Design Research Hub

The Design Research Hub is focused on the production and dissemination of high quality research in design at Manchester School of Art.

The Design Research Hub encourages and supports both leading and and new researchers who are exploring the theories and practices of a diverse range of design and craft based activities. It consists of, and encourages collaboration between academics, researchers and practitioners drawn from a breadth of disciplinary specialisms including ceramics, glass, textiles, graphic design, illustration, interior and product design. Key themes and interests are—

Community, Culture & Heritage, including social and cultural engagement with diverse cultures and their heritage, in particular with marginalised and displaced groups. More…

Design for Mental Health and Wellbeing, including the application of design to support people living with mental health, dementia and disability as well as addressing stigma, to improve social engagement, agency and quality of life. More…

Design driven innovation and speculative design, including working with businesses to facilitate design-led innovation leading to improved social and economic benefit.

Making and Materiality, including technical, material or process innovation to enable the creative and practical development of novel solutions in both analogue and digital areas. More…

Underpinning these four themes, there are two further trans-disciplinary areas—

Sustainable Design, in acknowledgement of all design interventions having an effect on our natural environment, resource limitations and climate change, which therefore need to be considered in all undertakings

Design Education and the development of its teaching practices are essential to grow tomorrows cohort of ethical and responsible designers able to follow a publicly engaged, collaborative, interdisciplinary and challenge-led approach.

Researchers in this group are engaged in exploring all of the diverse range of the practices, theories, histories, and languages of design. The aims of the centre are to examine the role of design, in its diversity of forms, and to recognize, evaluate and profile its significance. The objectives of the centre are to disseminate designs past, present and future, through the production of a range of works and through many mediums. Our researchers are engaged in the production of objects, books, exhibitions, papers, and many other research initiatives and projects. The centre encourages interaction between subject areas, academic and practice-led projects, and institutional collaboration. It is an intersection between researchers and practitioners, academics and teachers, and a hub for positive exchange and creative production.

Watch four short videos about the Research Hub themes – Community, Culture and Heritage, Design Driven Innovation, Design for Health and Wellbeing, Making and Materiality.

Selected Projects

Members

• Professor
  Kristina Niedderer
  Research Hub Leader
  —
  
• Mark Beecroft
  Senior Lecturer,
  Dept of Design
  —
  
• Dr Ganna Borzenkova
  Research Associate,
  Dept of Design
  —
  
• Fabrizio Cocchiarella
  Senior Lecturer,
  Dept of Design
  —
  
• Kate Egan
  Senior Lecturer,
  Dept of Design
  —
  
• Professor
  Martyn Evans
  Faculty Pro Vice Chancellor Arts & Humanities
  Director of Manchester School of Art
  —
  
• Lucy Gannon
  Programme Leader, BA (Hons) Interior Design
  —
  
• Adam Griffiths
  Senior Lecturer,
  Dept of Design
  —
  
• David Grimshaw
  Deputy Head of Design
  —
  
• Jonathan Hitchen
  Senior Lecturer,
  Dept of Design
  —
  
• Rachel Kelly
  Reader in Design Education
  —
  
• Professor
  Alice Kettle
  Professor of Textile Arts
  —
  
• Anastasiya Luban
  Lecturer,
  MSA
  —
  
• Geoffrey Mann
  Programme Leader BA (Hons) Craft
  —
  
• Dr Sally Morfill
  Senior Lecturer,
  Dept of Design
  —
  
• Sarah Moriarty
  Senior Lecturer in Product Design
  —
  
• Eleanor Mulhearn
  Programme Leader, BA (Hons) Illustration with Animation
  —
  
• Dr Jea Hoo Na
  Senior Lecturer,
  Dept of Design
  —
  
• Dr CJ O'Neill
  Senior Lecturer,
  Dept of Design
  —
  
• Laura Orton
  Graduate Research Assistant (Design)
  —
  
• Dr John Rooney
  Senior Lecturer,
  Dept of Design
  —
  
• Dr Lynn Setterington
  Senior Lecturer, MA Design
  Course Leader, MA/MSc Design for Health & Wellbeing
  —
  
• Jon Spruce
  Programme Leader BA (Hons) Product Design
  —
  
• Ian Whadcock
  Education Lead for Design
  Senior Lecturer, Illustration with Animation and MA/MFA Illustration
  —
  
• Jade Wilson
  Lecturer,
  Dept of Design
  —
  

Exhibitions & Publications

Exhibitions

, 2025. Liverpool World Museum, Human Evolution Gallery.

Kettle, A.M., 2025. Slipware, Crafts Study Centre, Farnham.

Kettle, A., 2025. Threads : Looping back and moving forwards and in between., Manchester School of Art.

Rooney, J., 2023. "Metamorphosis" a piece included in the "In Case You Missed It" Exhibition at the Modernist Society, The Modernist Gallery Manchester, 3/11/2023 - 24/12/2023.

Kettle, A., 2023. Threads: Breathing Stories into Materials, 8/7/2023 - 1/10/2023.

Artefacts

Broadbent, S., Davidson, P., 2024. 'Global Patterns', Rochdale.

Mann, G., 2024. 'Poise'.

Mann, G., 2024. 'The Leith Pattern'.

Mann, G., 2024. 'The Second Line'.

Books

Niedderer, K., Ludden, G., Dening, T., Holthoff-Detto, V., 2025. 'Design for Dementia, Mental Health and Wellbeing', Routledge.

Book Chapters

Niedderer, K., Townsend, K., 2025. 'Embodied craft practices: mindful flow, creativity, and collaboration as drivers for wellbeing'. In Nimkulrat, N., Groth, C. (eds.) Craft and Design Practice from an Embodied Perspective, pp. 66-79, Routledge, New York.

