Professor Maria Lonsdale

Profile

In 1996 I received a 4-year degree (Licenciatura) in Visual Communication from ESAD, Matosinhos, Portugal. In 2006 I received my PhD from the Department of Typography and Graphic Communication, University of Reading, UK. I had a seven-year career break from academia and then joined the School of Design at the University of Leeds in January 2015.

I am a Professor of Information and Communication Design and have experience of teaching design theory and practice, and research methods for design in higher education, both in Portugal and in the UK since 1997. I have also worked as a design practitioner since 1996, having established my own design studio in partnership at the time.

My main areas of research are Communication Design and Graphic Design and Information Design and Typographic Design. My research is notable in the field of Design for its interdisciplinary nature, with collaboration across sectors such as Healthcare, National and Global Security and Education. My research is also notable in the field of Design for its research based user-centred approach using a wide range of research methods including; focus groups, interviews, questionnaires and surveys, co-design, usability testing and iteration, experimental studies that test, evaluate and validate design solutions to particular problems encountered in real-life contexts. At its core, my research focuses on the effective use of design to improve user performance and wellbeing.

I am the Head of the School of Design since 2020. I am also the founder and Director of PACE - Professional Academy for Creative Enterprise. PACE delivers innovative professional education, creative production and expert consultancy tailored to organisations and professionals worldwide

I am Academic Advisor for Luto, a leading global health communications and testing company. I am Incoming Editor for the prestigious international peer-reviewed Design journal Visible Language first published in 1967, starting as one of three editors from January 2025, part of a consortium of 3 universities now publishing Visible Language: University of Cincinnati, USA; University of Leeds, UK; and University of North Carolina State, USA). I am the former Editor-in-Chief (2020-2024) for the equally prestigious Information Design Journal, first published in 1979. I am also reviewer for other peer-reviewed design journals such She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation, as well as journals beyond the field of Design, such as Journal of Eye Movement Research. I am a regular manuscript reviewer for publishers such as Sage, Routledge (Taylor & Francis) and Bloomsbury.

I was awarded Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) as a recognition for my seniority and contribution to high quality teaching and student learning. I was also awarded Member of the International Society of Typographic Designers (MISTD) as recognition for my professional ability as designer and academic.

Responsibilities

• Head of School
• Director of PACE

Research interests

Design to Inform | the importance of design and visualisation to make information easy to access, simple to use and inclusive.

Design to Instruct | the importance of design to help people process, learn and retain information, and transfer it to specific situations.

Design for Healthcare | the importance of design to make health information clear and facilitate communication between health professionals and patients.

Design for Security | the importance of design to improve how security information is handled and communicated inside agencies, as well as the importance of design to inform and instruct the public about security issues (e.g. cyber security awareness, hygiene and good practice).

Design for Education | the importance of design to enhance and innovate teaching and learning materials, as well as to improve student experience and satisfaction in traditional learning & virtual learning environments.

Design for Reading | the importance of typographic legibility for reading strategies such as search reading, skimming, and scanning.

Design for the user/people | the importance of designing with the user/people by employing methods such as co-design/participatory design, and for the user/people by employing methods such as usability testing, eye-tracking, performance testing.

RESEARCH PROJECTS

2022-24 | Improving recovery after bowel cancer surgery: Mixed-method feasibility study of a co-produced education intervention – RecoverTogether | Co-I | Funded by NHIR | Research for Patient Benefit

2022-23 |  A study to co-design an information/exercise leaflet for people living with PMR | Co-I | Funded by The Trustees of PMRGCAuk 

2022 | Communicating virus transmission risks to UK Government and performance organisation’ | Co-I | Research England Policy Support Fund 

2020 | Designing digital information tools to enhance communication between surgeons, nurses and patients during recovery from bowel surgery at hospital and at home’ | School of Design – University of Leeds and NIHR MIC – Surgical Technologies | Joint PI with Dr Chapman.

2020 | Patient stakeholder panel: Improving comprehension and reducing anxiety about recovery after major abdominal surgery | Co-I (with Dr Stephen Chapman and Prof David Jayne) | Research Development Funding, University of Leeds.

2020 | Immersive technologies for design and education | Co-I (with Dr Francisco Queiroz as PI) | Epic Games.

2020 [from March] | COVID-19 PPE Challenge I NIHR MIC – Surgical Technologies + University of Leeds | Information and Communication Design Lead.

2020 [from March] | Venous leg ulcers wrapping systems for patient self-management I NIHR MIC – Surgical Technologies + University of Leeds + The Leeds teaching Hospitals NHS Trust | Information and Communication Design Lead.

2020 [from March] | WHO Surgical safety step-by-step instructions App I NIHR MIC – Surgical Technologies + University of Leeds + The Leeds teaching Hospitals NHS Trust | Information and Communication Design Lead.

2020 [from April] | BEAT-CORONA – Building evidence to advance treatment I Cambridge Clinical Trials Unit + University of Leeds | Information and Communication Design Lead.

2020 [from April] | Project CARE (COVID-19 African Rapid Entrepreneurs) I NIHR Global Health Research Group + Royal Academy of Engineering + University of Leeds | Information and Communication Design Lead.

2020 [from April] | What rheumatology patients taking long-term steroid tablets (prednisolone) need to know about adrenal insufficiency during the coronavirus outbreak I The Leeds teaching Hospitals NHS Trust + University of Leeds | Information and Communication Design Lead.

2019 | The impact of information design on recovery after bowel surgery. How can the design of patient information resources lead to improved comprehension and decreased anxiety? | Joint PI with Dr Stephen Chapman | NIHR MIC – Surgical Technologies; Bowel Cancer UK; School of Design – University of Leeds

2019 | Information and instructional design principles to enhance accessibility and inclusivity of course material on Blackboard VLE | PI | LITE Teaching Excellence Project Leaders, University of Leeds

2018 | The impact of information design on the quality of bowel preparation for colonoscopy screening II – Scoping study and initial design development | PI | School of Design, University of Leeds

2018 | Visualising the terror threat. The impact of information design on communicating security information to the British public | PI | School of Design, University of Leeds

2018 | Handling and communicating intelligence information | PI | Government Communications and Planning Directorate (GCPD), UK

2017 | The impact of information design on the quality of bowel preparation for colonoscopy screening I – Public engagement | PI | Research Development Funding, University of Leeds

2017 | Cyber security communication campaigns. The effect of neglecting user-centred information design principles on the quality of cyber hygiene amongst the public | PI | School of Design, University of Leeds

Qualifications

• PhD | Typography and Graphic communication | University of Reading, UK
• Licenciatura | Visual Communication Design | ESAD, Portugal

Professional memberships

• SFHEA | Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• MISTD | Member of the International Society of Typographic Designers
• Academic Advisor | Luto [Health communications and testing company]
• Member of the Design Research Society
• Member of the Information Design Association

Current postgraduate researchers

• Tian Tian
• Zheng Wang
• Yuan Yuan
• Dan Yang
• Zhe Gong
• Jiacheng Yue
• Ruizhi Wang
• Fanke Feng
• Xin Hu
• Tongfei Zhang