Dr Derek Jones

Professional biography

I am a Senior Lecturer in Design at The Open University (UK) and part of the OU Design Group, where I co-lead development of the new Bachelor of Design qualification. I am a National Teaching Fellow and my particular experience and passion is in developing online learning designs, technologies, and environments for design education. My main research interests are: the pedagogy of design and creativity, embodied cognition in physical and virtual environments, and theories of design knowledge. I am the Convenor of the Design Research Society’s Education special interest group and a qualified architect with 15 years of experience in the construction design and procurement industries.

Research interests

I am interested in ideas - how ideas are formed in our minds, what we do with them and how we use them in the world around us.

This special relationship between what we think and what we do is at the heart of design and especially design thinking and cognition. It also occupies a unique place in the mix of learning, research and practice - doing and thinking can be found in all three and I believe that this should underpin contemporary design education.

The pedagogy of design and creativity

• Theory and practice of learning design in distance and online settings
• Studio theory and practice, especially properties of studios applied across different modes
• Attitudes to, and social dimensions of, creativity and creativity as a 'normal' process in design

Design theory

• Issues in contemporary design thinking and the applicaiton of pragmatic tradition(s) and philosophy
• Conceptions of place in architecture
• Embodied cognition and ecosophy applied to design theory and practice

 Virtual design environments

• Virtual design studios and technology applied in learning contexts
• Digital design spaces in virtual learning spaces
• Building Information Modelling (BIM) design processes for sustainability in practice and education

Current projects

• Studio Properties: A Field Guide to Design Education - published by Bloomasbury and coming out in Spring 2025.
• Special Issue: Alternative Studios: Design Education Changes in 2020
• Hyperlocal project, local networked education project working with the La Campana-Altamira community.
• Distance Design Education Website. Set up to support design educators moving to distance and online teaching. Supported by the Design Research Society Pedagogy SIG and The Open University (UK) Design Group.

Teaching interests

I am currently leading development of the first module for the new Bachelor of Design Qualification (BDes), T190: Design practices, and am co-leading the design of the BDes itself.

I have chaired presentation of  U101: Design Thinking - Creativity for the 21st Century and was the author of Part 2 of T192: Engineering: origins, methods, context, the University's new first level engineering course. I am curently working on the new Bachelro of Design qualification at the OU as well as contributing to T317: Innovation: Desgn for change.

In conjunction with colleagues in the Design Group and LTS, I previously led the design, development and implementation of OpenStudio, the pioneering online portfolio and virtual design studio used in U101 Design Thinking.

I have previously authored and lectured Building Construction Technology at Dundee College and have been a studio tutor for the Masters of Engineering course at Dundee University.

Impact and engagement

Future engagements

Futures of Design Education events

Past engagements

Academic advisor for the OU/BBC series Secret Genius of Modern Life.

November 2019 Pragmatic Nihilism TEDxOpenUniversity Talk

30 September - 01 October 2016 - Wigtown Book Festival. Public talks on Creativity; More Creativity (!); and Architecure and Storytelling:

• What is creativity?
• You are the space
• You are a creative genius (kids session)

27-30 June 2015 - Design Research Society 50th Anniversary Conference 2016 theme co-chair for Design Epistemology.

External collaborations

BITE 2: Equal BITE project with Edinburgh University

International links

I am the Convenor of the Design Research Society's Education Special Interest Group, representing around a thousand members of the design research and education community worldwide, the DRS is the oldest society dedicated to design as a knowledge discipline.