Dr. Shichao Zhao is a Lecturer in Digital Creativity and UX Design. After completion of his B.A. in Fine Art and an M.Eng. in Interactive Media Design at Zhejiang University, he continued his academic study at Newcastle University to pursue a Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) at the Open Lab from 2015 to 2019.
Previously, he held the position of Postdoctoral Researcher in Digital Archaeology and Heritage at Bournemouth University, he contributed to exploring potential collaborative research opportunities and grants in different subjects and with multiple departments. After this, he went on to undertake a Research Fellow position in Participatory Research Communication Design in the School of Design at the University of Leeds. He utilised Participatory Action Research as the main method to explore the use of interactivity to reach out to different audiences and demonstrate how art-based projects tackle societal challenges through online exhibitions in a Horizon 2020 research project titled 'Acting on the Margins: Arts as Social Sculpture (AMASS)'. Prior to joining Loughborough University, he was a lecturer in Emerging Technology and subject lead for the MDes Future Heritage Design programme at the Glasgow School of Art.
Shichao's research interests sit at the crossroads of Human-computer Interaction (HCI), Social Computing and Heritage Studies - especially in the studying and reflection of the design considerations that support heritage appreciation, enhance engagement, and increase the sharing of knowledge in a cross-cultural setting.
Supported by the theoretical framework of Research through Design (RtD), he draws on multiple design methods to investigate how technologies and design methodologies can be used in cultural heritage contexts. One of his recent works investigates how Participatory Action Research (PAR), principally the integration of interactive technology with co-design activities, can be applied to support the producing and sharing of community-based immigrant heritage for British-Chinese citizens.
Module Leader for:
DSA305 - Interactions and Experiences
ACB206 - Designing for Heritage Futures
Lecturer and tutor for:
DSA307 - Experiential Futures
DSB302 - Shaping Technologies in Society
DSP811 - Industry Project
DSP851 - Design Research Methods
DSP866 - Experience Design Major Project
Associate Chair for ACM Designing Interactive Systems 2023 - Experiences, Artifacts, and Technology subcommittee.
Organisation Committee for Relating Systems Thinking and Design (RSD12) 2023, Loughborough: Synergy Between Sciences.
Guest Editor for the Special Issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050) - Product Design Innovation and Consumer Psychology, 2022.
Visiting Fellow to the Faculty of Science & Technology in Archaeology and Anthropology, Bournemouth University (2021- present).
Lin Cheng, Extending the lifetime of shared products: a design approach to preventing damage of shared bicycles in China.
Tom Stephenson, How sound affects a theatre audience - Do dynamics, tempo and tonal balance affect the emotion and behaviours of an audience?
Yurou Zhang, How to balance the technical standardisation and cross-culture in designing non-textual mobile communication.
Xiyao Chen, Exploring the therapeutic potential of virtual art in a museum setting for patients with mental illness.
Qinqing Fu, Cross-cultural communication of intangible cultural heritage based on interactive technology.