 2022. “The Significance of Aristotle’s Four Causes in Design Research.”