The Design Research Society
The Design Research Society is a UK-registered learned society (founded 1966) serving the global design research community through biennial conferences, Special Interest Groups, the Designing journal, an open-access Digital Library, and annual membership subscriptions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1966
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What The Design Research Society does
The Design Research Society (DRS) is a UK-registered learned society and charitable company (registered charity number 1210067, company number 15064224) founded in 1966, operating as the longest-established multi-disciplinary worldwide society for the design research community. It serves design researchers, educators, and practitioners across disciplines including architecture, engineering, industrial design, software design, HCI, healthcare design, service design, and policy design. Its core offerings include the biennial international DRS conference series (DRS2024 Boston, DRS2026 Edinburgh marking its 60th anniversary), the LearnXdesign conference series focused on design education research, Special Interest Groups (SIGs), a Research Studios pilot programme, the open-access DRS Digital Library (archiving conference proceedings back to 2002 and newsletters from 1977), and the peer-reviewed academic journal Designing launched in 2025 in partnership with Sage Publishing. Digital infrastructure is non-commercial: a SilkStart-managed website, the Mighty Networks community platform adopted in September 2025, the open-access DRS Digital Library, and the Sage-hosted Designing journal.
The Society operates a membership-subscription business model. Standard membership is priced at GBP £60 per year, student membership at £30 per year, and Fellow (FDRS) membership at £105 per year, with approximately 1,000 paying members. Additional revenue is generated through biennial conference registration fees (members receive discounted rates), with non-member pricing on conference-specific websites. The free monthly Design Research News newsletter, reaching over 10,000 subscribers via Jiscmail, functions as the primary top-of-funnel acquisition channel alongside the website, social sharing, and conference presence. Governance rests with an elected International Advisory Council of 30 members and an Executive Board of 5; the Society is operated by a small core administrative team comprising an Executive Director (Justin Sacks), Communications Manager/Online Editor (Anna Talley), and Digital Librarian (Lenny Martinez). DRS incorporated as a limited liability company in 2023 and achieved UK registered charity status in 2024.
Revenue is not publicly disclosed. Triangulating from ~1,000 members at an average fee of roughly £55, biennial conference fees (e.g., LearnXdesign 2025 hosted 176 delegates from over 30 countries), and ancillary offerings, annual income is estimated well below $1M, with material biennial conference-year spikes. There are no external investors, no parent company, no funding rounds, and no disclosed commercial monetisation beyond membership and conference fees; the Society is wholly member-funded and operated for charitable purposes advancing design research scholarship.
The Design Research Society firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Design Research Society
- Legal name
- DRS (The Design Research Society)
- Website
- https://designresearchsociety.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1966
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Design Research Society is a UK-registered learned society (founded 1966) serving the global design research community through biennial conferences, Special Interest Groups, the Designing journal, an open-access Digital Library, and annual membership subscriptions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Design Research Society industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Academic Professional Society
- NAICS
- Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Humanities & Arts Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAE)
Keywords
Where The Design Research Society is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Design Research Society business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Membership Subscriptions: DRS generates primary revenue from annual membership subscriptions. Standard membership is GBP £60 per year; student membership is £30 per year; Fellow membership (FDRS) is £105 per year. Membership benefits include reduced conference fees, access to SIGs, the monthly Design Research News newsletter, the DRS Digital Library, and the online community forum.
- Conference Fees: Revenue is generated through registration fees for the biennial DRS conference series (DRS2026 Edinburgh, DRS2024 Boston, etc.) and affiliated events such as LearnXdesign conferences. Members receive discounted rates compared to non-members.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Standard annual membership |
| Subscription | Annual | Student annual membership |
| Subscription | Annual | Fellow (FDRS) annual membership |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
The Design Research Society product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Design Research Society is a UK-registered charitable learned society that promotes design research through individual and institutional memberships, peer-reviewed academic publishing, biennial and specialist conferences, digital archives, and recognition programs such as fellowships and special interest groups. It operates primarily on membership subscriptions, conference registration fees, and journal/article processing charges paid by individual researchers, educators, students, and institutions worldwide.
Product overview
The Design Research Society operates as a learned society offering a portfolio of interconnected products and services for the design research community. Core offerings include the biennial DRS conference series, the peer-reviewed Designing Journal (published with Sage Publishing), the open-access DRS Digital Library for proceedings and archives, LearnXdesign conferences focused on design education, and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) organized around specific research domains. The Society also offers membership with benefits including reduced event costs and SIG participation, and publishes the monthly Design Research News newsletter. The Research Studios pilot program represents an experimental initiative in studio-based design research. DRS Fellowship (FDRS) provides peer recognition for established researchers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- DRS Membership
Quantifiable outcome
- DRS has been advancing design research for over 60 years (since 1966) and has organized more than 30 biennial conferences.
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use The Design Research Society
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
The Design Research Society technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Design Research Society partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Sage PublishingcoreDRS has a strategic partnership with Sage Publishing for the publication of its official journal Designing. Sage handles peer-review management, typesetting, distribution, and online hosting at journals.sagepub.com/home/DES. This is a significant partnership as the journal is central to DRS's mission of disseminating design research.
