I am a lecturer in graphic design and Programme Director of BDes(Hons) Graphic Design at DJCAD. I hold a Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), and a Doctorate in Visual Communication from Edinburgh College of Art.

Semiotic Rosetta Stone research:
I use my Semiosis 101 YouTube to disseminate my Semiotic Rosetta Stone research to post short free videos every Wednesday on Peircean semiotic theory. Check out the videos on Semiosis 101: Semiotics for Visual Communicators YouTube channel www.youtube.com/@Semiosis101Channel. These videos augment my academic research into the application of the Pragmatic semiotic theory of Charles Sanders Peirce into contemporary Visual Communication Design practice. My designer-centric semiotic research has been published in a range of inernational design journals and presented at international design conferences.

PhD Supervision
I supervise PhD candidates who are interested in improving visual communication in design or illustration through appying semiotic theory. I research within Peircean Pragmatic semiotic theory, rather than the Strucuralist Semiology, of Saussure or the post-Structuralism of Barthes. I welcome enquiries from PhD applicants interested in researching semiotics within a Peircean theoretical framework, and its application into creative practice.

See my latest PhD call Semiosis: Semiotic Enhancement of Visual Communication for Improved Audience Engagement http://www.findaphd.com?pj=1606).

Successful PhD Supervision
2023 Dodds, N. Prose to Panel: Negotiating Authenticity and Visual Modality in the Comic-book Adaptation of a Literary Memoir. Northumbria University.

ORCiD: orcid.org/0000-0003-2014-1639
ResearcherID: Q-6420-2016

Professional Experience:
Professionally, I have worked as an illustrator, a graphic designer and an interaction designer. I have 20+ years of experience teaching visual communication, graphic design and illustration to undergraduates, and since 2016 supervising postgraduate students.

In 2018 I completed a £10,000 ERDF Creative Fuse grant project working with the charities Fulfilling Lives and Rape Crisis on two design projects. The outputs were a graphic novel, and a sexual consent information pack. The impacts from this funded work helped both charities with their outreach work, and through an illustration exhibition we raised £260 for Rape Crisis through print sales. Creative Fuse also produced a video documentary in which I discuss the Fulfilling Lives graphic novel tinyurl.com/videoFL.
International dissemination of my design research is published in design journals, book chapters and in conference proceedings.

I am also an author of a design book published by Bloomsbury Publishers. My other academic activities include PhD supervision, steering groups, and mentoring.

Education:
Dave was awarded his PhD in Visual Communication in April 2016. He already has a MA New Media Production from LJMU (2006), a BA(Hons) Design and Art Direction (2001) from MMU, and a HND Design (Communication) from CCAD (1989). His professional background was as an illustrator and publisher before becoming a lecturer. His first digital interactive product was built in 1997 as an online illustration portfolio.

Teaching:
Dave teaches graphic design at DJCAD at University of Dundee. Previously, he taught graphic design and illustration at Northumbria University, and at BINUS University in Jakarta, Indonesia on a Dual Award programme he ran. Until July 2014 he was a Lecturer in Digital Design at Glasgow Caledonian University before moving to take up his new position at Northumbria University. Before that he taught at St Helens College in Merseyside. Since 2001 Dave has been a module leader and held programme and course leaderships for FD Interactive Multimedia Arts and Animation (2003-08), FdA Computer Game Design (acting 2005-07) and BA(Hons) Entertainment Media Design (2008-09). Dave has been an external examiner for Staffordshire University's Digital Media and Design FDs (2008-12), Leeds Beckett’s Web Design FDs (2013-15), Arts University Bournemouth (2011-15) and Liverpool Hope University (2020-24).

Practice:
His design practice spans a varied career within Visual Communication. He was a freelance illustrator for ten years and his illustration work is archived on a blog www.scouse.scot, and in the published hardback book Non-Norm (http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/775508). Moving from there into the interaction design, he was a consultant for Royal Schools for the Deaf Manchester for their web strategy. During this period he re-designed the School website and designed several content-specific micro sites between 2000-03 before becoming a design lecturer and researcher. He no longer works commercially but he does continue to design and illustrate non-commercially. His most recent project was Princess Sazzles picture book.

Dave teaches graphic design at Duncan of Jordanstone CAD at University of Dundee. Previously, he taught graphic design and illustration at Northumbria University, and at BINUS University in Jakarta, Indonesia on a Dual Award programme he ran. Until July 2014 he was a Lecturer in Digital Design at Glasgow Caledonian University before moving to take up his new position at Northumbria University. Before that he taught at St Helens College in Merseyside. Since 2001 Dave has been a module leader and held programme and course leaderships for FD Interactive Multimedia Arts and Animation (2003-08), FdA Computer Game Design (acting 2005-07) and BA(Hons) Entertainment Media Design (2008-09). Dave has been an external examiner for Staffordshire University's Digital Media and Design FDs (2008-12), and Leeds Beckett’s Web Design FDs (2013-15).