George Torrens has been a practicing Industrial designer for the last 40 years. He became a lecturer to help designers deliver best practice, particularly in the field of Assistive products. George came to Loughborough University in 1994 learn how to validate the designs he produced.
George has been involved in inclusive sports products for the last 10 years and has worked closely with international inclusive sports coach Ken Black, and other coaches from Boccia England, Special Olympics GB, to develop low-cost accessible inclusive sports products including a cardboard boccia ramp. He has previously organised inclusive sports design competitions with Youth sports Trust, and organised an on-going international design competition: Inclusive Sports Product Design Hack currently sponsored by JLR Shine network.
In 1996, George developed Usability-NET, a free online resource for students and designers to get useful information about all aspects of a design process, from research to commercialisation.
He has undertaken research and design development projects for UK Government, charitable and commercial organisations in the UK and Southern Africa.
George has been the named inventor on four patent applications, with two GB and one US patents granted.
He has been an invited speaker to present on issues relating to Inclusive design and design ergonomics at National and International Events. He has also been a panellist reviewing short listed proposals for the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council as well as the Economic and Social Sciences Research Council. He regularly reviews papers for over eight academic journals.
He was the founding member of a university spin-out Company, Dexterity Research Limited, which was the first Loughborough University spin-out company to win a DTI SMART Award. He was a Director and shareholder between 2000-2003.
In 2009 he was awarded funding by the Audi Design Foundation to develop a patented fit-splint, an innovative new method of fracture support for the wrist.
He had undertaken a four-year course in Design For Industry at Newcastle Polytechnic (now known as the University of Northumbria), prior to which he completed a one-year arts and crafts foundation course at the Carlisle College of Art and Design. He served a four-year apprenticeship at British Nuclear Fuels Limited, Windscale between 1978-1981.
Loughborough University expert helps design unique, low-cost rugby wheelchair.
The game of wheelchair rugby is being opened up to children in South Africa, thanks to researchers from Loughborough and Aston universities.
George has accrued nearly £1 million in research, enterprise, and pedagogic research funding. The funding has been awarded from Ministry of Defence, Industrial partners, Charities, Research Councils and UK Innovate equivalent.
Research interests
- Validating design interventions and their effectiveness to evoke an emotional response in the viewer/user, based on principles of semantics, cognitive psychology, and their associated effect on schema and behavioural change.
- Optimising the physical and cognitive interaction between people and the products they use.
- Evaluation of a process model of Business Integrated Industrial Design and Innovation (BIDI) towards more effective design practice within Assistive new product development.
George has produced over 100 publications in Journals, conference proceedings and book chapters. He has produced over 20 principle-proving prototypes and commercial products within 50 associated research and enterprise funded projects.
Selected grants
- 2021 British Council £60,000. Co-I, A User-Centred development of an innovation eco-system to support best practice of sustainable inclusive enterprises in South Africa.
- 2019 AHRC, £61,700. PI, Raising awareness of inclusive crafts: building capacity and self-sufficiency of communication within the Charity SAFOD and the Countries of SA.
- 2017 AHRC, £44,307. PI, Expression of heritage and culture through inclusive arts and crafts design: empowering people with disability to contribute to their community in SA.
George was a consultant advisor to the Clinton Healthcare Access Initiative on the Digital Product Narrative report for the AT2030 programme and Founding Partners of ATscale, the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology. This resulted in a United Nations published document and other associated Journal articles.
George has supervised and co-supervised 10 PhD students to completion, acted as internal examiner for 4 PhD students and external examiner for 1 PhD and 1 MSc by research. He is currently supervising and co-supervising 3 PhD students and acting as internal reviewer for 5 PhD students.
Additional research links
- LUCAT A participatory approach to the design of assistive technologies enriches lives worldwide
- Design For Disability, Inclusive Innovation
Current roles
- MSc Integrated Industrial Design programme Admissions tutor
- SDCA Competitions Coordinator
Module Leader
- DSP861 Business Enterprise and Design parts A & B
- DSP874 - Professional Identity and Self-promotion.
