Design Journal (e-ISSN: 2964-6227 | p-ISSN: 2964-805X) is a free and open-access journal published by the Research Division, YPMMA Institute, Indonesia. Published twice a year — January and July.

Focus and Scope

Design Journal is a well-established, leading international, scientific, peer-reviewed, open-access journal covering many aspects of design. The journal provides a lively forum for a broad audience of design scholars, researchers, practitioners, educators, and managers worldwide. It aims to publish thought-provoking work that has a direct impact on design knowledge, challenges assumptions and methods, and remains open-minded about the evolving role of design — including its intersections with technology, education, culture, and sustainability.

Design Journal welcomes interdisciplinary design research grounded in design science and design-based research approaches — encompassing studies that design, develop, prototype, and evaluate artifacts, systems, models, or media to address real-world problems. All published articles are assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), ensuring permanent accessibility and robust linkage within the scholarly literature.

The journal's main focus areas are organized into the following clusters:

1. Product, Industrial & Engineering Design

  • Product development, industrial design processes, ergonomics, and functional-aesthetic integration
  • Smart product prototypes, IoT-enabled systems, and sensor-integrated device design
  • Sustainable materials, green engineering processes, and waste-to-resource design solutions

2. Visual, Communication & Digital Design

  • Graphic design, typography, branding, illustration, and visual storytelling
  • Motion graphics, animation, digital media, and interactive multimedia
  • Game design, gamification, and narrative-based (visual novel) design

3. Interior, Architectural & Spatial Design

  • Interior architecture, spatial planning, and environmental design
  • Sustainable and urban architectural design practices
  • Augmented and virtual reality applications in spatial experience design

4. Instructional & Educational Design

  • Design and development of instructional media, e-learning tools, and interactive learning platforms
  • Educational game design and gamified learning experiences
  • Design of pedagogical models, learning frameworks, and curriculum innovations

5. Cultural, Sustainable & Craft Design

  • Traditional craftsmanship, material exploration, and culturally-informed design practices
  • Digital preservation and interactive design for cultural and intangible heritage
  • Circular design, eco-design, and life-cycle-oriented design strategies

6. Interaction, UX & Service Design

  • User interface design, usability engineering, and human-centered design methods
  • Service design, systemic design, and design for social innovation
  • Design management, design thinking, and design-driven business strategy

7. Design Evaluation & Usability Studies

  • User satisfaction and experience evaluation of design-driven products, media, and platforms
  • Usability testing and empirical assessment of interface and interaction design
  • Design theory, criticism, and reflective analysis of design practice

Design Journal welcomes a variety of manuscript types, including original research articles, case studies, design prototypes and their evaluation, conceptual and theoretical papers, as well as systematic and critical literature reviews that provide a foundational synthesis of design knowledge across the areas above.

Peer Review Process

Submitted manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. All manuscripts undergo a rigorous double-blind peer review process conducted by at least two independent reviewers with expertise in the relevant subject area.

  1. Initial Screening — The editorial team checks the manuscript for scope, formatting, and plagiarism compliance.
  2. Plagiarism Check — All submissions are screened using iThenticate, Turnitin, and Copyleaks prior to peer review.
  3. Double-Blind Review — Manuscripts are sent to at least two qualified reviewers; both author and reviewer identities remain anonymous.
  4. Editorial Decision — Based on reviewer recommendations: Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, or Reject.
  5. Revision & Re-review — Revised manuscripts may be returned to reviewers for re-evaluation.
  6. Final Decision & Production — Accepted manuscripts proceed to copyediting, layout, and publication.

Design Journal strives for a rigorous yet efficient review process. On average, authors can expect a first decision within 7 days, a peer review period of 14 days, a total submission-to-acceptance time of approximately 28 days, and publication within 7 days of acceptance. Design Journal is committed to a fair, transparent, and timely review process in accordance with best practices recommended by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics).

Special Issue Policy

Design Journal periodically publishes Special Issues dedicated to emerging and high-impact topics in design research and practice. Special Issues are guest-edited by leading experts and undergo the same rigorous double-blind peer review process as regular submissions.

Proposals for Special Issues should include:

  • A clear title and description of the proposed theme
  • Relevance to the journal's scope and current research trends
  • Names and affiliations of proposed Guest Editors
  • Proposed timeline for submission, review, and publication

Proposals may be submitted via the Contact Us page.

AI Policy

Design Journal acknowledges the growing role of Artificial Intelligence tools in academic writing and research. The following policy applies to all submissions:

  • Disclosure required — Authors must clearly disclose in the manuscript if AI-assisted tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Copilot, Grammarly AI) were used in the preparation, writing, or editing of the manuscript.
  • AI cannot be an author — AI tools do not meet the criteria for authorship and must not be listed as authors or co-authors.
  • Author responsibility — Authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of all content, including any AI-assisted portions.
  • AI-generated content — Manuscripts substantially generated by AI without significant intellectual contribution from the authors will be rejected.