Cocchiarella, F., 2025. 'Neighbourhood: More than-Human-Communities: how can design work with nature to steward new forms of communities, creating spaces and engagement where species meet?'. In Ahmad, L., Sosa, M. (eds.) Teaching for Sustainable Futures: Community, Construction and Creativity, Routledge.

Niedderer, K., Ludden, G., Dening, T., Holthoff-Detto, V., 2024. 'Conclusions'. In Design for Dementia, Mental Health and Wellbeing, pp. 342-348, Routledge.

Niedderer, K., Tournier, I., Coleston-Shields, D.M., Dening, T., 2024. 'Identifying and categorising mindfulness-based design interventions to support people with dementia and their wellbeing'. In Design for Dementia, Mental Health and Wellbeing, pp. 196-210, Routledge.

Ludden, G., Niedderer, K., Holthoff-Detto, V., Dening, T., 2024. 'Introduction'. In Design for Dementia, Mental Health and Wellbeing, pp. 127-131, Routledge.

Niedderer, K., Ludden, G., Dening, T., Holthoff-Detto, V., 2024. 'Introduction'. In Design for Dementia, Mental Health and Wellbeing, pp. 1-14, Routledge.

Dening, T., Niedderer, K., Ludden, G., Holthoff-Detto, V., 2024. 'Introduction'. In Design for Dementia, Mental Health and Wellbeing, pp. 259-264, Routledge.

Niedderer, K., Ludden, G., Dening, T., Holthoff-Detto, V., 2024. 'Introduction'. In Design for Dementia, Mental Health and Wellbeing, pp. 17-23, Routledge.

Adler, J., 2023. 'Design communicating space tech innovation'. In, 396.

Media

Carpenter, A., Illingworth, S., Lloyd, T., Hall, A., Kelly, R., 2025. 'Testing The Field Film 2017'.

Journal Articles

Spruce, J., 2025. 'Reflections on a Project Based Approach to Work Related Learning in Spatial Design', Principles & Practices International Journal of Design Education.

Spruce, J., Moriarty, S., Norcross, C., 2024. 'The post-COVID design studio: new tools, new rules?', Design Science, 10.

Tournier, I., Orton, L., Dening, T., Ahmed, A., Holthoff-Detto, V., Niedderer, K., 2023. 'An Investigation of the Wishes, Needs, Opportunities and Challenges of Accessing Meaningful Activities for People Living with Mild to Moderate Dementia', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20 (7).

Angelelli, C.V., Ribeiro, G.M.D.C., Severino, M.R., Johnstone, E., Borzenkova, G., da Silva, D.C.O., 2023. 'Developing critical thinking skills through gamification', Thinking Skills and Creativity, 49, pp. 101354-101354.

Mayo, N., O'Neill, C.J., 2023. 'Flightlines: conversations about life with clay', NCECA Journal, 43, pp. 158-161.

Niedderer, K., Tournier, I., Orton, L., Threlfall, S., 2023. 'I Can Do: Co-Designing a Service with and for People with Dementia to Engage with Volunteering', Social Sciences, 12 (6), pp. 364-364.

Ziebuhr, B., Zanasi, M., Bueno Aguado, Y., Losada Durán, R., Dening, T., Tournier, I., Niedderer, K., Diaz, A., Druschke, D., Almeida, R., Holthoff-Detto, V., 2023. 'Living Well with Dementia: Feeling Empowered through Interaction with Their Social Environment', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20 (12), pp. 6080-6080.

Kettle, A., 2023. 'Tying the knots', Craft Research, 14 (1), pp. 139-152.

Non-Peer Reviewed Articles

Niedderer, K., Townsend, K., 2023. 'Editorial: Shifting craft's horizons: From individual makers to post-anthropocentric models of co-production', Craft Research Journal, 14 (1), pp. 3-8.

Conference Papers

Kelly, R., Perry, P., Moriarty, S., 2023. 'Closing the loop through circular design education', The 92nd Textile Institute World Conference, University of Huddersfield, 3/7/2023 - 6/7/2023.

Borzenkova, G., Tang, J., Niedderer, K., 2023. 'Co-designing with children with cerebral palsy: context and co-design principles', IASDR 2023: Life-Changing Design, Milan, Italy, 9/10/2023 - 13/10/2023, in IASDR 2023: Life-Changing Design.

Moriarty, S., Spruce, J., Mathai, S., 2023. 'Critical pedagogies for collaborative innovation', 25th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, Elisava, Barcelona School of Design and Engineering, Spain, 7/9/2023 - 8/9/2023, in DS 123: Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2023).

O'Neill, C.J., Mayo, N., 2023. 'Flightlines: Lives lived with clay', International Ceramics Festival 2023, University of Aberystwyth, 30/6/2023 - 2/7/2023.

Niedderer, K., Fung, P.L., 2023. 'Living the life: evidence-based design and evaluation of psychosocial interventions with people with dementia', IASDR 2023: Life-Changing Design, Milan, Italy, 9/10/2023 - 13/10/2023, in IASDR 2023: Life-Changing Design.

Presentations

Cocchiarella, F., 2024. 'Para-design: Investigating the anomalous though the design of location-based experience', Falmouth University.

Cocchiarella, F., van den Boom, J., Wehmeyer, T., 2023. 'Drift London - Other Ways of Knowing', CSM, University of the Arts, London.

Other Outputs

Spruce, J., Guo, F., Roberts, E., 2025. 'Arts & Humanities Research Council Project: Development of China's Creative Economy Through Participatory Design Research in Post-Industrial Regeneration.'.

, 2025. 'Immersive Experiences'.

Gannon, L., 2024. 'Bradford Pit Memorial'.