Support Tutor
- ACP015 Co-creative Community Practices
- ACP204 Research in a User's World
- DSP859 Integrated Industrial Design - major projects
- DSP852 Industrial Design & Technology Skills
- DSP114 Inclusive Design for Products and Services
- DSP803 Design for Inclusivity
- DSC021 Inclusive Design
- DSC009 Design for Impact
- DSI001 Industrial Training Placement
- Personal tutor IID Masters students
Previous roles
- Student Disability liaison
- Year 1 tutor
- Personal tutor Part C ID&T students
Previous Module Leader roles
- DSA301 Design at SDCA
- DSA304 Signs and meanings
- DTA109 Industrial design studies 1
- DTB002 Universal design
- DTC013 Universal design
- DTP853 Inclusive design
- DTC010 Universal design
- DTB010 Universal design
- DTC011 Product Analysis Systems and Artefacts 3
- DTC005 Design studies 2
Previous Support Tutor roles
- DTA002 Design practice
- DTA003 Design context
- DTC003 Industrial design studies 3
- DTC004 Dissertation
- DTC005 Design practice 5
- DTC015 Final year design practice
- SAP101 Visual thinking and communication
- DTZ001 2D and 3D Visualisation
- Diploma in Professional Studies tutor
Additional teaching links
George has been returned in every Government Research assessment and Teaching assessment since 1994.
Awards
- 2019 Best paper, Social camouflage: A survey of 143 students of their preference for assistive technology cutlery and the visual mechanisms being influenced. Ergonomics & Human Factors (EHF 2019), Stratford-upon-Avon, 29th April-1st May.
- 2022 Eric Dickens Memorial Award 2022, (shortlisted) The Packaging Society, IOM3
- 2021 Eric Dickens Memorial Award 2021 (co-winner), The Packaging Society, IOM3
- 2019 Eric Dickens Memorial Award 2019, The Packaging Society, IOM3
- 2018 Eric Dickens Memorial Award 2018, The Packaging Society, IOM3
- 2017 Eric Dickens Memorial Award 2016, The Packaging Society, IOM3
- 2019 Runner-up: Innovation in Education and training award, LeicestershireLive Innovation Awards 2019
- 2016 Teaching and Innovation Award 2016, Usability-NET, Loughborough University.
- 2014 Short-listed, Category: Social Enterprise, LU Enterprise Awards 2014, Loughborough University Enterprise Awards
- 2008 Winning team, Audi Design Foundation 48 hour co-design challenge, 2008.
- 2000 SMART Award, 2000. Department of Trade & Industry.
Editorial board
2023 Editorial board for the Journal Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation / Rehabilitacion Interdisciplinaria.
Webinar Organiser
- 2023 Webinar Hybrid (Chair) Opening ceremony of the center for culture, heritage, innovation and enterprise, C-CHIE, SAFOD, 21st April 2023, Kgatleng, Botswana.
- 2022 Webinar Hybrid, (Chair) Side Event - Crafts Abilities Project Launch, Southern Africa Disability Roundtable Forum, 21st November 2022, Johannesburg, South Africa.
- 2022 Webinar Hybrid, (Chair), Side event - Southern Africa Assistive Technology EXPO (SAATE), 26th-30th September 2022, Windhoek, Namibia.
- 2021 Webinar (Chair) on Assistive Technology Business Innovations, SAFOD, Botswana.
- 2018 Webinar (Chair) - Crafts abilities Network, Loughborough University in London.
Invited speaker In-person
- 2023 Guest speaker, Chevening Scholars - Disability, Sport, and Development panel, LUiL.
- 2014 Naidex 2014, National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, 29th April - 1st May 2014.
- 2012 ALT2012, 1st DMU Assisted Living Technologies Workshop, De Monort University, Leicester, 20 Nov 2012-20 Nov 2012.
Invited speaker Webinar
- 2025 Panellist and guest speaker, Multi sector dialogue on bridging innovation, investment and inclusion gap to increase Access to Assistive Technology for Persons with disabilities, The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), hosted by the Southern African Federation of the Disabled.
- 2025 Guest speaker, User-Centered design: A global perspective on innovation. Product Design Department, Effat University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
- 2024 Guest speaker, Lecturer Network Group, Loughborough University.
- 2023 Guest Lecture, Design by psychology- An overview. Product and Industrial Design Department, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan.
- 2022 Guest lecture, UCD Industrial design process, School of Art and Design, Xi’an University of Technology (XUT) and Qilu University of Technology, China.