This policy is aligned with the guidelines of COPE and leading international publishers.

Publication Frequency

Design Journal is published twice a year (biannual) — January and July. Each issue features a collection of peer-reviewed research articles, reviews, and case studies covering the full scope of design. Submission slots per issue are limited; the journal may close submissions early once the issue capacity is reached, without prior notice. Authors are advised to check the latest Announcements for current submission status.

Open Access Statement

Design Journal is a fully Open Access journal. All published content is freely available online immediately upon publication, without subscription or pay-per-view fees. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles, consistent with the principles of open access.

This journal believes that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge and is associated with increased readership and citation impact. For more information, see the Public Knowledge Project.

Article Processing Charges (APC)

Design Journal applies an Article Processing Charge (APC) to cover the costs of peer review management, copyediting, typesetting, and online hosting. APC details, including applicable fees and waiver information, are available on the Publication Fee page.

Design Journal is committed to full transparency in publication fees as part of its open access principles. Waivers or discounts may be available for authors from low-income countries or in cases of demonstrated financial hardship. Please contact the editorial office for further information.

Once a manuscript has been accepted for publication following the peer review process and the Article Processing Charge has been paid, the fee is non-refundable. This policy reflects the fact that significant editorial resources — including peer review coordination, copyediting, typesetting, and platform hosting — are committed upon acceptance, regardless of any subsequent author request to withdraw the manuscript. Authors are therefore strongly advised to ensure their manuscript is final and ready for publication before proceeding with payment.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

All articles published in Design Journal are assigned a unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI) via Crossref, ensuring permanent and reliable linking to published content. DOIs are assigned upon final publication and are included in all article metadata.

Copyright and License

Authors who publish in Design Journal retain copyright of their work. All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Creative Commons License CC BY 4.0

Plagiarism & AI Detection Policy

Design Journal has a strict policy against plagiarism and academic misconduct. All submitted manuscripts are screened using iThenticate, Turnitin, and Copyleaks before entering the peer-review process. Manuscripts with a similarity index exceeding the acceptable threshold will be returned to the authors for revision or rejected outright.

Authors must also disclose any use of AI-assisted writing tools. Undisclosed AI-generated content is considered a form of academic misconduct and will be handled under COPE guidelines. Please refer to our AI Policy section above for full details.

Publication Ethics

Design Journal is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics for all parties involved — authors, reviewers, and editors. Our publication ethics policy covers author duties, reviewer responsibilities, editorial standards, conflict of interest, retraction and correction procedures, and handling of misconduct. For the complete statement, please visit our dedicated Publication Ethics page.

Conflict of Interest Policy

All authors, reviewers, and editors are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could influence the objectivity or integrity of the research or review process.

  • Authors — must declare all competing interests in the submitted manuscript.
  • Reviewers — must decline to review manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest.
  • Editors — must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where a conflict exists.

Retraction and Correction Policy

Design Journal follows the COPE Retraction Guidelines for handling post-publication corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern.

  • Correction — issued when a minor error does not affect the overall findings or conclusions.
  • Retraction — issued when an article contains major errors, fabricated data, plagiarism, or serious ethical violations.
  • Expression of Concern — issued when an investigation is ongoing and there is uncertainty about the integrity of the work.

Retracted articles remain visible on the journal website with a clear retraction notice and are flagged in all relevant databases and indexing services.

Archiving Policy

Design Journal is committed to the long-term preservation and accessibility of all published content. The journal participates in both LOCKSS and CLOCKSS archiving systems, enabling participating libraries worldwide to create permanent archives for purposes of preservation and restoration.

  • LOCKSS — Participating libraries may use the LOCKSS system to collect, preserve, and restore this journal's content.
  • CLOCKSS — Participating libraries may use the CLOCKSS system to collect, preserve, and restore this journal's content.

Authors are also encouraged to self-archive their accepted manuscripts in institutional or subject repositories.

Journal History

  • 2023
    Design Journal was first published, establishing itself as a peer-reviewed, open-access platform dedicated to design research under the Research Division, YPMMA Institute, Indonesia.
  • 2024
    DOI integration via Crossref was implemented, ensuring all published articles receive a permanent Digital Object Identifier for reliable scholarly linking.
  • 2025
    Expanded editorial board with international reviewers, strengthening the journal's commitment to rigorous double-blind peer review across all design disciplines.

Submissions that do not fall within the journal's scope will be returned to the author without review. Authors are encouraged to read the Author Guidelines before submitting.