Danah Abdulla
(b. 1986, Kuwait), lives and works in London, UK
I am a designer, educator and researcher interested in new narratives and practices in design that push the disciplinary boundaries and definitions of the discipline. In my current role as Programme Director of Graphic Design at Camberwell, Chelsea, and Wimbledon Colleges of Art, University of the Arts London (UAL), I am responsible for the BA Graphic Design, BA Graphic Design Communication, MA Graphic Design Communication, MA Global Collaborative Design Practice, and the Graduate Diploma in Graphic Design. I have previously held positions at Brunel University London where I taught on Product and Industrial Design, and in the Design School at the London College of Communication (UAL). My research focuses on decolonising design, possibilities of design education, design culture(s) with a focus on the Arab region, the politics of design, publishing, and social design. My first book Designerly Ways of Knowing: A Working Inventory of Things a Designer Should Know, was published by Onomatopee (2022).
I obtained my PhD, titled Design Otherwise: Towards a Locally-Centric Design Education Curricula in Jordan, in the Department of Design at Goldsmiths, University of London (2018). I am a founding member of the Decolonising Design platform, and I founded Kalimat Magazine, an independent, non-profit magazine about Arab thought and culture.
I obtained my MA in Social Design (2012) from the Maryland Institute College of Art and my BA (Honours) in Communications (2008) from the University of Ottawa. Previous to my academic career, I worked in marketing and advertising for agencies like Isobar, DDB and Matchstick.
Contact
I have an irregular newsletter called The Pessoptimist featuring writings, observations, links and news I would share on my blog if this were anytime between 2008-2011. Sign up here.Email me*: danah.abd[at]gmail[dot]com
*UAL related queries:d.abdulla [at] arts [dot] ac [dot] uk
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