About the Journal

"Prototypes are intentionally incomplete versions of a design, features of which have been chosen for their capacity to provide information, experience, and communication. They are design’s guesses about the future. Designers make prototypes because they help us to ask questions about possible futures before we actually get there. Those questions might be as relatively straightforward as asking whether an expensive cell phone will sell better if it is lighter or heavier, or to what extent it matters how curved its corners will be. The questions could also be extremely complex, such as asking what we might expect to happen to the transportation infrastructure if no one needs to commute to work, or how the passenger experience may need to change if the majority of cars drive themselves." from "Prototyping across the Disciplines: Designing Better Futures", 2021, Eds. Roberts-Smith, Ruecker, & Radzikowska

Prototyping Across Disciplines is a peer-reviewed, trans-disciplinary journal dedicated to the artifact as a primary site of knowledge production. Our mission is to champion design’s contribution across research, industry, and the humanities by providing a venue where prototypes are published as prototypes. While traditionally associated with industrial design or software development, prototyping is now a critical epistemic tool in fields ranging from materials engineering to theater and landscape architecture. By making these artifacts visible and citable, we equip practitioners for interdisciplinary collaboration and provide a rigorous framework for those beginning to use prototyping in their own fields.

The Journal reflects the work of Ruecker and Roberts-Smith (2018) on situating design research alongside established modes of knowledge production in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. It serves as the operational successor to the 2021 collection, Prototyping across the Disciplines: Designing Better Futures (Intellect Books), which showcased the diversity of the field.

To meet the unique needs of this community, the journal has moved beyond conventional narrative articles to lead with the Prototype Edition: a constrained, 8-page "visual vitrine" format. This standardized submission object—built around a "1 + 3 + 3" image schema—allows authors to make their innovations legible and defensible without the friction of extended prose. By fixing the format to seven images, seven captions, and a concise claim statement, we provide a safe, fast, and peer-reviewed pathway for turning designed artifacts into portable, citable scholarship.

Peer Review

Articles undergo double-anonymous peer review and we endorse COPE guidelines for reviewers. In accordance with COPE recommendations on ethical editing for new Editors, Editors will assign any submissions they cannot handle (e.g. if they are the author of an article submitted to their own journal) to a member of the Editorial Board or a guest editor.

The details of the comments as well as the overall recommendations by peer reviewers will be considered by the Editor(s) when making a decision, but ultimate responsibility for acceptance or rejection lies with the Editor(s).

It is a requirement to maintain confidentiality and integrity of the peer review and editorial decision-making process at all stages, complying with data protection regulations.

Open Access Policy

Prototyping Across Disciplines is an open access publication. Users may read, download, copy, and redistribute full-text articles for lawful purposes, without seeking permission from the author or publisher. We believe that open access is a public good as it promotes sharing of knowledge. Such access is associated with increased readership and increased citation of an author's work.

There are no submission fees, publication fees or page charges for this journal.

Copyright

Copyright for articles is retained by the authors, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license. Please note that if you are uploading supplemental files, like datasets or survey instruments, these must also be provided under an open license and archived in an open repository. For more information, contact the editors.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission for any copyrighted material used, including illustrations, and providing documentation to the journal. 

Self-Archiving and Preservation

Authors are permitted to share any version of their work in any institutional, disciplinary, or other repository, and on personal websites, immediately upon publication with no embargo period. This includes sharing of the the final publisher version (e.g., journal PDF) and authors' pre- or post-prints. The shared version should include a proper citation and link to the published version appearing on the Prototyping Across Disciplines website, including the DOI.

Prototyping Across Disciplines is archived in the PKP Preservation Network (PN) using the LOCKSS program.