Call for Papers

We invite you to submit article proposals in the form of abstracts containing the title of the proposed text (working title), a summary of the article (up to 1500 characters including spaces), and its keywords to [email protected].
We will invite selected authors to expand the text in the full version.

Planned issues:

Issue No. 31/2026: Folk Again… (winter 2026)

Abstract submission deadline: 10 July 2026.
Full article submission deadline: 31 August 2026.
Publication date: Winter 2026.

The inspiration for this issue of Formy is the exhibition Citizen Cepelia, planned for autumn 2026. The show at the National Museum in Kraków will be curated by Piotr Korduба, author of the landmark Folk Art for Sale (2013). We are also witnessing another folk turn in historical writing, with Adam Leszczyński’s A People’s History of Poland (2020) as a key reference point. This resonates with the twenty-first-century return to ethnodesign. So — folk again. We would like the contributions to this issue to address both the classic forms of folk presence in design and the question of whether folk culture can still serve as a source of design inspiration today. What functions did folk culture serve within the modernist tradition? What were the actual outcomes of attempts to reconcile industrial production with rural craft traditions? How did those attempts shape Poland’s material culture? Which approaches to exploring folk culture have proved lasting? Does folk culture in its classical, nineteenth-century sense still serve as a direct source of design inspiration? In late modernity, are such inspirations free from condescension — and do they extend beyond the aesthetic? What might be a more contemporary equivalent of folkloric motifs, and how should the concept of “the people” be understood from a design perspective today? Where are the non-mainstream and underprivileged areas of our culture that inspire designers — including graphic designers?

Issue No. 30/2026: Socially Responsible (autumn 2026)

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 15 May 2026.
Deadline for submission of complete articles: 26 June 2026.
Issue publication date: autumn 2026.

Design has long aspired to serve the common good. Terms such as inclusive, universal, or participatory design have become part of mainstream discourse – and in doing so risk losing their critical edge. Is “accessibility” as a technical and legal standard enough to speak of just design? Might participation be a tool for legitimising decisions already made? Who really benefits when major corporations declare their products “inclusive by design”?

Issue 30 of Formy invites engagement with these questions without ready-made answers. We are looking for texts that go beyond documenting good practice – texts that interrogate the field’s foundational assumptions: its concepts, methods, actors, and power structures. We welcome both theoretical reflection and critical analysis of concrete design cases.

Topics that may be addressed in this issue include:

Critical analysis of key concepts: inclusive, universal, accessible, and participatory design – overlaps, tensions, contradictions
Design justice – social justice as a framework for design practice
Power and representation: who defines user needs? Who remains invisible in the design process?
Participation as method and as myth – the limits of co-design with marginalised communities
Inclusive washing: the commercialisation of inclusion language in design practice and brand communication
Aesthetics vs. accessibility – does designing for everyone require abandoning beauty?
Digital design and AI in the face of exclusion: algorithmic bias, interface accessibility, WCAG
Designing public services and policies – service design in the context of inequality
Research methodologies with vulnerable groups: ethics, representation, risk
Speculative and critical design in response to social exclusion
Case studies: successes, failures, and paradoxes of socially responsible design

Issue No. 29/2026: Sozological design (summer 2026)

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 27 February 2026.
Deadline for submission of complete articles: 17 April 2026.
Issue publication date: summer 2026.

Issue 29 will be devoted to the relationship between design and sozology, understood as nature conservation and counteracting the negative effects of human activity. On the one hand, design is sometimes seen as contributing to increased production and consumption, while on the other, it can be an effective tool for limiting environmental destruction and, consequently, threats to humans. In recent years, sustainable design has clearly gained in importance, both in a broad sense and in the narrower perspective of eco-design. This is reflected, among other things, in the treatment of waste as a raw material, the use of biodegradable materials, the promotion of product longevity and repairability, as well as a shift towards biophilia and many other design practices. This is the second issue of our quarterly magazine devoted to this topic – the first, entitled Around Circularity, was published four years ago. However, it seems reasonable to return to this subjects, as its importance is constantly growing and evolving: new opportunities are emerging, but so are threats.

Issue No. 28/2026: Design tools (spring 2026)

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 16 February 2026.
Deadline for submission of complete articles: 16 March 2026.
Issue publication date: spring 2026.

The spring issue will be devoted to design tools. Unprecedented, dynamic technological development and the digitisation of life have led to the evolution of design support tools. We recognise the positive and negative consequences of this phenomenon and are interested in both theoretical voices that update and organise knowledge on this subject, as well as descriptions of the practical use of various design tools (case studies). At the same time, our psychomotor skills are not developing as fast as technology. Should we therefore take a fresh look at traditional, analogue methods of collaboration and communication, recognising their deeply human dimension? Is drawing still a necessary skill? Is rapid prototyping with pizza boxes and silver tape better than advanced digital simulation? What range of possibilities do we have at our disposal and how does this change the profession of a designer? What do we gain from using new tools, is it just optimisation of time and costs, or perhaps something more? We are open to different interpretations of the topic of design tools, noting that when designing, the mind, hand, eye and language are used.

Issue No. 27/2025: Fringes of Design (winter 2025)

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 30 July 2025.
Deadline for submission of complete articles: 15 September 2025.
Issue publication date: December 2025.

