Joanne Pigott [Enhancement Co-ordinator & Head of First Year]

An Interior, Exhibition Designer with experience in the leisure industry; design of Bars and Hotel spaces, and exhibition work in Cannes, Orlando, Singapore, New York, London and Birmingham. Exhibition clients ranged from Brown Forman (brands such as Jack Daniels and Finlandia Vodka) to Brio, Tashia, Allied Domecq (brands such as Mumm Champagne and Taboo), Cadburys and DunHill.

Having a range of teaching experience which has developed and led to Year tutor role within the BA(Hons) Interior, Exhibition and Retail course.

My area of Research and Scholarship focuses upon ‘Shadow:PLAY and Incidentals’, whereby clarity and understanding of how ‘spaces’ can be read and interacted with through the occurrence of shadows (absence of light). To rediscover the qualities of shadow in order to explore human emotional responses to ‘spaces’, that could open up possibilities to their very formation.

To actively engage with ‘shadow design’, and how this impacts upon spatial environments across a wide sector. To consider how we view, use and respond to these ‘considered spaces’.

 

Penny Sykes [Head of Second Year]

Having studied as a mature student, qualifying in 2001, I returned to teach on a part-time basis with the Interior Design Team whilst teaching in a local Further Education College to National Diploma level students and taking on freelance work. I now solely work in the university.

Current research activity explores the Bio-Mapping of Interior environments, tracking human emotional and sensory responses to various aspects of a variety of interior spaces.

Initial experiments focus on the physical recording of changes in physiological condition mapped against the location of place through GPS recording.  Future explorations aim to explore changes in brain wave patterns mapped against interior environments to consider the proprioceptive and metaphysical relationships within spatial event and experience.  An opportunity to place quantitative values to qualitative design judgments.

 

Paul Blindell [Course Leader & Head of Final Year]

Paul is an educator and designer with industrial and teaching experiences across a range of typologies and practices. He holds a Dip. Arch. from Leeds Metropolitan University and is a PhD candidate at the University of Huddersfield, focusing on small scale interactive machines as interfaces for discourse which utilise a range of hybrid and haptic technologies.

He is the programme lead for an award winning spatial design course at the University of Huddersfield with teaching practice which integrates research, design agency and the creative potential of new spatial conceptions of place.

His past experience extends to Architectural practice with the renowned Architect Sam Scorer and as as design co-ordinator for the design and build package for Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia. He is an external examiner for De Montfort University and UCA in the UK with international teaching and research experiences.