Dr Yaron Meron is a researcher and lecturer in design at the University of Sydney's School of Architecture, Design and Planning. His research focuses on graphic and communication design as interdisciplinary practices, with particular emphasis on socially engaged design, artificial intelligence, and responsible design thinking. He examines the complex relationships between designers and stakeholders, employing innovative methodologies to explore these dynamics.
Yaron has published extensively on topics such as media literacy, AI in design education, the role of design briefs, and the impact of emerging technologies on design practice. He came to academia after extensive international design industry experience, working in communications, publishing, education, and the voluntary sector. His research seeks to bridge the gap between academic inquiry and industry practice, offering critical insights into the evolving role of design in society.
- Industry & organisational focussed design pedagogy
- Responsible & critical design thinking
- Social & cultural impacts of AI in design practice & education
- The design briefing process
- Interdisciplinary, experimental & performative design methods
- Disruptive technologies & the democratisation of design
Yaron co-ordinates and teaches a range of design subjects at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, focusing on visual communication, the digital revolution, design innovation, and design thinking. He supervises Masters capstone projects and is open to supervising PhD candidates with interests in social design, graphic and communication design, and interdisciplinary design approaches.
Publications
Book Chapters
- Meron, Y. (2021). Coke and design. In Robert Crawford, Linda Brennan, Susie Khamis (Eds.), Decoding Coca-Cola: A Biography of a Global Brand. Abingdon, Oxon., New York: Routledge. [More Information]
Journals
- Harland, R., Meron, Y. (2024). Design Thinking: Standing on the Shoulders of.. Graphic Design!. Design Issues, 40(3), 49-61. [More Information]
- Meron, Y. (2024). Looking at things strangely: Defamiliarisation as a design approach for media literacy education. The Design Journal, , 1-20. [More Information]
- Meron, Y. (2024). ‘What a funny looking video’: Using allegorical representations of technological change to reflect on future digital communication and design challenges. Media, Culture and Society. [More Information]
Conferences
- Hepburn, L., Ulas, E., Cabrera, D., Cooper, C., Gough, P., Grace, K., Hespanhol, L., Hoggenmueller, M., Hu, W., Ijaz, K., Meron, Y., Pinilla Palacios, A., Parker, C., Sosa Medina, R., Tekmen Araci, Y., Watts, J., Wu, B., Zafeirakopoulos, M., Lulham, R. (2024). Speculative design positions on future liveable cities. DRS2024: Boston, Online: Design Research Society. [More Information]
- Meron, Y. (2022). Graphic design and artificial intelligence: Interdisciplinary challenges for designers in the search for research collaboration. DRS2022 Bilbao: Design Research Society International Conference, London: Design Research Society. [More Information]
- Meron, Y. (2019). Strangely familiar: using dramaturgy to revisit graphic designers' perceptions of their relationships with stakeholders. Association for Visual Pedagogies 2019 International AVP Conference, Melbourne: RMIT University.
2024
- Harland, R., Meron, Y. (2024). Design Thinking: Standing on the Shoulders of.. Graphic Design!. Design Issues, 40(3), 49-61. [More Information]
- Meron, Y. (2024). Looking at things strangely: Defamiliarisation as a design approach for media literacy education. The Design Journal, , 1-20. [More Information]
- Hepburn, L., Ulas, E., Cabrera, D., Cooper, C., Gough, P., Grace, K., Hespanhol, L., Hoggenmueller, M., Hu, W., Ijaz, K., Meron, Y., Pinilla Palacios, A., Parker, C., Sosa Medina, R., Tekmen Araci, Y., Watts, J., Wu, B., Zafeirakopoulos, M., Lulham, R. (2024). Speculative design positions on future liveable cities. DRS2024: Boston, Online: Design Research Society. [More Information]
2023
- Meron, Y., Tekmen Araci, Y. (2023). Artificial intelligence in design education: evaluating ChatGPT as a virtual colleague for post-graduate course development. Design Science, 9(e30), 1-24. [More Information]
2022
- Meron, Y. (2022). Graphic design and artificial intelligence: Interdisciplinary challenges for designers in the search for research collaboration. DRS2022 Bilbao: Design Research Society International Conference, London: Design Research Society. [More Information]
- Fridman, I., Meron, Y., Roberts, J. (2022). Responsible design thinking: Informing future models of cross-disciplinary design education. Journal of Design, Business & Society, 8(2), 145-166. [More Information]
2021
- Meron, Y. (2021). '"What's the brief?": building a discourse around the graphic design brief'. M/C Journal, 24(4). [More Information]
- Meron, Y. (2021). Coke and design. In Robert Crawford, Linda Brennan, Susie Khamis (Eds.), Decoding Coca-Cola: A Biography of a Global Brand. Abingdon, Oxon., New York: Routledge. [More Information]
- Meron, Y. (2021). Terminology and Design Capital: Examining the Pedagogic Status of Graphic Design through Its Practitioners' Perceptions of Their Job Titles. International Journal of Art and Design Education, 40(2), 374-388. [More Information]
2020
- Meron, Y. (2020). Re-performing design: using dramaturgy to uncover graphic designers' perceptions of stakeholders'. Exchanges: The Warwick Research Journal, 8(1), 71-90. [More Information]
2019
- Meron, Y. (2019). Photographic (In)authenticity: Making strange as a creative practice response. Video Journal of Education and Pedagogy, 4(2). [More Information]
- Meron, Y. (2019). Strangely familiar: using dramaturgy to revisit graphic designers' perceptions of their relationships with stakeholders. Association for Visual Pedagogies 2019 International AVP Conference, Melbourne: RMIT University.
- Meron, Y. (2019). Using dramaturgic metaphor to defamiliarise interviews with graphic designer. PopCAANZ 10th Anniversary International Conference, RMIT University: RMIT University.
In the media
- December 2024 | AI as a virtual colleague to help develop courses & teaching materials
- October 2023 | ‘Generative AI is taking over agency work processes. Where does this leave humans?’
- Summer 2023 | ‘Art Meets AI’, in Applied Arts Magazine