Everything you need to know about writing for Work Design Magazine.
If any of the our editorial topics resonate with you, please send article pitches directly to [email protected] after reviewing our editorial guidelines.
Our Editorial and Submission Process
Please make sure your article follows our guidelines before sharing.
Work Design Magazine is dedicated to exploring the evolution of What’s Next in workplace design, research, and culture. Our readers are knowledgeable and informed workplace design experts and decision makers. They know their stuff – therefore, we do not publish articles that assume they don’t.
We are all about HI (Human Intelligence)
While AI can help in the brainstorming process and image generation*, our savvy readers can spot non-authentic, AI-generated pieces (we’ve tested them!). So flex your HI by sharing your unique opinions, anecdotes, and insights with us through your articles.
Write as if you are talking to one of your peers.
We ask authors to aim for substance about a problem they’ve encountered or a concept they’ve tested (or think ought to be tested). It can feature a recent project, and should contain something actionable for readers—for example, it might answer questions about what can be done, what others have done, or policies, procedures, and/or work environments that “work”.
Authors must be current workplace practitioners.
Articles should take into account the commercial architecture and design, facility management, and end user audience and engage readers by offering practical takeaways. Work Design Magazine’s audience is increasingly international, so articles should focus on globally applicable best practices.
Once your article pitch has been approved by our editorial team, you can then proceed with writing the full piece. All articles submitted to Work Design Magazine must be original content that has not been published elsewhere (print or electronic).
Our editorial process includes several rounds of revisions before publication. We reserve the right to alter the structure and title of your article. If we make any changes, it’s because we believe the edited version will help your idea better reach the audience it deserves.
Looking to promote your brand or for an advertorial?
We have lots of affordable sponsored content opportunities outlined in our Media Kit!
Voice
Please maintain a third-person voice at all times. Do not write in first or second person. Try to avoid slang and provide context when describing hypothetical scenarios. When using acronyms, spell out the first use, followed by the acronym in parentheses.
Article Sharing
Work Design has several content sharing agreements with some amazing partners such as IIDA, CoreNet, and AllWork.Space, so there is the possibility that your piece will be picked up there after publishing. By collaborating with us, you are agreeing to have your piece potentially appear with any of our working partners.
Upon posting, we ask all contributors join us in celebrating by sharing your piece far and wide on your organization’s social media pages and be sure to tag us @workdesignmag or use #workdesignmagazine.
Word Count
We require that articles span at least 800 words. We’ve noticed that our audience is busier than ever, so please try to keep articles to a maximum of 1,500 words.
Skimmability is important for busy readers and for SEO-optimization, so consider including subheaders where appropriate.
Images
High-quality images are essential in illustrating your idea and we require at least four per article with one being designated as the feature image to appear at the top of the article. Images depicting diverse and inclusive communities are encouraged. Please only submit high-resolution images. They should be 300 dpi (dots per inch) or at least 1MB file size in JPEG format. Only JPEG files will be accepted. Please do not only embedded your images within Word files as this reduces the image quality; please also send image files separately.
*Using an AI generated image?
Be sure to source it by using a figure number and source.
Example:
Ready to submit your idea? We require the following items to accompany your article:
- A minimum of 800 words.
- At least four high-quality, high-res images with corresponding captions and proper credit to illustrate the article. (Maximum image size is 100MB and must be JPEG format – no TIFFs).
- The author’s LinkedIn profile.
- A current head shot and brief biography (100 words or less) of the author (be sure to include if you hold a position on any workplace association boards).
- An article title that is under 75 characters including spaces.
- Avoid footnote/endnotes. Use in-text citations if necessary.
- The article in Word format – Please do not send PDF article files.
- The article must be original content that has not been published elsewhere.
- Self-promotional / advertorial pieces will be declined (this includes links) – check out our Media Kit for paid opportunities.
Pro Tips:
- We don’t repeat topics and all submissions must be original. Not sure how to tell? Type a key word into the search bar at the top of our site and see what the results yield.
- Our readers love the latest research and data-based information. As a potential contributor, we encourage you to use it knowing that you’ll assume the role of verifying all facts in your piece before submitting it.
- Don’t be afraid to tackle sophisticated issues and topics. Write your piece as if you are speaking with a savvy colleague.
- Please do not write in Q&A format without prior approval.
- If you are looking to promote your brand, please check out our Media Kit for paid opportunities.
We receive more submissions than we can publish and often have to decline articles when our calendar is full. We also may decline articles due to time limitations or if they’re too similar to other work we have published. We encourage you to try again with other ideas even if we have declined something you have submitted. If your pitches have been declined multiple times, it may mean that your ideas are not a fit for our readers.
Product Profiles
Are you looking to have a direct promotion of your brand, product or solution?
We welcome you to explore a collaborative sponsored Product Profile. Please contact [email protected] for more details on our paid options.
Office Tours
Know of a cutting-edge workplace project that was completed in the past 2 years?
Submit it to be considered for an Office Tour Profile on our site by emailing a brief + photos to our editor, [email protected].
Pro Tips:
- Generally, it’s best that a designer, architect, or workplace strategist who worked on the project acts as our main contact.
- We love to hear from employees currently working in the new space who worked closely with the project team and had a hand in the big decisions.
- Be creative and tell us why your project matters!
