Organizer Information:

Nieuwe Instituut and STIR. Design Drafts is a growing writing and publishing network dedicated to investigating what it means to write about design today. STIR is an award-winning global media house and curatorial agency fostering creativity across design, architecture, art, and creative technology.

Title & Description:

Applications are open for Design Drafts #4: Design Dialects.

This open call invites writers to explore how design knowledge travels, transforms, and is reshaped across cultures, contexts, and systems of power. Five selected applicants will trace how design knowledge is produced and translated—whether through craft traditions, migration, colonial histories, digital infrastructures, informal economies, or institutional frameworks. Contributions can take the form of essays, written design experiments, speculative propositions, fiction, visual arguments, love letters, poems, or other hybrid formats.

Category:

Design, Architecture, & Digital Culture.

Eligibility:

  • Who: Open to writers, practitioners, critics, and researchers worldwide. There is no age limit, and absolutely no formal publishing or design writing experience is required.
  • Language: Proposals MUST be submitted in English. (Note: While English proficiency may vary, the organizers welcome experimental approaches to translation and hybrid language use. However, no translation support is provided).

Program Benefits & Awards:

  • Fixed Fee: Each of the 5 selected writers will receive a fixed fee of €750.
  • Editorial Support: Selected applicants will participate in one-on-one and group writing, editing, and developing sessions with the editorial staff between June and November 2026.
  • Publication: The final contributions will be published globally on STIRworld.com.

Application Fee & Program Costs:

  • Application Fee: Free to apply.

Application Requirements:

  • File Formatting: Applications MUST be submitted as a single PDF file. A CV is strictly NOT required.
  • Required Contents within the PDF:
    1. Proposal: A short overview of your proposed topic and your chosen writing format. This must be a maximum of 250 words.
    2. Biography: A short introduction to who you are. This must be a maximum of 100 words.
    3. Contact Info: Full name, country of residence, email address, and telephone number.

How to Apply?

Email your single PDF application directly to designdrafts@nieuweinstituut.nl.

Key Dates:

  • Application Deadline: May 15, 2026, at 00:00 CEST.
  • Writing Trajectory: June – November 2026.

Location:

Online / Remote.

Contact Information:

Submissions & Inquiries Email: designdrafts@nieuweinstituut.nl

Website: https://nieuweinstituut.nl/en/articles/open-call-design-drafts-4