
About the Journal
DISCERN, the International Journal of Design for Social Change, Sustainable Innovation and Entrepreneurship is an independent cross-disciplinary and open access publication that seeks to encourage, foster and promote academic research and sharing of related work in the broad and multi-faceted area of design for social change and innovation. Aspects of this broad but clearly defined area include sustainable social innovation, social entrepreneurship, and the circular economy. The editorial board comprises a multinational team of academics/researchers with an active interest in the area and has the ultimate responsibility for the direction of this publication. The journal invites a variety of submissions including original research articles (conceptual, theoretical and empirical), review articles, research case studies, shorter reports, work in progress, book reviews, and discussions on articles and dialogues.
Current Issue

This issue, the fifth issue of DISCERN, is published just before COP27 is held in Egypt. As the world confronts worsening climate change, the need to make both small and large changes is increasingly obvious. Design for social change has a vital role. In this issue, we welcome contributions from Cyprus, Italy, New Zealand, the Philippines, the UK and the USA.
The articles cover design for social change to engage communities to combat the opioid epidemic in the USA, consumer attitudes towards eco-friendly packaging in the Philippines, domestic violence in New Zealand, a proposal for a benevolent future for fashion collaborations for a social purpose, graphic design principles for social cause advertising and design storytelling toward societal transformation and mutual learning in co-design.
Editorial Team
November 2022
Full Issue
Articles
Open call for articles for the April 2023 Spring issue of ‘DISCERN, International Journal of Design for Social Change, Sustainable Innovation and Entrepreneurship’. The deadline for submissions is 31st March 2023.
We are also inviting reviewers to assist with the peer-review process. You will need to register with the journal online and choose the 'Reviewer' option.
DISCERN is inviting researchers, academics, professionals, practitioners, and postgraduate students to submit original articles in the broad areas of design for social change, sustainable innovation, social entrepreneurship, and the circular economy. We welcome articles (conceptual, theoretical, and empirical), review pieces, case studies, short reports, works in progress, book and literature reviews, and discussion articles and dialogues.
All submissions will be blind peer-reviewed by members of the journal’s Advisory Board and will be approved without revisions, approved with revisions, or not accepted for publication.
More information about the journal, the author guidelines and the submission process is available in the section 'For Authors'.
Editors-in-chief
Nicos Souleles, Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus
nicos.souleles@cut.ac.cy
Ana Margarida Ferreira, Universidade da Beira Interior, Portugal
margarida.gomes.ferreira@ubi.pt