Increasingly, market-driven design is being criticised as a tool that supports overproduction and overconsumption. In response to these phenomena, critical currents are developing in design, as well as projects of a utopian and speculative nature. On the periphery of the main trend, participatory practices involving users in the co-creation process are also emerging, as well as solutions using new technologies – from the transformation of physical products into services to applications of artificial intelligence that reshape the roles of designer and viewer in new ways. We encourage authors who find the exploration of these areas inspiring to submit texts and join this multi-faceted discussion.

We invite designers, curators and researchers to submit articles, analyses, case studies, etc.

Issue No. 26/2025: Designing for the city: wellbeing, community, speculation (autumn 2025)

The city is more than buildings and streets – it is a space of everyday life in which design plays a key role. We are looking for texts for an issue dedicated to design for urban spaces. We want to look at how design can influence the quality of life of residents, strengthen social connections and create more sustainable and inclusive spaces.

We are interested in topics such as:
Urban design activism – how can grassroots initiatives and design tools engage residents?
Speculative design – what alternative visions of cities can we imagine?
Pro-social design – how do we create cities for all, without barriers and exclusions?
Urban wellbeing – how does design affect health, air quality, access to green space and living comfort?

We invite designers, urban planners, researchers and activists to submit articles, analyses, case studies etc.

Submissions (abstract of up to 1,500 characters including spaces) will be accepted until 30.04.2025 at [email protected]
Selected authors will be invited to develop the full text.

Issue No. 25/2025: Implementation and Impact (summer 2025)

Deadline for abstract submission: December 20, 2024.
Deadline for complete article submission: February 28, 2025.
Publication date: June/July 2025.

The summer issue of the journal Formy will focus on the themes of implementation and the effectiveness of design. We aim to showcase, through the articles, the (real) impact of design on various aspects of social, economic, cultural life, and technology, as well as the effectiveness of project implementation.
Potential topics for this issue include, but are not limited to: design and implementation, measuring design effectiveness, the scale and methods of evaluating design impact on organizations, methods of assessing the impact of design on users, outcome-driven design, design management, models of collaboration with business, collaboration with manufacturers, case studies presenting best practices and successful implementations, design as part of marketing strategy, change management and project implementation, the role of education in shaping attitudes and design effectiveness, the psychology of design and user behavior change—how well-designed interfaces, products, and services can influence user habits, for instance, in the fields of health, education, or personal finance, designing solutions for global challenges and problems…

Issue No. 24/2025: The Asian Dragons (spring 2025)

Deadline for abstract submission: November 29, 2024.
Deadline for complete article submission: January 10, 2025.
Publication date: March/April 2025.

The spring issue of Formy will be dedicated to design from the Far East. We are interested in articles that highlight the influence of culture, tradition, and technology on contemporary design in Asia, as well as its potential global significance. While we are primarily focused on China, Japan and South Korea are also considered relevant topics.
Potential themes for this issue include, but are not limited to: Asia’s role in global design in the 21^st century, design education, knowledge transfer, new models of collaboration between designers and industry, new technologies, materials, and production processes, the evolution of design in the post-digital era, sustainable design from an Asian perspective (both in terms of new technologies and the use of tradition and craftsmanship), the Korean concept of han and its influence on design, harmonizing tradition with modernity…

Issue No. 23/2024: Contexts and Tools for Studying the History of Polish Design (winter 2024)

Deadline for abstract submission: August 2, 2024.
Deadline for submission of complete articles: September 16, 2024.
Date of issue publication: December 2024.

The theme of the December issue of “Formy” is a reflection on the history of Polish design in the 20^th and 21^st centuries — its general overview and methodology for studying its history. We expect texts that address issues of significant contexts of Polish design, the dynamics of its development, its specificity, considering both individual phenomena and focusing on main trends. Examples of threads that may be addressed in the new issue are: the significance of the socio-economic system for design — Polish specificity, the dependence of design on the capitalist system; the importance of design ideas for describing the material aspects of social life; continuity and change in the history of design in Poland, the importance of folk, historical inspirations, traces of the influence of cultural minorities, the durability of ideas; the Polish designer community: ethos, ideological dependencies, originality, historical variability of attitudes, personalities, and their role.

Issue No. 22/2024: Artificial Intelligence (autumn 2024)

Deadline for abstract submission: June 7, 2024.
Deadline for submission of complete articles: July 17, 2024.
Date of issue publication: October 2024.

The autumn issue of the “Formy” magazine will be dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on design. We expect articles that attempt to assess both the potential and the risks associated with the spread of AI tools. Among the suggested topics are: the impact of AI development on design, perspectives on AI-based design development, ways to use AI in design practice and design education, the role of designers in shaping AI tools, changes in the role of designers associated with the spread of AI, the use of AI in design research, social and cultural consequences of widespread access to generative AI tools, ethical issues, AI aesthetics, market conditions determining the relationship between AI and design, examples of AI use in design (case studies).

Issue No. 21/2024: Emotions and Design (summer 2024)

Deadline for abstract submission: Abstract submission is closed.
Deadline for submission of complete articles: Article submission is closed.
Date of issue publication: July 2024.