Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
I am fascinated by design and seek opportunities to expand and diversify the discipline. I am motivated by systemic complexity and disciplinary ways of knowing. Areas of particular interest are social innovation and sustainable futures, morality and ethics in design, interdisciplinarity, and collaboration.
My research activities seek to achieve social benefit through design. My approach to research is practice-based and generally conducted in collaboration with colleagues from other disciplines.
Research projects conducted in pursuit of these ambitions include:
“Anticipating Futures: Forecasting and Climate Preparedness for Co-located Hazards in India (ANTICIPATE)”. Partners: University of Brighton (UK), Institute of Development Studies (UK), All India Disaster Management Institute (IN). Funder British Academy, Knowledge Frontiers Scheme.
‘Inter-Disciplinary Education Agenda (IDEA): An essential driver for innovation’, Funded by the EU TEMPUS scheme. This project helped to improve knowledge exchange and innovation between engineering and design disciplines and business, in higher education institutes.
‘The Human Body Form’ A collaborative arts/medicine pedagogic research study investigating the potential benefits of drawing as a method for inter-disciplinary learning.
‘Designing for the Future’ a multi-disciplinary design competition that seeks to develop design innovations to benefit an ageing population, sponsored by The Future Perfect Company.
'Using Biomechanical data to inform student learning about chair design.' The study, which aimed to develop innovative models for interdisciplinary teaching, was funded by the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning through Design (CETLD).
The successful completion of this project led to a second CETLD-funded research study titled: 'Design in the Clinical Environment.' The project was a further development of the interdisciplinary teaching model identified during the previous research and moved the focus from the chair to the built environment.
I am an External Reviewer for the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC); and Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA).
Supervisory Interests
Tom Ainsworth is the Subject Area Lead for Architecture and Design and the MA Sustainable Design Course Leader. His supervisory interests are Social and Environmental Justices, Progressive and Disruptive Design Research, and Design for Health and Wellbeing.
Current Supervision
Chantal Spencer, University of Brighton. Working Title: Moving Beyond Participatory Models to Methodologies of Radical Intersectional Equity. University of Brighton Funded Scholarship.
Kristen Bullivant, University of Brighton. Working Title: Designing Sustainable Food Futures: a design anthropological approach to cultural value and culinary capital in shaping ‘sustainable’ diets. AHRC funded.
Sally Sutherland, University of Brighton. Working title: Design, Culture and Gender Matters: An Exploration of Design as a Socio-material Tool for UK Public Breastfeeding Research. AHRC Design Star funded.
Conferrals
Merryn Haynes-Gadd, University of Brighton. Thesis Title: Emotional Durability Design Nine: Developing a tool for product longevity. AHRC Design Star funded.
Examinations
PhD Examination, Giovanni Marmont, University of Brighton. Title: Nanopoetics of Use: Kinetic prefiguration and dispossessed sociality in the undercommons. AHRC Design Star funded
PhD Examination, Catherine Speight, University of Brighton. Title: Looking Understanding and Making Meaning: HE Ceramics Students as a ‘Community of Learners’. AHRC Funded.
PhD Examination, Tobias Mulling, University of Brighton. Title: Embracing the Gestural Interface: Designing and Evaluating a Mid-air Gestural Approach based on Manipulation.
Approach to teaching
Empowering students is central to my approach to teaching. I seek to support individuals to identify personal values and develop the skills and attributes that enable critical research-informed decision-making. Graduates are now in executive, strategic, creative and analytical positions across the public and private sectors.
I have led the Sustainable Design Course at Brighton since 2014 and taught Design and Research courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
I have led several research-driven teaching projects, including interdisciplinary collaborative projects with internal and external partners, including Politecnico di Milano, Shenkar College of Engineering, Kings College London, and Brighton and Sussex Medical School.
