Research

Most of my research is rooted in the critical analysis of professional practice (a natural extension of my 20+ years of industry experience). As Director of the student-run design studio at Virginia Tech from 2014-2022, I was able to create an ideal “living lab” for this research, where I could create and test a variety of real-world, experiential-learning strategies and techniques with my undergraduate students by exposing them to the same kinds of challenges that professional designers face in the studio or agency environment. Critical analysis of the designer-client relationship and the range of factors that influence how clients make business decisions has revealed countless ways in which designers can establish themselves as strategic partners with clients, actively participating in solving business needs instead of just providing a creative service. I have been fortunate to present some of this research at conferences in the U.S., Iran, and Portugal.

From 2011–2014, while pursuing my MFA in Innovation Studies and Design Research at the University of North Texas, I explored a variety of other topics such as design rhetoric, participatory design, and design in the public interest. This led to a book chapter in Signs and Symbols for Workplace and Public Use (Nova Science, 2013), a published paper in Communication Design Quarterly, and conference presentations in the U.S., Croatia, and Italy.

A few samples are below.

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  • Practice-led Research in Design Education

    An invited presentation at the 2019 Research and Design in Education Conference (REDES 2019) in Lisbon, Portugal, after which I had a lovely conversation with Ken Friedman (renowned author, design theorist and editor of She Ji), about the need for teaching professional practice in design education.

  • Teaching the Business of Design

    A conference presentation at the 2015 Southeastern College Art Conference, making the case for more student-run studios in design education. As a designer, working with clients can be very different from working with other designers or design professors. Students need to understand and be able to discuss business goals and strategies as easily as they…

  • Design Thinking in the Classroom

    This presentation, given at the 12th Annual Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy, discusses the results of a series of participatory workshops with groups of faculty and students that explored how design thinking might facilitate new ways of approaching course and curriculum design in order to enhance student engagement. Co-investigators: Najla Mouchrek, Program Director, Dean of…

  • Letting Context Speak

    Co-authored with Clinton Carlson and Whitney Peake at the University of North Texas, “Letting Context Speak: The Use of Co-Creative, Design-Led, and User-Centered Design Methods in the Design of Complex Public Communications” was published in Communication Design Quarterly 2.3 in May 2014. This paper discusses how co-creative, design-led, and user-centered design methods are being utilized…

  • The Semiotics of a Smile

    Part of my MFA research was published as a book chapter in Signs and Symbols for Workplace and Public Use (Nova Science, 2013). This research focused on signs, semiotics, the language of pictograms, and what happens when designers don’t fully understand the needs of their audience. Abstract: Should a warning sign make one smile? To…

  • Face Value: Cultural Significance of the Smiley

    My first international conference presentation, given at the 3rd International Re-Thinking Humanities and Social Sciences Conference at the University of Zadar, in Croatia. Abstract: Since its “official” creation in 1963, the cheerful, yellow-and-black Smiley has been a well-known symbol of happiness for many cultures around the world. It is important, however, to explore the reasons…