Michelle Douglas

Associate Professor Michelle Douglas is an internationally experienced design academic, researcher and higher education leader with more than 25 years of experience spanning Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Her career has encompassed academic leadership, strategic program development, research, design education and industry engagement across a range of universities and creative disciplines.

 

Michelle is currently Associate Dean of Industrial Design in the School of Design at RMIT University, where she provides academic leadership across industrial design, contributing to the strategic development of programs, research, industry partnerships and the future direction of design education. Throughout her career, Michelle has held academic and leadership positions at several universities, including Brunel University, Ravensbourne University London and the University of Salford in the UK, as well as Griffith University and RMIT University in Australia. Following her relocation to Australia in 2017, she played a key role in establishing and developing a new design postgraduate program at Griffith University's Queensland College of Art, where she served as Head of Hons and Postgraduate Design. She has deep expertise in the development of undergraduate and postgraduate design programs and has held leadership positions including Director (Head of Faculty); Head of Dept (Product Design and Interaction); and Head of HDR (Design and Creative Technology). As an experienced External Examiner in the UK, she was invited to hold contracts over 3-4 year periods at the Royal College of Art (Master of Design Products), Kingston University (Master of Product and Spatial Design); Goldsmiths/Queen Mary University of London (BEng/MEng Design and Innovation). 

 

Her research investigates the cultural, behavioural and structural dimensions of design practice, with particular emphasis on design cultures and innovation ecosystems, regenerative design, sustainability transitions and the evolving relationship between design, technology and society. Working across industrial and human-centred design, her interdisciplinary research examines how professional practices, institutional structures, cultural values and industry networks influence the capacity of design to respond to complex social, environmental and economic challenges. A central focus of her work is understanding how design can contribute to systemic transformation through regenerative and climate-responsive practices, responsible innovation and more sustainable design economies. She is also interested in the changing landscape of design education, particularly how emerging technologies, including generative artificial intelligence, are reshaping design knowledge, creative practice, pedagogical approaches and the future capabilities of designers.

 

Michelle's research draws on qualitative, ethnographic and practice-informed methodologies to investigate design ecosystems, identify barriers to change and develop frameworks that support sector transformation. Her current research explores the intersections of design culture, design economies and value, climate action, regenerative transitions and emerging models of human-AI collaboration.

 

She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) since 2010 and has received international recognition for her contribution to design, including her alumni winning New Designers Designer of the Year, (UK) Audi Design Foundation award winners (UK) and D&AD Yellow Pencils (UK). She has been a judge on national design awards, curated and hosted design symposiums and hack events, facilitated multiple workshops and served as a host/interviewer on national panel events. Her work brings together academic leadership, research and industry engagement to advance the contribution of design to a more responsible, innovative and regenerative future. She holds a Board advisory position on Design Declares Australia and is a keynote speaker and host at both national and international level events.