Education/Academic qualification
PhD, The Development of Persuasive Design Theory to Improve Patient Engagement with Therapeutic Exercises in People with Rheumatoid Arthritis, University of Brighton
21 Sept 2009 → 1 Apr 2013
Award Date: 1 Apr 2013
External positions
External Examiner MDes Design Futures, Royal College of Art
1 Oct 2023 → 30 Sept 2026
Peer Review Panel Member, Systemic Design Association
20 Jan 2022 → …
External Examiner Postgraduate Design Courses, Norwich University of the Arts
17 Jan 2022 → 31 Dec 2025
External Validator for the Maltese Further and Higher Education Authority
2021 → 2025
External Examiner MA Design for Social Innovation and Sustainable Futures, London College of Communication UAL
1 Sept 2020 → 1 Feb 2024
Peer Review Pannel Member, Design Research Society
2016 → …
Keywords
- NC Drawing Design Illustration
- Design Research
- sustainable design
- Futures
- Systems
- Design Justice
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- 1 Similar Profiles
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Designing Spaces, Making Sustainable Homes: The Design Industry, the Data Gap, and Design Innovation
Rajguru, M. (PI), Ainsworth, T. (CoI) & Sarker, D. (CoI)
1/10/24 → 30/09/26
Project: Research Councils / Government Depts.
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TEMPUS: Trans European Mobility Programme for University Students
Boddington, A. (PI), Clark, R. (CoI) & Ainsworth, T. (PI)
1/01/14 → 31/12/16
Project: EU / International
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Culture and Relationality: Moving towards ‘post-rational’ modes of design
Sutherland, S. & Ainsworth, T., 28 Sept 2021, Design Culture(s). Cumulus Conference Proceedings Roma 2021. Di Lucchio, L., Imbesi, L., Giambattista, A. & Malakuczi, V. (eds.). Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, Vol. 2. p. 4459-4471 13 p. (Cumulus Conference Proceedings Series; no. 7).Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceeding with ISSN or ISBN › Conference contribution with ISSN or ISBN › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Environmental sustainability of intensive care service provision
Baid, H., Ainsworth, T., Allen, C., Beeching, J., Kubra, B., Damm, E., Dempster, G., Fuhrmann, A., Israelsson-Skogsberg, Å., McCready, T., Mills, J., Price, A., Ritchie, B., Sarker, D., Slaughter, O., Sundberg, F. & Woodard, R., 7 May 2021.Research output: Contribution to conference › Abstract › peer-review
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The Radical Uncertainty Short Film
Sutherland, S., Ainsworth, T., Sweeting, B. (Other), Bhatt, M. (Other), Sadokierski, Z. (Other), Rose, C. (Other), Westermann, C. (Other), Srivastava, S. (Other), Dark, L. (Other), Whitewood-Neal, J. (Other), Gouin, M. & Wilson, R. (Other), 23 Jul 2021Research output: Non-textual output › Artefact
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Radical Methodologies Research and Enterprise Group RaMREG Introduction Film: Who Are We Film
Sutherland, S., Ainsworth, T., Sweeting, B. & Fitch, A., 2020Research output: Non-textual output › Artefact
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Design as a Socio-material Tool for Public Breastfeeding
Sutherland, S., Tham, M., Ainsworth, T. & Sherriff, N., 2019, Design Research for Change 2019. Rodgers, P. (ed.). Lancaster: Lancaster University, p. 4-5 2 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceeding with ISSN or ISBN › Chapter › peer-review
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Relating Systems Thinking and Design (RSD11)
Sweeting, B. (Chair), Sutherland, S. (Organiser) & Ainsworth, T. (Organiser)
13 Oct 2022 → 16 Oct 2022Activity: Events › Conference
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Wicked possibilities: Alternatives to taming
Sweeting, B. (Organiser), Sutherland, S. (Organiser) & Ainsworth, T. (Organiser)
3 Nov 2021Activity: Events › Workshop
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Radical Uncertainty: Design beyond solutionism. Webinar
Ainsworth, T. (Organiser), Sutherland, S. (Organiser), Sweeting, B. (Organiser), Sadokierski, Z. (Participant), Rose, C. (Participant), Westermann, C. (Participant), Bhatt, M. (Participant) & Srivastava, S. (Participant)
23 Jul 2021Activity: Events › Event
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Exploring post rationalities through design
Sutherland, S. (Presenter) & Ainsworth, T. (Presenter)
13 Sept 2020Activity: External talk or presentation › Oral presentation
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Post rational approaches in design
Sutherland, S. (Presenter) & Ainsworth, T. (Presenter)
15 Jul 2020Activity: External talk or presentation › Oral presentation