Calls & Submissions

Calls & Submissions

Latest

Call for Papers: Special Issue, Early 2027

Typographic Landscapes: Migrating Types—Typographic Meaning-Making Across Boundaries

Visible Language invites submissions for a special issue on the emerging field of typographic landscape research, which connects scholarship in typography, graphic communication, and sociolinguistics to investigate typographic activities as social practice in public spaces.

Typographic landscape research studies all forms of sign-making involving texts in urban, rural, and virtual contexts, ranging from commercial shop signs to self-authorized stickers, artistic murals, and posters, from commemorative placards to regulatory and infrastructural signage, created by professionals and laypeople alike.

The field recognizes that the form of written language, the materiality of letters and signs, and their placement in architectural and other settings are part of the constituted meaning of the messages on display. Typography is not merely a vehicle for linguistic content but communicates meaning through graphic form and materiality itself.

Typographic landscape research considers typographic work as social and communicative practice that is layered and situated across time and space, investigating the use of typographic resources as a means for social actors to perform identities, debate power relationships, negotiate spaces of inclusion or exclusion, signify belonging, challenge or manifest cultural hegemony, preserve local heritage, reference distant geographies, and transform shared places.

This issue will be of interest to anyone designing with type, text and language, particularly those interested in the social dimensions of typography and graphic design, as well as those working with graphic communication in built environments, architecture, urban, and rural spaces.

Submission deadline and contacts

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, September 2, 2026. Earlier submissions are welcome. When creating your submission, please select the option “special issue article” from the options provided in the “section” field.

All submissions will undergo an initial desk review and those that are to be considered for publication will be subject to double-blind peer review. Final acceptance will require approval from both the guest editors and editor-in-chief.

The special issue is guest-edited by Irmi Wachendorff, University of Reading, UK, and Yu Li, Loyola Marymount University, USA. Inquiries may be sent to the guest editors or to Assistant Editor Matthew Baxter.

▶ Irmi Wachendorff (irmi.wachendorff[at]reading.ac.uk)

▶ Yu Li (yu.li[at]lmu.edu)

▶ Matthew Baxter (M.G.Baxter[at]leeds.ac.uk) More details are provided on the following page.

Scope and contributions sought

The title “Migrating Types—Typographic Meaning-Making across Boundaries” reflects the focus on typographic meaning-making between here and there, now and then, the self and the other, where such processes are especially active, productive, and consequential.

For this special issue, we are looking for submissions that focus specifically on typographic meaning-making in public (semiotic) spaces referencing across cultural, geographical, territorial, and temporal boundaries. Contributions might engage with (but are not limited to) the role of typography in:

▶ Spaces of exclusion, inclusion, migration, and cohabitation

▶ The depiction of social hierarchies, power structures, and social transformation

▶ The creation of belonging, performance of identity, and negotiation of ideologies

▶ Visual and cultural stereotypes, representation, and hegemony

▶ Place-making, preservation of local heritage and identities, commodification, and gentrification

We welcome submissions that:

▶ Draw on interdisciplinary scholarly foundations combining theoretical perspectives from graphic communication, typography, and sociolinguistics, as well as potentially social semiotics, anthropology, cultural, visual, and communication studies.

▶ Employ interdisciplinary methodological approaches (such as quantitative and qualitative empirical case studies, comparative cross-regional or historical analyses) and offer methodological innovations in data collection, mapping, coding, and frameworks for visual and multimodal analysis.

Criteria for inclusion

We expect robust, scholarly, analytical, and critical research. All submissions must meet the following criteria:

▶ Clearly stated research question

▶ Strong scholarly foundations and engagement with relevant theoretical frameworks

▶ Appropriate research design and transparent documentation of systematic data collection processes and parameters (such as sampling strategies, sample size, geographic and temporal scope)

▶ Use of visual data as essential evidence to construct and support the analytical argument

▶ Critical analysis that moves beyond describing typographic phenomena to analyzing their social, cultural, and ideological significance

▶ Balanced interpretations that, rather than isolated observations, connect findings to broader contexts and theoretical constructs and critically discuss limitations

▶ Articulation of significance and implications for the design discipline, design practice, and society

