Graphic Design and the Research Excellence Framework – One day symposium at Sheffield Institute of Arts – 17 October 2018

Graphic Design and the Research Excellence Framework
One-Day Symposium
Sheffield Institute of Arts
Sheffield Hallam University
17 October 2018, 12.30PM – 5.30PM
Tickets are free and available here , but you/your institution must be members of CHEAD or the Graphic Design Educators’ Network. If you have any questions,  please contact James Corazzo.

Speakers:

Paul Bailey – London College of Communication
Dr Alison Barnes – London College of Communication
Professor Anne Boddington – Kingston University &
Chair for Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory REF 2021
James Corazzo – Sheffield Hallam University
Dr Rob Harland – Loughborough University
Steve Rigley – Glasgow School of Art
Dr Rebecca Ross – Central Saint Martins

If you know where to look, graphic design research is thriving (Walker 2014), and in these places, we can glimpse how graphic design contributes to new forms of knowledge and understanding. However, when it comes to institutional mechanisms for measuring research, graphic design is, with a few exceptions, yet to flourish.

A report that followed the 2014 UK Research Excellence Framework (REF2014) concluded ‘the intellectual and theoretical underpinning’ of graphic design submissions was ‘generically weak’ and showed little sign of improvement since the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.

So, in advance of REF2021, this symposium will address two questions: 1) How do we foster graphic design research and make it visible within established academic contexts? 2) What can the disciplinary knowledge practices of graphic design research offer established academic contexts?

Featuring a keynote address from Professor Anne Boddington (Chair of Unit of Assessment 32 for REF 2021), James Corazzo, Dr Rob Harland & Steve Rigley will present findings from a CHEAD-sponsored project to map graphic design outputs from REF2014. Paul Bailey, Dr Rebecca Ross and Dr Alison Barnes will share their thoughts about their graphic design related research, and there will be the opportunity for discussion. The objective is to bring senior academics, researchers and graphic design academics together with the ambition to identify the specific challenges facing graphic design research in an academic  context and propose ways for its flourishing.

Co-hosted by The Council for Higher Education in Art and Design (CHEAD), Graphic Design Educators’ Network (GDEN) and the Art and Design Research Centre (ADRC) and the Sheffield Institute of Arts (SIA).