Contact
Biography
Paul is a Lecturer (Teaching & Research) with Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design at the University of Dundee. He has a PhD in Design Ethnography and a BSc (Hons) in Interactive Media Design, both from University of Dundee. He is a V&A Dundee Design Champion and a member of Studio Esk.
Prior to his current position, Paul spent almost four years working at Young Scot, the national youth information and citizenship charity for 11-26 year olds in Scotland. His work as a co-design manager involved empowering young people, particularly those whose voices who are seldom heard, to affect meaningful change to the policies, systems and services they use the most.
Whilst undertaking a post-doc as a research fellow at the dot.rural Digital Economy research hub at University of Aberdeen, Paul explored design-based approaches for using digital technology to support people living in rural communities. Some of this research included collaborating with industry transport operator First Group to understand how social media data can be integrated with real-time passenger information.
During his PhD, Paul was co-located with industry-sponsor NCR within the consumer experience design team at their R&D centre in Dundee. His thesis developed a design research method for gathering consumer-focussed insights on how people use of technologies situated in public spaces.
Research
Paul is a member of Studio Ordinary which is the meeting place of design with disability studies. It is a nascent interdisciplinary research centre, crossing schools at the University of Dundee (currently Education & Social Work and Humanities) but with its heart in the culture and facilities of DJCAD. The studio’s approach of adopting a culturally engaged, participatory and design-led ethos with disability is so rare as to be remarkable—even provocative—in itself.
Paul has recently built upon his practice of co-design with young people in the third sector by exploring other design research for change methods. He is continuing his engagement with the youth arts sector by helping to develop models and define pathways for progression in creative industries. Furthermore, he wishes to develop more international culture exchange activity and participatory dialogue through the use of digital platforms.
Paul is adept at interdisciplinary working and has previously collaborated with a wide range of different researchers and practitioners including product designers, service designers, data scientists, software developers, anthropologists, journalists, psychologists, geographers, artists, musicians and photographers.
Research interests
- Co-design
- Design ethnography
- Design research methods
- User research
- Creative learning methods
- Disability and design
- Human-computer interaction
- International culture exchange
- Mobile technologies for older people
- Education policy
- Systems thinking
- Mobility as a service
- Social media data
- Internet of things
- Public spaces
- Urban interventions
Teaching
Paul is Programme Director for Digital Interaction Design (DIxD) at DJCAD. He currently leads the DIxD level 2 module Designing Social Networks and the DIxD level 3 module Social Mobile Apps. He has previously taught modules titled Prototyping Digital Futures and Design Research Methods.