▶ Accessible writing style that combines scholarly rigor with clear prose and rich visual examples, serving the journal’s broad readership (practitioners, academics, and students)

▶ Stated ethical approval for the study and/or copyright permissions to reproduce images, as relevant to the research

▶ Submission of high-quality images following Visible Language guidelines

Structure and style

Submissions must follow the journal guidelines (with APA citations) and house style and include:

▶ Abstract (100–200 words)

▶ Introduction (with clearly stated research question)

▶ Research context (literature review, rationale, objectives)

▶ Methods

▶ Findings (including examples of visual material/data, as appropriate)

▶ Discussion (interpretation of results and implications)

▶ References (APA) https://www.visible-language.org/journal/ calls-and-submissions/

Visible Language is the oldest peer–reviewed design journal, first published in 1967. It is now published open access, and Scopus-indexed, to ensure wide access to design research. Our latest issue Visible Language 60.1 is available here.

Please Read the Submission Guidelines Below

↓
Ready to submit? Please click here to begin the submission process.

Submissions for Volume 60 issues 2 and 3

Volume 60 | Issues 2 and 3

Visible Language invites submissions about research into interface, experience, and communication design for Volume 60 issues 2 and 3 to be published in 2026. This is an open call for scholarly papers aligned with the journal’s remit here.

Visible Language accepts submissions throughout the year. However, to allow sufficient time for review processes, we encourage authors who are hoping to publish with us in 2026 to submit their manuscripts before 1 April 2026 (volume 2) or 1 July 2026 (volume 3).

Visible Language is the oldest peer–reviewed design journal, first published in 1967. It is now published open access, and Scopus-indexed, to ensure wide access to design research. Our latest issue Visible Language 59.3 is available here.

Ready to submit? Please click here to begin the submission process.

Submission Guidelines

Authors are invited to make a submission to this journal. All submissions will be assessed by an editor to determine whether they meet the aims and scope of this journal. Those considered to be a good fit will be sent for peer review before determining whether they will be accepted or rejected.

Before making a submission, authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish any material included with the submission, such as photos, documents and datasets. All authors identified on the submission must consent to be identified as an author. Where appropriate, research should be approved by an appropriate ethics committee in accordance with the legal requirements of the study’s country.

An editor may desk reject a submission if it does not meet minimum standards of quality. Before submitting, please ensure that the study design and research argument are structured and articulated properly. The title should be concise and the abstract should be able to stand on its own. This will increase the likelihood of reviewers agreeing to review the paper. When you’re satisfied that your submission meets this standard, please follow the checklist below to prepare your submission.

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

Submission Preparation Checklist

All submissions must meet the following requirements:

  • This submission meets the requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines
  • This submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration
  • All references have been checked for accuracy and completeness
  • All tables and figures have been numbered and labeled
  • Permission has been obtained to publish all photos, datasets and other material provided with this submission
    • Download Author Guidelines in PDF

    Manuscript guidance for authors

    Anonymization for peer review

  • Please submit TWO versions of your manuscript, one full version and one with all identifying authors and institutional information omitted/redacted.
  • Please check that the author and institutional identifiers for the anonymized version are also omitted from the document/file properties and the manuscript file names.
  • Use [ANON] as a placeholder for any identifying author or institutional information that is omitted.
  • Please redact any identifying information from images

    • Please include the following at the start of your manuscript:

    Category

  • Select one: Research article | Visual essay | Dispatches from industry | Book review | Invited article

    • Article title

  • Please use sentence case

    • Author names (full manuscript only)

  • Please include author names with a link to each author’s ORCID ID (optional)
  • Please include the author’s/authors’ institutional affiliations
  • Please include the email address for the corresponding author (using [at] instead of @)

    • Abstract

  • Word count – between 200 and 300 words
  • Should be unstructured—a single paragraph
  • Avoid using italics if possible
  • Written to avoid citations, as far as possible

    • Implications for practice (for research articles)

  • The implications for practice is a reflection on the content of the article that can be applied in real-world design contexts, outlining specific recommendations, practical strategies, or considerations that practitioners can use to improve design processes, decision-making, or outcomes.
  • Word count (between 100 and 200 words)

    • Keywords

  • Minimum 3, Maximum 6
  • List in alphabetical order
  • Lowercase (except proper nouns)
  • Begin with “Keywords:” (including the colon)
  • Separated by semicolons

    • Style notes and examples for your manuscript:

    Headings

  • Please use sentence case for headings
  • Numbered headings for Level 1 (1.) and Level 2 (1.1.), unnumbered for Level 3

    • Footnotes/endnotes

  • Footnotes are discouraged and should be kept to an absolute minimum.
  • Use * rather than numbering where a footnote is essential.
  • Endnotes are not used.

