Dr Danah Abdulla

Biography

I am a designer, educator and researcher interested in new narratives and practices in design that push the disciplinary boundaries and definitions of the discipline. Currently, I am a Reader in Anti/Post/Decolonial Histories, Theories and Praxes at Decolonising the Arts Institute and in the Design School at Camberwell, Chelsea, and Wimbledon Colleges of Art at University of the Arts London (UAL). From 2020-2024, I was Programme Director of Graphic Design at Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon Colleges of Arts (UAL), where I was responsible for overseeing the BA Graphic Design, BA Graphic Design Communication, MA Graphic Design Communication, MA Global Collaborative Design Practice, and the Graduate Diploma in Graphic Design programmes. I have held a Visiting Professorship at the Vilnius Academy of Arts in Lithuania and guest-lectured across UAL colleges, at Goldsmiths (University of London), Kingston University, Glasgow School of Art, Royal College of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Leeds Arts University, Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Universidad de Chile, Hochschule der Künste Basel, and Lusófona University. I am a founding member of the Decolonising Design research group, and launched Kalimat Magazine, a non-profit publication about Arab thought and culture, which I ran from 2010 to 2016.

My first book Designerly Ways of Knowing: A Working Inventory of Things a Designer Should Know, was published by Onomatopee (2022). I am currently working on a forthcoming monograph Design Otherwise: Transforming Design Education in the Arab Region (Bloomsbury, 2024). Other outputs include journal articles, book chapters and conference papers. I have presented my work at international conferences, conducted several workshops, and alongside my research group Decolonising Design, organised symposia, co-edited an issue of the Design and Culture journal, and organised conference platforms.

My research interests are on decolonising in design, possibilities of design education, design culture(s) (with a focus on the Arab region), the politics of design, publishing, design over time, and social design. I am keen to supervise PhD students interested in these areas.