Professor Andy Dong

Associate Professor Andy Dong regards design as one of the most complex problems for the arts and science. Questions surrounding the biological and evolutionary basis of our representational mind and its capacity to invent new symbols - that is, to design - serve as the ‘design muse’ driving his research.

His research program is about design competence (i.e., knowledge of design), the universals and ‘first principles’ of knowledge about designing: where do linguistic and design competence intersect, how does language enact design, what are the linguistic properties of language use in design, and what are the sociolinguistic codes of the language of design. His research finds expression both in computational algorithms and in creative works that embody these algorithms. Like Chomsky, whose concept of linguistic competence distinguishes your ability to be able to form a grammatically correct expression against your fluency in a particular language (linguistic performance), the question that drives his research is why humans can even design in the first place.

Dr Rob Saunders

My primary research interest is the development of computational models of creativity. The development of computational models of creative processes provides opportunities for developing a better understanding human creativity, producing tools that support human creativity and possibly creating autonomous systems capable of creative activity. My approach to developing computational models of creativity is to develop curious agents and to use these curious agents to simulate creative systems.

Dr Martin Tomitsch

Dr Martin Tomitsch's primary research interest is the application of user-centred interaction design methods and the study of user behaviours to inform the development of novel interfaces and interaction techniques for everyday life. In his research work he emphasises the design and evaluation of new approaches to human-computer interaction.

Dr Oliver Bown

Oliver Bown is a British researcher and electronic music practitioner. He joined the Design Lab, at the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning, in June 2011. His research interests include digital music, music software and performance systems, computational creativity, biologically-inspired computing, complex systems and ecosystems, multi-agent modelling, models and theories of cultural dynamics, and human evolution, particularly with respect to human artistic behaviour.

Dr onacloV

onacloV is a visual artist her artworks have been exhibited extensively, nationally in Australia and internationally in France, USA and Canada. onacloV completed aPhD from the University of Canberra. Her other degrees include a Bachelor of Arts (Visual) with Honours from the Australian National University and the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France and a Post Graduate Diploma in Video Art & Contemporary Theory and Philosophy from the École des Beaux-Arts, Marseille, France.

Dr Lian Loke

Her research is interdisciplinary and spans human-computer interaction, design and artistic practice, with the body as a central focus. Her research interests lie in understanding the lived experience of people interacting with emerging technologies and exploring how to design future products and systems from such understandings. Design methods and tools for speculative, user-centred and participatory design form a large part of her research programme. An ongoing strand of research is the development of methods for working with the creative potential of the moving body, drawn from movement improvisation, dance and somatic practices, which can be appropriated by designers. Her doctoral research investigated the emerging field of movement-based interaction design and resulted in a design methodology, Moving and Making Strange, consisting of methods and tools to assist in the design of movement-based interactive technologies. The design methodology gives primacy to the lived experience of people interacting with technology and offers three perspectives for designers: the first-person experiential, the observer and the machine.