I am a lecturer in graphic design, and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). I have also worked professionally as an illustrator, a graphic designer and an interaction designer. I have over 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. 

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.

In my spare time I am also the lead organiser for two social groups in Edinburgh. The Edinburgh High Brow/Low Brow Culture Group has organised over 877 events in nine years, and The Edinburgh Cinema Group over 1500.

Education

Dave passed 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. 

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 the scouse scot blog, and in the published hardback book Non-Norm. 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).