I have engaged in art, design and innovation for over thirty years and I hold three postgraduate degrees from the Royal College of Art, London, including a PhD in Design IP and Innovation Management. In 2015 I was commissioned by the UK IPO to investigate the infringement of design rights in the UK before I moved to Singapore to become Head of School, Design Communication at LASALLE College of the Arts. I have spoken at numerous international design and innovation conferences and I served as Director of Programmes at the Glasgow School of Art in Singapore for three years until 2021. In 2005 I secured a start-up award obtained from the National Endowment of Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA) which allowed me to start my design consultancy Studio for Virtual Typography. Since moving to Singapore my emphasis has shifted to IP, innovation management, and design entrepreneurship. I am currently Professor at SCADpro at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
The changing relevance of design in the context of innovation
Podcast recorded at the Romanian Design Week 2024 [click on the left]
Design is a process, but also a reflection of the cultural heritage of a society
Interview given at the Romanian Design Week 2024 [click on the left]
On Design Education
Clicking on to the thumbnail on the left will take you to an interview I gave to Lon Levin’s Illustrators Journal in 2019. This will tell you a little more about me, my background and my engagement activities.
PhD thesis
as filed with the Department for Service Design in Nov 2018, viva Jan 2019 [click on the logo]
hillner.studio 