If you know where to look, graphic design research is thriving (Walker 2014), and in these places, we can glimpse how graphic design contributes to new forms of knowledge and understanding. However, when it comes to institutional mechanisms for measuring research, graphic design is, with a few exceptions, yet to flourish. A report that followed the 2014 UK Research Excellence Framework (REF2014) concluded ‘the intellectual and theoretical underpinning’ of graphic design submissions was ‘generically weak’ and showed little sign of improvement since the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.

So, in advance of REF2021, this symposium will address two questions: 1) How do we foster graphic design research and make it visible within established academic contexts? 2) What can the disciplinary knowledge practices of graphic design research offer established academic contexts?