Design Drafts #4 – Design Dialects

Design Drafts #4: Design Dialects is an open call for writers, practitioners, critics, and researchers worldwide to explore how design knowledge is produced, translated, and reshaped across cultures, contexts, and systems of power.

Five writers will be selected to trace these journeys — whether through craft traditions, migration, colonial histories, digital infrastructures, informal economies, or institutional frameworks. Contributions can take many forms: essays, speculative propositions, fiction, visual arguments, love letters, poems, or other hybrid formats. There is no requirement for formal publishing or design writing experience, and no age limit applies.

Each selected writer will receive a fixed fee of €750 and participate in one-on-one and group editorial sessions with staff from Nieuwe Instituut and STIR between June and November 2026. Final contributions will be published globally on STIRworld.com.

How to apply:

Submit a single PDF (no CV required) containing

• A proposal of up to 250 words outlining your topic and chosen writing format
• A biography of up to 100 words
• Your full name, country of residence, email address, and telephone number

Proposals must be submitted in English. Email your PDF directly to designdrafts@nieuweinstituut.nl by 15 May 2026 at 00:00 CEST.