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Profile

College / Department

College of Architecture, Art and Design
Department of Art and Design

Teaching areas

Design Management, Innovation & Strategy, Studio Design Project.

Research areas

Design Innovation, Systemic Change, Design and Wellbeing, Creative and Cultural Enterprise.

Education

Diploma in Architecture (Dip Arch) & Bachelor of Architecture with Honors (BArch Hons), Heriot-Watt University/Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland 1992.
Master of Science (MSc), Computer Aided Building Design, University of Strathclyde, Scotland 1994.
Master of Arts (MA), Drawing as Process, Kingston University, United Kingdom 2005.

Professional experience

Kathryn Best: Foresight, Design and Innovation, 2007 - present.
Research Fellow in Design Innovation, Institute for Design Innovation, Loughborough University in London, 2016-2017.
Course Leader and Lecturer in Design Management (LCC, LCF, CSM) University of the Arts London (UAL), United Kingdom, 2016 - 2017.
Research Professor, Center for Cross-Media, Brand, Reputation and Design Management, Inholland University of Applied Science, The Netherlands, 2009 - 2011.
Course Leader and Researcher in Design Management, University for the Creative Arts, Surrey United Kingdom, 2002 – 2009.
Senior Designer, Brand Environments, Wolff Olins, London, 1999 - 2001.
Senior Designer, Architecture and Interiors, RTKL London, United Kingdom, 1997-1999.
Designer, Architecture and Interiors, HOK International London, United Kingdom, 1996-1997.

Contact

kbest@aus.edu
+971 6 515 2632

Ms. Kathryn Best

Associate Professor
Master of Science, Strathclyde University, Scotland

Kathryn Best is an academic, author, speaker and researcher in design management, strategy and innovation. Her best-selling books in 13 languages include Design Management: Managing Design Strategy, Process and Implementation and What Can Design Bring to Strategy' Designing Thinking as a Tool for Innovation and Change. Best speaks and advises for cultural and design events, higher education institutions and corporate and governmental creative economy initiatives worldwide. Her professional background is in architecture, interiors and brand consultancy and her current research interest is systemic change by design and foresight and development for creative, cultural and community enterprise.

Publications

Best, K (2017) Teaching Design to Transform the C-Suite. Design Management Review, 28 (3) pp46-49.
Best, K and McGregor, A (2017) Living Legacies. Permanent Collection of UAL Collections and Archives (The Zine Collection).
Best, K (2017) Design, Collaboration and Evolvability: A Conversation about the Future. Proceedings of the Design Management Academy (DMA) Hong Kong, June 2017. Vol. 1, pp261-276, ISBN 978-1-912294-11-4. UK: Design Research Society.
Best, K (2016) Wellbeing by Design: Mapping an Approach to Wellbeing for All. Proceedings of the Design Management Institute (DMI) Academic Design Management Conference held in Boston USA, July 2016; p1084-1101, ISBN 978-0-615-99152-8. Boston: Design Management Institute.
Best, K (2016) What Kind of Cultural Legacy Do We Want to Leave Behind? 2025 Forecasting Futures Conference and Exhibition at LCC. London: University of the Arts London.
Best, K (2015 2nd ed. and 2006 1st ed.) Design Management: Managing Design Strategy, Process and Implementation. London: Bloomsbury, ISBN 978-2-940373-12-3. Available in 11 languages.
Best, K (2015) Experiencing Processes, In DESMA Avenues (Design as a Driver of Innovation and Competitiveness); DESMA Network Research Initiative funded by the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme for Research & Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions; pp96-101, ISBN 978-91-982421-1-9. Gothenburg: Art Monitor/University of Gothenburg.
Best, K (2015) Design + Management, in Schreckenberger, Schilbach & Saier (2015) Design Management: Managing Market and Product Systems. Vienna: Herbst. ISBN 978-3-7386-3647-5
Best, K (2015) New Forms of Enterprise: Designing Processes, Creating Experiences, Transforming Lives. In Design Your Profit: Improvement of the competitiveness of enterprises through the application of design (process/product innovation) 2008-2011. Warsaw: Institute of Industrial Design IWP, Innovation Economy Poland and EU Regional Development Fund.
Best, K (2015) Design Management and Enterprise, contribution to the Design EntrepreneurSHIP programme and publication. Gdynia: Gdynia Design Center supported by EU Regional Dev. Fund.
Best, K (2014) Design Innovation and Transformation: Opportunities for Designers and Enterprises Working Together. Creativity and Innovation in Women, International Conference hosted by the World Intellectual Property Office/Polish Patent Office/Warsaw Stock Exchange. Warsaw: WIPO/PPO/WSE.
Best, K, Wolf, B and van Wijk, K, Conducting Design Research Internationally, a Dutch-German Approach, in Design Management Review, 23 (1) pp64-73, ISSN 1557-0614
Best, K (2012), Design as an Enabler of Change. Design Management Institute News & Views 2012.
Best, K (2011) What Can Design Bring to Strategy? Design Thinking as a Tool for Innovation and Change. Rotterdam: Inholland University of Applied Sciences, ISBN 978-90-77812-33-4.
Best, K, Geurts, W, van der Grinten, J, van Wijk, C, Weijnand Schut, H (2011) The Challenge of Conducting Interdisciplinary Research Internationally. Cambridge Academic Design Management Conference Proceedings: New Thinking in Design Management. Cambridge: Univ. of Cambridge.
Best, K, Kootstra, G & Murphy, D, Design Management and Business in Europe: A Closer Look, in Design Management Review, 21 (2) pp26-35, ISSN 1948-7169
Best, K (2011) The Rise of Design Thinking, Creative Industries iNet Review, Spring 2011
Best, K (2010) The Fundamentals of Design Management, ISBN 978-940411-07-8. Lausanne: AVA Academia. Available in 8 languages.
Best, K (2010) Design and Business Success and Categories and Contexts of Design. In ‘21 Design Stories’, Catalog from Institute of Industrial Design Warsaw (IWP) exhibition on good design practices, co-curated by Kathryn Best and Krzysztof Bielski. Warsaw: IWP.

