Assistant Professor, San Francisco State University
Fernando Carvalho earned a Ph.D. in Design from Loughborough University (UK), and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Industrial Design from the University of Notre Dame (USA). He holds two BFA degrees –Visual Communication, and Product Design – from the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). His main professional and research projects include healthcare products, services, and systems, with a focus on quality improvement and participatory behavior change. Dr Carvalho’s design practice and scholarship include academic and professional works in Latin America, Europe, the UK, and the USA. Dr Carvalho has authored utility patents and won many scholarships, and teaching and professional awards. He has co-founded and co-directed a design studio (LEVANTE Design) that provided collaborative solutions with social relevance and impact for nonprofit, governmental, and corporate clients. His professional portfolio contains a broad range of works that include healthcare services, medical devices and hospital interiors, Paralympic sports accessories, digital design, civil construction equipment, information design, and innovative educational solutions, working for the NHS, Memorial Hospital of South Bend, Unicef, Ciespi, Heineken Brewers, Kiefer Aquatics, Sony Music, and the Federation of Industries of Rio de Janeiro.
Critical Writing Supporting Critical Making: The Design Essay Assignment
The paper (co-authored by Ian Campbell Cole and Tom Hurford) advocates for a greater emphasis on critical thinking and critical writing by describing and discussing the rationale and implementation of the Design Essay assignment, an applied example of how practice and reflection combined can help students to be more critical, while simultaneously developing writing skills fundamental to their success in and beyond university education.
The paper includes initial insights stemming from a qualitative study involving faculty and students from the Furniture and Product Design programs at a higher education institution in the East Midlands region of the UK.