- 2019 – 2020 Guest Lectures, Packaging branding and design, Product and Industrial Design Department, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan.
- 2016 Guest lecture, Assistive Technology products, Weill Cornell Medical College New York, United States of America.
Memberships
Current:
- Member of the Chartered Society of Designers.
- Member of the Design Research Society.
- Associate member of the Ergonomics Society.
- Member of REMAP GB, Leicestershire & Rutland panel.
- Member of the EPSRC Peer Review College
- Member of the International Peer Review College, UKRI
Former:
- Founding member of the British Institute for Design and Disability.
- Member of the European Academy of Design.
- Associate member of the Society for Research in Rehabilitation.
- Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts and Manufactures.
External Grant peer reviewer
AHRC, EPSRC, UKRI, ESRC and NIHR
Internal grant peer reviewer
University Global Challenges Research Fund panel
Invited Reviewer
2020-2 Invited review panel, Snowdon Masters Scholarships
Journal peer reviewer
- Applied Ergonomics,
- Design Journal,
- Design Studies,
- Ergonomics,
- Ergonomics Abstracts,
- IASDR 2019,
- International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics,
- International Journal of Engineering Design,
- Journal of Design Research,
- Management Sport and Leisure,
- Neurological Rehabilitation Review,
- Plos One,
- Rapid Prototyping Journal,
- Textile research Journal,
- Universal access in the information society
Conference Peer Review
ICED2023, DRS2020, IASDR2019
External examining
PhD
2025 Hejres, M.M., Mubassat. Applying User-Centred Design to Develop and Evaluate an Arabic Typeface for Dyslexic Readers.
MSc by Research
2012 Allsop, C.A., An evaluation of base layer compression garments for sportswear.
Internal examiner (PhD)
- 2025 Zhong Q., Age-friendly Car Design: An Emotional Design Approach.
- 2024 Claybrook F., Enhancing Patient Specific Diabetic Foot Insoles through Customised Additive Manufacturing for Improved Cushioning Properties.
- 2024 Pan H., Graphic Landscape in Cities: Decoding the Identity and Meaning of Chinatowns in London, Manchester, and Liverpool.
- 2016 Chan A., Perspectives of academics and practitioners on design thinking.
Current supervision
Principle Research supervisor
George Whitfield - Why do we teach Police Officers to shoot standing still? A critical review of conventional firearms techniques and training for armed Police Officers under current (2018) United Kingdom Home Office legislation.
Secondary Research Supervisor
- George Kayange, Management of Assistive Technology Ecosystems in Africa: The Case of South Africa, Kenya, and Malawi
- Karl Hurn, Advancing Industrial Design Education: Integrating Practice, Research, and Collaboration
Completed students
Principle Research supervisor
- 2025 Salma Ghulman - Enhancing Saudi Arabia as a tourist destination: An evaluation of current and future branding approach
- 2023 Simon Downs - Using Complex Adaptive Systems as an Epistemology for Graphic Communication Design Practice
- 2023 Nicholas Samuel Johnson - 'It has Got to be Eye-Catching’: An Investigation into Packaging Design Management & Design Practice in the UK FMCG Industry
- 2020 Salman Asghar - Cross-cultural Product Semantics: A comparative investigation between the UK and Pakistan into the socio-cultural meanings ascribed to digital images (a case study of manual wheelchair design)
- 2020 Georgina Palmer - Pot throwing: An investigation into the real-time cognitive and physical processes involved in a craft performance
Secondary Research Supervisor
- 2019 Beth McMurchie - Forensic Evidence Enhancement using Physiological Aspects and Processes
- 2017 Mark B. Edwards - An investigation into the relationship between deposited fingerprint and other body characteristics
- 2015 Matthews Ollyn - Optimising user-centred approaches to design practice in Botswana: Challenges for the Industry and Education Institutions
- 2013 Gavin Williams - Improving fit through the integration of anthropometric data into a computer aided design and manufacture based design process
- 2010 Will Tutton - Exploring, evaluating and improving the development process for Military Load Carrying Equipment
Independent reviewer
- Abigail Egwunyenga
- Nariman Lotfi
- Bernadette Douglas
- Nesrin Yuksel
- Wei Zhou