Personal Profile

Dr Kristina Niedderer is Reader in Design and Applied Arts. She is course leader for Applied Arts, and leads Contextual Studies in the Division of Design and Applied Arts as well as the 'Material and Theoretical Practice' Research Cluster. She is a design researcher and craft practitioner who was originally apprenticed as a gold and silversmith and worked as a journey(wo)man with Ulla and Martin Kaufman in Germany. She then trained as a designer and design researcher in the UK, with an MA (RCA) and a PhD in Design.

Since 2005, Kristina has led a number of research projects successfully to completion, including theoretical and practice-led, technical, philosophical and creative approaches to research in applied art and design. In 2005, she initiated and led the 'Argentium Project' at Middlesex University, funded by the Arts Council England, which investigated technical and creative opportunities of Argentium. In 2008, Kristina received funding from the AHRC to extend her work on the Argentium Project with research into the use of Argentium and laser welding. Also in 2008, she received a start-up grant from UoW to lead research into the use of rapid manufacturing technology (DMLS) with Argentium, which has brought together several academic and commercial partners in an ongoing collaboration.

Also from 2005, in her position as Research Fellow at the University of Hertfordshire (2005-7), she led the Experiential Knowledge Project researching the role of experiential and tacit knowledge in art and design research. In 2007, Kristina founded the first DRS Special Interest Group on Experiential Knowledge (EKSIG) as part of her interest and research into knowledge and models of research for Art and Design. She has organised the Experiential Knowledge Conference 2007 and the international conferences 'EKSIG 2009: Experiential Knowledge, Method and Methodology' and 'EKSIG 2011: SkinDeep - experiential Knowledge and multi sensory communication. She is a Council Member of the Design Research Society, and Secretary for Special Interest Groups, which promote international exchange and collaboration in areas of design research.

in 2010, Kristina has founded the journal 'Craft Research' (Intellect Publishers), dedicated to developing and advancing contemporary craft practice and theory through research.Kristina has experience of peer review of research quality through conferences and journals, through PhD supervision, and authoring research papers. She has been a keynote speaker and has lectured on research issues at various European universities, and is involved in collaborative research networks.Her research interests & supervision expertise range across:

• conceptual issues in craft and design;
• mediation of social interaction through artefacts;
• the nature and role of knowledge in research;
• fundamental principles and practices of using practice within research;
• principles and practices of the research exhibition;
• research education.

In her practice, Kristina is working at the intersection of craft and design while specialising in silver and tableware design. With her doctoral work, she has moved beyond traditional craft practises, using research in the development of her work. Her work focused on the exploration of design as a means for mediating mindful interaction through the use of objects in social contexts. Her work is shown regularly at trade fairs and galleries in England and Germany.

© Copyright 2011 Kristina Niedderer