Submissions wanted (design) (worldwide) | ~$315 per article

COMPANY/PUBLICATION: WHAT DESIGN CAN DO 

Deadline: 1 October 2023

Founded in 2013, the What Design Can Do blog is a platform for inspiring ideas and fresh conversations about the power of design. We currently publish 2-3 stories a month, with the aim of engaging creative communities with issues like climate action, social justice and health & wellbeing.
CALL FOR STORIES ON DESIGN & HERITAGE

This October, WDCD returns to Mexico City for a new edition of our annual festival on the power of design. One of the key themes of this year’s programme is the intersection of design, heritage and ancestral knowledge. In particular, we seek to reveal how lessons from past generations can help guide our creative responses to the environmental and social challenges of tomorrow.

Would you like to contribute to the conversation? We are currently looking for original articles, interviews and essays that touch on this theme in a personal or critical way. Submissions should be no more than 1,500 words in length, and topics can include—but aren’t limited to:

• How does your cultural heritage influence the way you design?
• How does it shape your relationship with nature?
• What can we do to address the harmful legacies that still affect the design industry today?
• What can we learn from Indigenous or ancient ways of making, thinking and living?
• What does it mean for a designer to be a good ancestor?

Please send your entries to submissions@whatdesigncando.com with the subject line ‘ON DESIGN & HERITAGE’ by 1 October 2023. Selected contributors will be published on our blog and receive €250,- for their submission. See our detailed guidelines below.

Are you interested in contributing to the blog? Please read the following guidelines before submitting your article for review, and make sure to check out our terms and conditions.

What ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

• In general, we like to feature news, people and projects that are activistic and design-driven. As champions of creativity, we want to highlight what it can do, instead of what it cannot do.
• We accept written content in various forms, including recurring series as well as standalone essays, opinion pieces, articles, creative profiles and interviews. In terms of length, our stories are usually around 1,000 words each.
• We do not typically publish creative writing in the form of prose or poetry.
• We do not accept promotional or commercial content directed towards sales or donations.
• If your submission is based on an academic text, please consider adapting the tone and language to a more editorial style. Think more along the lines of a design column, rather than a research paper.
• Our readers are creative and forward-thinking. They are interested in a wide range of topics and disciplines, from fashion and architecture to gender and the circular economy. Have a look at some of our recent stories to get an idea of what’s done well in the past.
• We also appreciate stories and voices that we haven’t had on our blog before. If you’re unsure, send us a message.
• We reserve the right to decline submissions that fall outside our editorial scope or calendar.
• Please include high-quality images and original artwork, if you have them.
• Please make sure that your submission has not been published elsewhere.
• Do you prefer writing with a prompt? Sometimes we launch open calls based on specific themes. Subscribe to our newsletter or follow our social media for the latest updates!

WHO CAN SUBMIT?

• Writers from all countries and backgrounds are welcome. You do not have to be a journalist, and no story is too small or local.
• We publish in English, but can offer support to writers for whom it is a second language.

WHAT DO WE OFFER?

• We pay €250 (ex. VAT) for accepted contributions (of approx. 1,000 words) once they are ready for publication
• We typically publish one submission per month, depending on our other projects and activities
• Access to an international audience of engaged creatives and design-lovers

Interested in this OPPORTUNITY?

When you are ready, please send an email to submissions (at) whatdesigncando.com with the piece in an attached text file, including any images. We review incoming submissions every two weeks, and will do our best to respond as soon as possible. If our editors like your submission, they will reach out and work with you to prepare the piece for publication. Please keep in mind that our team is small, and it may take a while for us to get back to you!

CONTACT INFORMATION (please do not share the email address publicly):

Questions/applications: submissions@whatdesigncando.com

Website: https://www.whatdesigncando.com

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