Back in 2013, we founded the What Design Can Do blog as a hub for inspiring ideas and fresh conversations about the power of design. Since then, our small but dedicated team has made it a mission to engage creatives with issues like climate action, social justice and health & wellbeing. Today we are thrilled to launch a new submissions platform that will allow us to publish original content from the writers in our community. This means we’ll be seeing more new voices on the blog very soon!
So, how does it work?
This invitation is open to writers from all backgrounds, whether you’re a full-time journalist or an aspiring wordsmith hoping to get published for the first time. We currently accept written content in various forms, including recurring series as well as standalone essays, articles, lists, opinion pieces and interviews. We don’t have a formal criteria for selection, but in general, we like to feature people and projects that are activistic, design-driven and innovative. When submitting a story, ask: Does it spark interesting questions about what design can do? In what way does it encourage the creative community to do better for people and the planet? Does it explore a unique or valuable point of view?
For examples, you can take a look at some of our recent guest-written pieces, like this essay by Anoushka Khandwala on decolonising design, or this report by Shay Raviv on how culinary creatives are responding to Covid-19. When you’re ready, you can send your story to us via email. Our editors will review all submissions on a rolling basis. If we like what we see, we will contact you to arrange payment and prepare the piece for publication. At the moment, can offer €250 ex. VAT for accepted contributions once they are ready for publication. If you have any specific questions or concerns, we are happy to discuss further on a case-by-case basis.
Would you like to know more? Please visit our Submission Guidelines to get started.