Quality perceptions of design journals: The design scholars’ perspective

The primary objectives of this study were to identify a set of journals that report on industrial design research and to propose quality rankings of those journals. Based on an online survey, design journals were assessed in terms of two quality metrics: popularity and indexed average rank position. We find that both general and specialized design journals are highly valued and that geographic origin and academic background can be related with journal rankings. The results of the study offer a guide to both evaluators and those evaluated when judging or selecting research outlets.

► This study establishes quality rankings of a set of core design journals.
► Data is collected by means of an online survey sent to design scholars.
► Design Studies and Design Issues are considered to be top tier journals.
► Geographic location of the respondents influences journal preference.
► Academic background of the respondents influences journal preference