The Design Writing Fellowship

Program Overview

2025 Facilitators

Maggie Taft, Co-Director of Fellowship Programming and Director of the Reviews Group
Aaris Sherin (Professor of Graphic Design, St. John’s University), Co-Director of Fellowship Programming and Workshop Facilitator
Liat Berdugo (Associate Professor, University of San Francisco), Director of the Articles Group
Robin Landa (Distinguished Professor of Design, Michael Graves College at Kean University), Director of the Books Group

2025 Participants

Reviews Group

Venesa Alicea-Chuqui, Kean University

Matthew Flores, University of Tennessee-Knoxville

Andrew LeClair, Parsons School of Design

Ana Melendez, Adams State University

Grace Preston, Texas State University

Holly Strickland, Middle Tennessee State University

Articles Group

David Caterini, California Institute of the Arts

Noah Jodice, Independent

Books Group

Jessica Barness, Kent State University

Victoria Gerson, California State University-Dominguez Hills

Rick Heffner, George Mason University

Kimberly Mitchell, University of Tennessee-Knoxville

Addy Shadrick, Ohio State University

The Application Process

FAQS

Information about Past Fellowships - 2022, 2023, 2024

The Design Writing Fellowship Program

Writing Space is pleased to host the 2025 Design Writing Fellowship (formerly the Design Incubation Fellowship), a program to encourage and facilitate scholarly pursuits within the field of design. Under guidance of facilitators (senior faculty members and writing mentors), participants will work on a book or exhibition review, journal article, or book proposal. During the three-day workshop, participants hone their skills in the fundamentals of writing and revision and explore various publishing options suited to their projects. Fellowships are open to full-time and contingent faculty in one or more of the following areas: graphic design, information design, branding, marketing, advertising, typography, web, interaction, film and video, animation, illustration, and game design.

This year, the Design Writing Fellowship Program will run from May 28–May 30, 2025.

The Design Writing Fellowship Workshop

All Fellows participate in a three-day, virtual workshop that offers participants the opportunity to share and develop ideas for research and individual writing projects while receiving constructive feedback from faculty mentors and peers in their field.

Fellows prepare a piece of writing in advance of the Fellowship and then work on this project throughout the various sessions of the Fellowship Workshop. Activities include short informational sessions, an afternoon devoted to analyzing and editing written work, and workshops in which participants share their projects with peers and receive structured feedback. Throughout the fellowship, collaboration is encouraged.

Schedule

Day 1
Wednesday, may 28, 2025

10:00am-11:00am Introductions + Icebreaker

11:00am-12:00pm Exercise: What, Why, and How We Write
Aaris Sherin

12:00pm-12:15pm Mini Break

12:15pm-1:30pm Presentation: Where Writing Meets
Publishing
Aaris Sherin

1:30pm-2:30pm Lunch Break

2:30pm-4:00pm Workshop: How to Think and Talk About
Writing
Maggie Taft

4:00pm-4:15pm Mini Break

4:15pm-6:00pm Workshop: How to Think and Talk About
Writing
Maggie Taft

Day 2
Thursday, may 29, 2025

10:00am-11:00am Presentation: Submitting a Book Proposal or
Manuscript
Louise Baird-Smith

11:00am-1:30pm Group Workshop Sessions

1:30pm-2:30pm Lunch Break

2:30pm-3:30pm Presentation: Writing for Journals
Maggie Taft

3:30pm-3:45pm Mini Break

3:45pm-6:00pm Group Workshop Sessions

Day 3
friday, may 30, 2025

10:00am-11:00am Presentation: Getting Published: The Writing
Life
Robin Landa

11:00am-1:00pm Group Workshop Sessions

1:00pm-2:00pm Lunch Break

2:00pm-3:00pm Presentation: Public and Academic Scholarship
Liat Berdugo

3:00pm-4:00pm Group Workshop Sessions

4:00pm-5:00pm Wrap-Up Exercise and Discussion