Associate Head of School (Design)
As Associate Head of School (Design), I am responsible for the undergraduate and postgraduate design degree courses taught here at Sunderland including Animation and Games Art, Illustration and Design, Graphic Design, Fashion Design & Promotion, and MA Design. I also have the privilege of leading our fantastic MA Design degree.
All of our design degrees are delivered internationally including those with our partners in Hong Kong, Trinidad, Malaysia, Thailand, Greece, Singapore, and Uzbekistan. I also take a keen interest in supporting our international students who come to study here in Sunderland.
My research interests have been focused around how the brain interprets images seen by the eye, and how that knowledge can be harnessed to enhance and create more impact in the way we design and communicate.
Together with my research partner Dr Mike Pickard, we developed a field of research that we call Vision Directed Design (VDD), which draws on the latest findings about human perception and cognition to enhance the communication and visual impact of design. The benefits of VDD have been demonstrated through a number of international refereed conference papers, design competitions, and commercial applications.
Teaching and supervision
I have taught across the design subjects at undergraduate, masters, and PhD level. My main teaching is in motion graphics and through this field, I have had the pleasure of watching my students win countless major design awards from around the world.
Research interests for potential research students
I supervise research students including practice-led research and was Director of Studies for the successful PhD: Michael Pickard: Informing Pictorial design through Vision Science Understanding – a Design-based approach.
Research
My research interests are focused on how the brain interprets what we see, and how that knowledge can change the way we design and communicate.
Past papers focused largely on the perception and design of still images. My current research is moving much more into time-based media, and motion design in particular. I am interested in exploring how we can control the way moving images are perceived, and the impact of that on design pedagogy.
Publications
Conference or Workshop Item
Singh, Gurpreet and Pickard, Michael (2007) Bringing recent scientific understanding of human vision to the education of designers - a new area of fundamental knowledge in the arts? In: International Association of Societies of design Research Conference, Hong Kong (HK Polytechnic University).
Pickard, Michael and Singh, Gurpreet (2007) Bringing recent scientific understanding of human vision to the education of designers - a new area of fundamental knowledge in the arts? In: International Association of Societies of Design Research Conference. Hong Kong (HK Polytechnic University).
Singh, Gurpreet and Pickard, Michael (2007) Connecting Experiential Understanding of Human Vision and Artistic Creativity Using a Multimedia Based Approach. In: Designs on e-Learning Conference, University of the Arts, London.
Singh, Gurpreet (2007) Why design students need to be taught more about human vision - a pedagogical case. In: DEFSA International design Education Conference 2007, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa.
Pickard, Michael and Singh, Gurpreet (2007) Recent developments in vision science and their relationship to semiotics as seen through design practice. In: SeFun International Seminar – part of the ‘Design Semiotics in Use’ series of conferences Finland (University of Art and Design, Helsinki).
Singh, Gurpreet and Pickard, Michael (2007) Recent developments in vision science and their relationship to semiotics as seen through design practice. In: Sefun International Seminar - part of the Design Semiotics in Use series of conferences, University of art and Design, Helsinki, Finland.
Video
Singh, Gurpreet and Pickard, Michael (2019) The Chunder Thunder Illusion. [Video]
- Motion design and visual effects
- Design research methodologies
- Transnational education
Originally trained in architecture, I took a huge interest in digital design, and later set up my own company designing and teaching print graphics including 3D design. I taught multimedia design including coding for over a decade, before developing my teaching and research interests in motion design which is my greatest passion.