Conference Presentations

Cultivating Curiosity: UAL Annual Teaching and Learning Conference, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, UK, 2017
Research at the Intersections of Design + Management and Academia + Industry, hosted by DESMA and the Institute for Design Innovation. Facilitator for an event focused on growing a vibrant and sustainable community of practice for sharing and collaboration across Europe, 2016.
Design and the New Economy. Invited Speaker, Zamek Cieszyn 12th Anniversary, Poland, 2017.
Creative Leadership: The Female Touch. Saatchi Gallery, hosted by EU Talks, London, UK, 2016.
Design, Enterprise and Wellbeing. Tangible Ireland: Inspiring Business Civic Leadership, Dublin Ireland, 2016.
Design and Wellbeing. UK-Mexico Year of Culture/Tecnológico de Monterrey’s Taller Vertical Design Charette (200 participants), hosted by UK Mexico 2015 (British Council, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mexican National Council for Culture & Arts).
Design Management as a Bridge to Innovation and Enterprise. Mind Mexico (Mexican Innovation and Design) Jalisco, Think Tank Tec session with professionals and industry experts, Monterrey, 2015.
Design and Enterprise: the business opportunity for design in regional and SME development. Invited Speaker, WIPO/Warsaw Stock Exchange/International. Conference on Creativity & Innovation in Women under Honorary Patronage of Anna Komorowska, wife of the President of the Republic of Poland, Warsaw, 2014.
Design Management for the Public Sector. European House of Design Management (EHDM) consortium of 6 European partners, funded by the European Union. London, UK, 2014.
Design Management Intensive: seminar and workshop for design management students, graduates and professionals, hosted by Vilnius Academy of Arts, Lithuania, 2013.
Design, Innovation + Change. 7th International Seminar of Sustainable Regions Gran Canaria, 2012.
Transformation by Design. Design Management Institute Annual Conference, New York, USA, 2011.
The Challenge of Conducting Interdisciplinary Research Internationally. Cambridge Academic Design Management Conference: New Thinking in Design Management. Cambridge University, UK, 2011.
The Business of Design. Keynote Speaker, European Design Business Dialogue, Design Austria, Vienna, Austria, 2011.
Design Innovation and Management. Shanghai Design Centre. Expert Workshop for senior managers and creatives in the textile industry, Shanghai, China, 2011.
Design Strategies for Change. Invited Speaker, the International Awards for Livable Communities (Livcom) and United Nations Environmental. Protection (UNEP). Hilton Hotel, Chicago, USA, 2010.
Visible and Invisible Design Management. Invited Conference Speaker, Design Night Festival, Tallinn; Estonian-language edition book launch, The Fundamentals of Design Management. Tallinn, 2010.
Design + Business Success. Invited Speaker, Institute of Industrial Design (IWP) Design Your Profit? Warsaw, Poland, 2010.
Challenges of Change. Panel Speaker, World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT 2010) Creative Industries Track, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2010.
Applied Design Management and Design Practice Innovation. Design Management Keynote Speaker, Barcelona Design Week, Casa Llotja de Mar (Salo de Contractacions), Barcelona, 2009.
Design and Innovation. Keynote Speaker, D2B2 Tsinghua International Design Management Symposium, Beijing, China, 2009.
Design and the World of Business. Invited Speaker, the Paul Merage School of Business/Design Alliance, Design, Innovation & Research Conference, Univ. of California at Irvine, CA, USA, 2008.
Design and Long-Term Value Creation. Invited Speaker, Design Management Institute European Conference on Changing Realities, Milan, Italy, 2009.

Awards and Honors

Faculty Exhibition, Representation: Processes and Practices Across Design Disciplines (PPADD) Conference, Main Gallery, College of Architecture, Art & Design (CAAD), American University of Sharjah, 2018.
Faculty Professional Development Grant, American University of Sharjah, 2017.
Faculty Research Grant, American University of Sharjah, 2017.
Seed Grant, American University of Sharjah, 2017.
Culford Annual Scholars Programme: Honorary Speaker. This programme invites outstanding academics and fascinating speakers to share their specialism and inspire students to reach their full academic potential. 2017.
One Day Two Delays, Kathryn Best and Peter Suchin. Gallery-awarded exhibition organized by AND in association with the RCA Society, London 2016. http://www.and.org.uk/eventspace/one-day-two-delays/
Pilot Grant, Collections and Archives, University of the Arts London, 2016
Faculty Exhibition, LCC Design Research, London Design Festival, 2016
UK-Mexico Year of Culture: Honorary Creative Director, Taller Vertical Charette. Hosted by Tecnológico de Monterrey and UK Mexico 2015 (British Council, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mexican National Council for Culture and Arts), 2015.
Research Sabbatical (book contract), University of the Creative Arts, 2008.
Directors Research Funds, University of the Creative Arts, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007.
AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) Award, Kingston University, United Kingdom, 2004.

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