About the Journal

The Journal of Design and Craft Studies (JDCS) is a peer-reviewed, open-access academic journal dedicated to publishing original, rigorous, and impactful research across the full spectrum of design and craft disciplines. JDCS provides a transdisciplinary platform that brings together theory, practice, and reflection, fostering innovative methodologies and critical perspectives.

Aims

Building on the integrative spirit of design discourse, JDCS examines the cultural, social, economic, philosophical, and technological dimensions of design and craft. The journal’s mission is to advance design and craft-driven inquiry that not only interrogates aesthetic and technical practices but also addresses broader socio-technical, political, and cultural systems. We also invite practitioners and practice-based researchers to submit their work with a strong practice orientation. 

JDCS encourages work that explores:

  • The role of design and craft in shaping socio-technical and socio-political environments
  • The intersections of material practices, innovation, ethics, and emerging technologies
  • How design and craft contribute to social justice, inclusion, sustainability, and cultural resilience
  • The ways in which design thinking, craft knowledge, and creative methodologies generate new forms of value, cultural, economic, and social

We welcome submissions that advance fresh and meaningful scholarship from African and global contexts. These include theoretical, methodological, historical, and practice-based contributions; research that critiques or redefines design and craft knowledge; and work that centres regions marked by austerity, inequality, repair, maintenance, and invisible labour. JDCS values research that draws from diverse epistemologies, including indigenous knowledge systems, intersectional analysis, and science and technology studies, to deepen understanding of material culture, making, and design in contemporary life.

By promoting dialogue between traditional and contemporary approaches to material arts and design, JDCS aims to cultivate a vibrant research community that challenges boundaries, nurtures interdisciplinary innovation, and expands the future of design and craft studies.

Scope

The Journal of Design and Craft Studies welcome submissions that question established norms of design and craft practice, highlight ignored forms of labour and making, and engage critically and creatively with the evolving relationship between design, craft, technology, and society. We support research that fosters new forms of collaboration across disciplines, regions, and knowledge systems.

We invite contributions in areas including, but not limited to:

  • Ethics and AI in human-centered design and craft
  • Design and craft innovations
  • Sustainable practices and policies
  • Psychology, education, and pedagogy
  • Culture and heritage preservation
  • Design, Power, and Social Justice
  • Philosophy, Theory, and Methodology in Design and Craft Research

Publisher – Institute of Textiles and Fashion Professionals, Ghana

Announcements

Current Issue

Vol. 1 (2026)
View Vol. 1 (2026)

The publication of open-access papers is in progress.

Published: 2026-07-20

Editorial

Articles

View All Issues

Open Access Statement

Journal of Design and Craft Studies (JDCS) is an Open Access Journal, which is a vital part of ITFP-GH’s commitment to advancing unfettered access to scientific literature and ensuring a transparent world of research where researchers can share scientific literature and utilise each other’s work to advance the frontiers of knowledge. 

Journal of Design and Craft Studies (JDCS) offers an extensive range of open-access options to meet the varied desires of academic institutions and communities, funders, and researchers globally, without compromising quality, research integrity, and rigorous peer review. Thus, the Journal of Design and Craft Studies (JDCS) will continually support researchers in accessing the knowledge they require, irrespective of the model under which it will be published.

All articles published by the Journal of Design and Craft Studies (JDCS) are fully Open Access (OA). As an open access journal without any subscription charges, an Article Processing Charge (APC) applies, payable by the authors, funder or author's institutional. This makes the published works easily and permanently accessible to all. 

The journal is currently free to the authors, and all Article Processing Charges (APCs) are waived until 30 December 2026.

Journal of Design and Craft Studies (JDCS) is under the Creative Commons License.

All works published in Journal of Design and Craft Studies (JDCS) are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.