    • In-text citations

  • Use APA 7th referencing style: (Please see this page [+])
  • Single citation: Waller (2007) or (Waller, 2007)
  • Multiple citations in alphabetical of author surname (Beier, 2016; Waller, 2007)
  • Where a page number is required, please include in the bracket using the following formatting:
  • – – Example 1: (Dyson, 2017, p. 442–468)
  • – – Example 2: Smith et al. (2020) found that “students benefit from spaced practice” (p. 14).

    • Numerals

  • In prose text: numbers up to ten are written in full, digits apply to numbers 11 and over. This applies to centuries too (e.g.20th-century not twentieth-century).
  • In tables, use numerals for all numbers.

    • Spelling and grammar

  • US spelling
  • Dashes: unspaced em dash when used as a grammatical device, unspaced en dash for number ranges, unspaced en dash for connections (e.g. text–image integration)
  • Do not italicize: et al.
  • Italicize: major publication titles, volume number
  • Double quotes for quotations, single quotes for colloquialisms or quotes within quotes

    • Images and tables

  • Indicate figure placement immediately after the paragraph in which the figure or table cross-reference is first mentioned. Use square bracket e.g. [insert Figure 1]. We will do our best to keep figures and tables in close proximity to the relevant text but please bear in mind that figures and tables will be placed at the top and bottom of pages.

    • Caption example:

  • Figure 1. Caption starts with initial capital and ends with a full stop regardless of whether it is a full or partial sentence.
  • Always provide a cross reference in the text: e.g. Figure 1 shows … or, if at the end of a sentence (Figure 1).
  • The same formatting and cross referencing guidance applies to tables e.g. Table 1.

    • Quotations

  • Use blockquotes for quotations that are longer than 40 words.

    • Please include the following at the end of your manuscript:

    References

  • Heading: References (unnumbered level 1 heading)
  • Use APA 7th referencing style: (Please see this page [+])

    • Author bio

  • Please include an author bio (of fewer than 100 words) for each author under the heading Author (sole author) or Authors (co-authored).

    • Please include the following at the end of your manuscript, when applicable:

    Acknowledgements, funding and conflicts of interest:
    These sub-sections should be omitted from the anonymized version.

  • Acknowledgements: Authors are welcome to include a short statement of acknowledgements, if appropriate.
  • Funding: If you are reporting on funded research, please disclose all sources of funding that supported the research, including grant numbers and sponsoring organizations.
  • Conflicts of interest: If applicable, please provide a statement outlining any potential conflicts of interest—financial, personal, or professional—that could have influenced the work.

    • If your submission is accepted for publication, you’ll be asked to upload images as separate files:

    Image specifications

  • Figures must be uploaded as separate images (not combined in PDF) in PNG or TIFF formats.
  • Figures to be named with their order in the article (Figure 01, Figure 02.etc.).
  • Labels in images must be capitalized (sentence case).
  • All figures must be 300ppi resolution.
  • Figures should be delivered in both RGB and CMYK colour modes.

    • Download Author Guidelines in PDF

    Previous

    Submissions for Volume 60 issue 1

    Volume 60 | Issue 1

    Visible Language invites submissions for Volume 60 issue 1 to be published in April 2026. This is an open call for scholarly papers aligned with the journal’s remit, which can be viewed here. Manuscripts that are submitted by Wednesday 5 November 2025 will be best positioned for inclusion into the April issue through regular peer review. Some articles are released as early views in advance of indexing. Manuscripts should follow the submission guidelines of Visible Language and should be submitted online by 5 November 2025.

    Visible Language is the oldest peer–reviewed design journal, first published in 1967. It is now published open access, and Scopus-indexed, to ensure wide access to design research. Our latest issue Visible Language 59.2 is available here.