- International Association of Design Research Societies (IASDR)coreDRS sponsors and is affiliated with IASDR, an umbrella organization for design research societies worldwide. DRS and IASDR co-organize major international conferences (IASDR 2023 Milan, IASDR 2019 Manchester, etc.).
- Cumulus — International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design and MediaminorDRS is affiliated with Cumulus, the international association for art, design, and media education institutions. The two organizations collaborate on events and initiatives relevant to design education and research.
- Elsevier (historical — Design Studies)minorDRS had a long-term affiliation with Design Studies journal (published by Elsevier), which launched in 1979. The affiliation ended in 2023 when Elsevier demanded a 10-fold increase in publications and the Editor-in-Chief and entire editorial board resigned. Design Studies no longer publishes under the DRS brand.
- Northeastern University (Boston)minorNortheastern University in Boston, USA hosted the DRS2024 biennial conference. Host universities provide local organization, venues, and administrative support for DRS conferences.
- University of Edinburgh (DRS2026)minorThe University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK is hosting the DRS2026 biennial conference (8–12 June 2026), marking DRS's 60th anniversary.
- Griffith University (Brisbane)minorGriffith University in Brisbane, Australia was the virtual host for DRS2020 Synergy, the first fully virtual DRS biennial conference.
- University of Aveiro (Portugal)minorThe University of Aveiro in Portugal hosted the LearnXdesign 2025 conference (8th International Conference for Design Education Researchers) from 22–24 September 2025, with 176 delegates from over 30 countries.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Design Research Society competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- IDSA (Industrial Designers Society of America): US professional association for industrial designers with member benefits, conferences, and recognition programs. Comparable as a member-driven design society running events and awards, though oriented to industrial design practice rather than multidisciplinary design research.
- ACM SIGCHI: The premier global community for HCI research within ACM, running the CHI conference and publishing related proceedings. Comparable to DRS as a scholarly society hosting a major annual/biennial conference and a digital library of proceedings, with strong HCI/design research overlap.
- Design Council: UK-based strategic design body promoting the value of design across policy and industry. Comparable as a UK-headquartered design membership/advocacy organization with events and publications, though focused on practice and policy rather than academic research.
- AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts): Large US professional association for design practitioners across disciplines. Comparable as a long-established design membership organization that publishes, runs events, and recognizes excellence — though focused on practice rather than research.
Direct peers
- The Design Society: International non-profit society for design research and education, jointly founded by design academics across Europe. Comparable as a learned society organizing conferences (ICED), publishing proceedings, and awarding Fellowship in design research.
- Service Design Network: International non-profit advancing service design research and practice through events, publications, and chapters. DRS has a Service Design SIG; SDN is comparable as a design-sub-discipline scholarly community organized around events and membership.
- IASDR (International Association of Design Research Societies): Umbrella organization for design research societies worldwide. DRS is a core member and co-organizes major international conferences (IASDR 2023 Milan, IASDR 2019 Manchester). It is the most direct structural peer of DRS.
- IxDA (Interaction Design Association): Global member-driven network for interaction design practitioners and researchers. Comparable through its conference program (Interaction), local events, and focus on advancing a design sub-discipline as a scholarly community.
- Cumulus Association: International association of universities and colleges of art, design, and media education. DRS is affiliated with Cumulus and collaborates on events; Cumulus is comparable as a global, member-driven scholarly association serving design education and research.
Regional players
- European Academy of Design (EAD): European academic association for design research, hosting the biennial EAD conference. Comparable as a scholarly society advancing design research through conferences, peer community, and publications, though geographically narrower than DRS.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Design Research Society social profiles
Digital presenceThe Design Research Society financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Design Research Society leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
The Design Research Society funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Design Research Society M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Design Research Society
What does The Design Research Society do?
The Design Research Society is a UK-registered charitable learned society that promotes design research through individual and institutional memberships, peer-reviewed academic publishing, biennial and specialist conferences, digital archives, and recognition programs such as fellowships and special interest groups. It operates primarily on membership subscriptions, conference registration fees, and journal/article processing charges paid by individual researchers, educators, students, and institutions worldwide.
Is The Design Research Society a public or private company?
The Design Research Society is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Design Research Society founded?
The Design Research Society was founded in 1966. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Design Research Society based?
The Design Research Society is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does The Design Research Society make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Membership Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are conference Fees.
Who are The Design Research Society's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are IDSA (Industrial Designers Society of America), ACM SIGCHI, Design Council and AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts). Direct peers are The Design Society, Service Design Network, IASDR (International Association of Design Research Societies), IxDA (Interaction Design Association) and Cumulus Association. European Academy of Design (EAD) is listed as a regional player.
Does The Design Research Society have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Design Research Society.
What industry is The Design Research Society in?
The Design Research Society's product category is Academic Professional Society. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJABAK, Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing, with a secondary code of EDAGAFAE, Humanities & Arts Scholarly Publishing. Its NAICS code is 541720 and its SIC code is 2721.