The Society undertakes a range of charitable activities intended to encourage and support research and scholarship, to offer information and create networking opportunities, to foster student participation and public recognition of the subject, and to support regional links and events.
An elected Executive Committee and Board of Trustees works to enable the activities of the Society, and to ensure that design history is appropriately represented in higher education and research bodies in the UK.
The annual DHS Conference provides an international platform for interdisciplinary approaches to research and critical debate in design history.
[3] In 2018, the DHS launched a rolling calendar of events and activities convened by trustees working with relevant educational, professional and cultural partners.
These events create opportunities for engagement beyond the annual conference, support teaching and learning at all levels of design historical education, and aim to reach audiences, both internationally and across the UK.