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Mark Strachan |
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Lecturer Systems & Service Design, ID & PDE |
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Master of Design (Interaction Design)., 1989. Royal College of Art
Industrial Design (Engineering)., 1984. De Montfort University (Leicester Polytechnic)
Mark is a passionate designer and educator, committed to interdisciplinary, collaborative design and strategic development. His expertise draws upon many years in industry and consultancy where he has extensive experience in systems, services and product development.
He started his career in the mobile communications industry with Vodafone, pioneering the design and development of first and second generation infrastructure equipment, phones and accessories. He has since worked for both large and small design consultancies as well as running his own practice. Clients have include: Brooks/Bonhams Auctioneers, EM Microelectronics/Swatch, ICL Fujitsu, NCR’s Knowledge Lab, Philips, Scoot, Thorn EMI Central Research Laboratories, Unilever, Vodafone. Mark is also a director of RSA A+NZ.
Mark has been applying user-centred design and interaction design methods in his work for over 20 years and, correspondingly, embracing ethnographic techniques and context rich approaches to many types of projects. He is an advocate of immersive engagement, prototyping and simulation to explore user experiences and to iterate towards potential outcomes. He also initiated Systems and Service Design at the Faculty of Design in 2006, where the studio draws upon sustainable issues and themes to engage students in envisioning alternate futures. The studio also became a University-wide Sustainability elective.
His commitment to the combination of practice and research has also brought about many significant student successes in national and international design competitions, and also in terms of students progressing on to doctoral studies. With the most recent competition winner being Ed Linacre’s Air Drop that won The James Dyson Award an international student design award in November 2011.
Mark’s research interests include the exploration of quality and innovation in service design/design thinking and its role in strategic design and sustainable development.