The Design History Society is committed to supporting the development of research in the field of design history. The Society offers four annual research grants spread throughout the year and aimed at supporting a variety of research activities, aims and outputs. Together the grants are available to a mixture of members and non-members and have been conceived to encourage innovative and inclusive definitions of design history and its methods and approaches.
In order to encourage, recognise, and support writing that engages audiences in critical and contemporary issues in design writing, the Design History Society initiated a new writing prize in 2017. Running for the third time in 2019, this prize is open to scholars, researchers, critics, practitioners and educators within and outside the Society who demonstrate a commitment to furthering the work of critical debate in design through writing. The aim of the Design Writing Prize, in addition to promoting and celebrating excellent new work, is to advocate writing as a necessary and creative practice for communicating ideas related to design. In this vein, entries that include a variety of modes such as essays, interviews, reviews or editorial commentary are welcome and can either be published works or in manuscript phase.
The Design History Society is committed to supporting and encouraging student learning and research in Design History. We provide support in three areas: to undertake research-related travel, to attend the DHS annual conference, as well as our annual undergraduate and postgraduate essay prizes.
The DHS Day Symposium Grant assists DHS members to convene a symposium to discuss and disseminate design history research. The grant is part of the Society's aim to promote and support scholarship in the field of design history and to play a role in shaping an inclusive and innovative field. The DHS Day Symposium Grant aims to support high quality, original research activity.
The DHS Outreach and Events Grant provides assistance for DHS members to convene a public event to promote design history beyond a traditional academic setting. This grant is part of the Society's aim to promote the field of design history and to play a role in shaping inclusive and innovative forums, support activities that offer new perspectives on how design history can engage diverse audiences, and contribute to public discourse that reaches wider communities.