Dr Hilary Kenna
Dr. Hilary Kenna is a Lecturer in Design & User Experience. She lectures on the Masters & Postgraduate Diploma in User Experience Design, Postgraduate Certificate in Design Thinking and BA in Visual Communication Design. Hilary was previously Head of Department of Technology & Psychology and Programme Chair of BA in Visual Communication Design, a member of IADT's Governing Body, Academic Council and is currently an academic representative on IADT's R+D Committee.
Publications
| Year | |
|---|---|
| The Graphic Design Reader – Selected Writings, Emil Ruder: A Future for Design Principles in Screen Typography, Bloombury Press, Edited by Teal Triggs and Leslie Atzmon | 2018 |
| Design Thinking for Designers, 100 Archive Blog, and Medium.com, April 2018. | 2018 |
| If, Then, Now, Next– thoughts on the future of design education, Campaign Design Journal, published by ICAD, (co-author David Smith), May 2016. | 2016 |
| Seek and You Will find – Interview: Hilary Kenna, founder of SeeSearch Discovery App, 2+3D grafika plus produkt, Polish Design Quarterly, Issue III | 2015 |
| Touching the text of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land: a critical discussion of interactive design and screen typography for an iPad ebook, Book 2.0, Intellect Publishing, Winter Issue | 2013 |
| Contributing author (6 entries on screen and digital media design), