Cardiff School of Art & Design>Staff>Jac Fennell

Dr Jac Fennell

jac-fennell.png jfennell@cardiffmet.ac.uk
www.jacfennell.com




Specialist subject area

Interaction and experience design, speculative design, inclusive design, design for dementia and designing for unexpected and involuntary remembering.

Qualifications

PhD Interaction Design – GOLDSMITHS, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON // 2006 - 2015
Chance memories: supporting involuntary reminiscence by design.
Mphil Interaction Design - ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART, LONDON // 2004 - 2006
Biographical objects: the role of objects in personal reminiscing (transferred to Goldsmiths for PhD).
MA Interaction Design - ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART, LONDON // 2000 - 2000
Object-orientated interaction design: inspired by how people use and mis-use objects, and design to support wellbeing.
BA Design Futures - UNIVERSITY OF WALES, NEWPORT // 1996 - 1999
Exploring interface and interaction design within the realms of 3D design.
OCR Level 3 NVQ in Business Start Up - UNIVERSITY OF GLAMORGAN // 2007

Biography

Jac works as an Associate Tutor in CSAD. She is Co-Founder of HUG™ by LAUGH (Ludic Artefacts Using Gesture and Haptics).

She is an interaction and product designer, and a graduate of Goldsmiths (PhD) and the Royal College of Art (MA Interaction Design).

Her PhD researched chance memories to find ways to support involuntary reminiscence by design. The findings report on the value of using this approach for designing for people with dementia.

Jac has experience working as an interaction designer and user-experience consultant for numerous multi-national companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Philips, Ideo and MIT Medialab, and has had work published and exhibited internationally.

ASSOCIATE TUTOR, CARDIFF SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN // Jac is currently Research Fellow and Associate Tutor at CSAD. Her research investigates innovative ways of supporting the wellbeing of people with late stage dementia through the development of ludic artefacts.

 HEWLETT-PACKARD LABS, BRISTOL // Jac was an Interaction Design Consultant for projects requiring co-design with end users.  She led ethnography studies, user insight workshops, concept development, scenario storyboarding and technical reports for emerging technology and product developments within the Bristol and Indian research labs.

 CRAFTSPACE TOURING, BIRMINGHAM // Jac worked as an Interaction Design Consultant on the 'Design for Access: Influential Objects' project. She ran user insight workshops for visually impaired secondary school children, observed and analysed their needs and worked with them to design their own accessible objects/products. 

 ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART, LONDON // Jas was a Design Research Associate at the Helen Hamlyn Research Centre for Inclusive Design, with research partners Hewlett-Packard labs.  She ran user insight workshops and developed design proposals for multi-sensory memorabilia for people with visual impairment. Her findings attracted additional funding for 4 years of further research with HP.

 MEDIALAB EUROPE, DUBLIN // Jac worked as an Interaction Design Consultant and led research projects to develop new product and service concepts for personal health, self-reflection and wellbeing.

 PHILIPS RESEARCH LABS, REDHILL // Jac was Project Lead (context aware mobile phones) and design collaborator (children's play environments) on internal projects within the research labs.

 IDEO, LONDON // Jac worked as Project Lead with with the Appliance Studio, producing conceptual workbooks of design proposals around future wearable computers.

 

Current research

Jac is currently Research Fellow on the Welsh Government-funded ‘EMPOWERED’ project, evaluating a playful object for people living with dementia and post-stroke cognitive impairment. These are currently being tested within a private care home and the NHS to measure impact on wellbeing. She has previously been Research Assistant on the AHRC-funded LAUGH (Ludic Artefacts Using Gesture and Haptics) research project, developing innovative playful devices to support people with late stage dementia. The project was an international collaboration with researchers at CARIAD (Cardiff Metropolitan University), the University of Technology Sydney and Coventry University. The research was partnered by Gwalia Cyf and supported by the leading charities in the field: Age Cymru, Alzheimer’s Society and Dementia Positive. 

The research projects build on wellbeing research that shows that happy people live longer, have fewer falls and require less medication. It proposes non-pharmacological approaches to improve the wellbeing of people with dementia and their care. The innovative design solutions incorporate embedded electronics and smart material.

 Project website: www.laughproject.info
CARIAD research group: www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/cariad

Principal publications, exhibitions and awards

Publications

Fennell, J., Treadaway, C. & Taylor, A. (in press) Open Doors: Designing playful objects for dementia. In Proc: MinD International Conference. Dresden, Germany. 19th-20th September 2019.

 Souyave, J., Treadaway, C., Fennell, J. & Walters, A. (in press) Designing folding interventions for Positive Moments. In Proc: MinD International Conference. Dresden, Germany. 19th-20th September 2019.

 Seckham, A., Treadaway, C., Jelley, B., Fennell, J. & Taylor, A. (2019). LAUGH EMPOWERED PSCI Evaluation and Making: Playful Objects for Wellbeing, Emotional Regulation and Engagement for Dementia and Post Stroke Cognitive Impairment [Poster]. Welsh Stroke Conference, Cardiff Metropolitan University.

 Treadaway, C., Fennell, J., Taylor, A. & Kenning, G. (2019) 'Designing for playfulness through compassion: design for advanced dementia', Design for Health, 3:1, 27-47, DOI: 10.1080/24735132.2019.1593295.

 Rodgers, P, Innella, G, Bremner, C, Coxon, I, Broadley, C, Cadamuro, A, Carleklev, S, Chan, K, Dilnot, C, Fathers, J, Fennell, J, Fremantle, C, French, T, Henriques, DP, Lloyd Jones, P, Kettley, R, Kettley, S, Khan, M, Logge, K, Archer-Martin, J, McHattie, L-S, Pulley, R, Shahar, D, Teal, G, Tewari, S, Treadaway, C, Tsekleves, E, Valadkeshyaei, HM, Ventura, J, Watt, TA, Wiltse, H & Winton, E 2019, 'The Lancaster Care Charter', Design Issues, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 73-77.

Treadaway, C., Fennell, J., Prytherch, D., Kenning, G. & Walters, A. (2018).  Designing for wellbeing in late stage dementia.  In R. Coles et al. (Eds.), Pathways to wellbeing in design. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-8153469-5-1

 Treadaway, C., Fennell, J., Prytherch, D., Kenning, G., Prior, A., Walters, A. and Taylor, A. (2018). Compassionate Design: How to Design for Advanced Dementia – a toolkit for designers, Cardiff Met Press, Cardiff. ISBN 978-0-9929482-8-3

 Treadaway, C., Taylor, A. & Fennell, J. (2018). Compassionate Creativity: co-design for advanced dementia. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Design Creativity (ICDC 2018), Bath, January 31 – February 2.

 Treadaway, C. and Fennell, J. (2017).  How do we create attractive personalised and customised care?  Proceedings of Does Design Care? AHRC Symposium, Lancaster University, September 12-13.

Treadaway, C., Kenning, G., Prytherch, D. & Fennell, J. (2016). LAUGH: Designing to enhance positive emotion for people living with dementia.  Proceedings of Design and Emotion.  Amsterdam, 27-30 September 2016.

 Treadaway, C., Fennell, J., Prytherch, D., Kenning, G. & Walters, A. (2016).  Designing for wellbeing in late stage dementia.  Proceedings of Well being 2016,  Birmingham, UK, 5-6 September 2016.

Treadaway, C., Prytherch, D., Kenning, G. & Fennell, J. (2016). In the moment: designing for late stage dementia.Proceedings of DRS2016, Design Research Society 50th Anniversary Conference.  Brighton, UK, 27-30 June 2016.

Fennell, J. (2015). Chance Memories: Supporting involuntary reminiscence by design. Ph.D. thesis, Goldsmiths, University of London.

Frohlich, D.M. & Fennell, J. (2006). Sound, paper and memorabilia: Resources for a simpler digital photography.Personal and Ubiquitous Computing.

Buckley, D., Fennell, J. & Figueiredo, D. (2005). Designing for Access – young disabled people as active participants influencing design processes. Proceedings of Include '05, p.42.

Frohlich, D.M. & Fennell, J. (2005). Cross-modal design research. Proceedings of Include '05, p.87.

Fennell, J. & Frohlich, D.M. (2005). Beyond photographs: A design exploration of multisensory memorabilia for visually impaired people. HP Labs Technical Report HPL-2005-151.

Fennell, J. (2005). Multi-sensory Memorabilia [Poster]. Equator review, University of Sussex.

Fast Design, Slow Innovation / work featured in book: Frohlich D.M. (2015) Fast Design, Slow Innovation: Audiophotography Ten Years On. Springer.

.Cent: The Sam Hecht Issue / feature article 'Navigating My Dyslexia' p76, Spring 2005

The Observer / feature article 'More Fun Less Fuss' p40, 12th October 2003

The Guardian / feature article 'The Tomorrow People', 27th June 2003

Popeye Magazine / 'RCA Gang' p79, July 2002

Design Week / feature article 'No Flies on Them' p14, 27th June 2002

 

Awards

WELSH CRUCIBLE PARTICIPANT // 2019
KEF SCHOLARSHIP, WELSH DEVELOPMENT AGENCY // 2007
EPSRC DOCTORAL TRAINING AWARD // 2004 - 2012
HP CASE STUDENTSHIP AWARD // 2004 - 2009
ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART SOCIETY // 2001 - 2002
RSA DESIGN AWARD // 2001 - 2002
DESIGN FOR OUR FUTURE SELVES, HHRC // 2001 - 2002

Exhibitions

MinD CONFERENCE // (2019)
DESIGN RESEARCH FOR CHANGE // LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL (2018)
UP SPACE // SYDNEY AUSTRALIA (2018)
ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS // LONDON (2018)
SENEDD, WELSH ASSEMBLY // (2018)
INCLUDE // RCA (2005)
DESIGNING FOR ACCESS // BBC MAILBOX (2004)
EQUATOR REVIEW // BRIGHTON (2004)
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE SHOW & SYMPOSIUM // RCA (2004)
CRAFTSPACE TOURING, SYMPHONY HALL // BIRMINGHAM (2004)
DOORS EAST // BANGALORE, INDIA (2003)
THE SHOW (PART TWO) // RCA (2002)
GLOBAL TOOLS // VIENNA (2002)
NEW DESIGNERS // LONDON (1999)