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 Academic Programme Leader for Design and Course Leader for the MA Sustainable Design. His supervisory interests are in Social and Environmental Justices, Progressive and Disruptive Design Research, and Design for Health & Wellbeing.
Current Supervision
Ghazaleh Hassani Fakhrabadi, University of Brighton. Working Title: Future Feminisms in Persian Art, Culture, and Architecture.
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 Techne 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 gesture-driven interface: design and evaluation of a mid-air gestural approach based on manipulation.
Approach to teaching
Working across disciplines is an important part of my teaching. I seek to support individuals to develop the skills that enable them to participate in society - to be empowered and capable of expressing their opinions on issues of social, political, cultural and economic importance.
I have taught across Art, 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.
External positions
External Validator
2021 → …
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 Development
- Futures
- Systems
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- 1 Similar Profiles
Projects
- 1 Finished
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TEMPUS: Trans European Mobility Programme for University Students
Boddington, A., Clark, R. & Ainsworth, T.
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., Bhatt, M., Sadokierski, Z., Rose, C., Westermann, C., Srivastava, S., Dark, L., Whitewood-Neal, J., Gouin, M. & Wilson, R., 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)
Ben Sweeting (Chair), Sally Sutherland (Organiser) & Tom Ainsworth (Organiser)
13 Oct 2022 → 16 Oct 2022Activity: Events › Conference
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Wicked possibilities: Alternatives to taming
Ben Sweeting (Organiser), Sally Sutherland (Organiser) & Tom Ainsworth (Organiser)
3 Nov 2021Activity: Events › Workshop
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Radical Uncertainty: Design beyond solutionism. Webinar
Tom Ainsworth (Organiser), Sally Sutherland (Organiser), Ben Sweeting (Organiser), Zoe Sadokierski (Participant), Chris Rose (Participant), Claudia Westermann (Participant), Mihir Bhatt (Participant) & Shilpi Srivastava (Participant)
23 Jul 2021Activity: Events › Event
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Exploring post rationalities through design
Sally Sutherland (Presenter) & Tom Ainsworth (Presenter)
13 Sept 2020Activity: External talk or presentation › Oral presentation
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Post rational approaches in design
Sally Sutherland (Presenter) & Tom Ainsworth (Presenter)
15 Jul 2020Activity: External talk or presentation › Oral presentation