School staff
Alison Burrows
PhD student
Tel +44 (0)1509 226905
Email a.b.burrows@lboro.ac.uk
Location Holywell Park; MBG/1/G01
Personal profile
Alison grew up in Portugal, where she graduated from EUAC (University School of Arts of Coimbra) with a degree in Equipment Design.
Her undergraduate career provided her with thorough knowledge of Interior and Industrial Design, as well as a background in History of Art, Aesthetics and some Fine Arts subjects (such as Painting, Sculpture, Ceramics, Photography and Printmaking).
As a student she was always encouraged to take a cross-disciplinary approach to projects by working with and learning from people from other fields. This showed her that Design can and should be an transdisciplinary tool for understanding and enhancing human experience.
Undertaking a PhD at ESRI has provided her with the opportunity to pursue her interest in the Inclusive approach to Design. Her research will focus on the initial use of new technologies, using design to encourage playful exploration of a new product. The Out-of-Box Experience provides the ideal scenario where all these factors come into play and, by centring her research on older adults, Alison hopes to make a contribution to a more equitable design practice.
Other research interests include exploring the role of human senses in perception through Food Design.
Supervisor(s)
Thesis title / topic
Out-of-Box Experiences: factors that encourage and inhibit the uptake of new technologies by older adults.