Christopher J. Parker received his PhD in Design from Loughborough University Design School after practising as an architectural lighting designer for flagship retailers, hotels, and theme parks worldwide. He has also worked as a Senior User Experience (UX) Designer, developing apps for fashion retailer Next Plc.
At Loughborough University, Dr Parker is the User Experience Design (UX) MSc course leader, and module leader for usability, advanced technology, and major project. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Alongside lecturing in UX Design at Loughborough University, Dr Parker has been invited to teach internationally within China. Since 2020, China's #1 University for Art and Design - the Chinese Academy of Fine Art (CAFA) - has invited him to run a course on UX Design alongside Prof. R. Ian Campbell.
Key Awards
- 2018: China's Yantai Urban Planning Bureau made Dr Parker an Expert Advisor in 2018.
- 2019: Beat over 250 international entries to win a Nomination Prize/ Distinction for the Beijing Daxing International Airport Public Art Global Competition: redesigning the international arrivals corridor; with Prof. Atkin and Dr Zhang.
- 2020: Best Paper at the 6th International AR and VR Conference; with Liangchao Xue and Cathryn Hart
Research and publications focus on the emotional connection between technology and the user. By searching the way we as humans experience the world, we feel powerful connections that are hard to describe in words are created yet encourage positive engagement behaviours. In recent years, Dr Parker has presented at Design conferences in Canada, China and the UK.
Dr Parker also hosts the UX Usability Podcast (available on all major podcast platforms) where the interviews the world's leading designers and thinkers about UX, the future of design, and how to create a better tomorrow.
He is seeking PhD students and research partners interested in innovative consumer experience of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and other advanced interactive technologies. Email Dr Parker for more details.
Chris is a member of the User Centred Design Research Group. He has an interest in Design for future e-Commerce experiences.
Expertise
- User Experience Design (UX)
- Design for e-commerce/ m-commerce
- Design for advanced technology (AR/ AI)
- User Testing (usability/ accessibility)
- Pedagogic curriculum development
- Podcasting
- DSP832 – Usability Principles and Practice (Module Leader)
- DSP866 – User Experience Design Major Project (Module Leader)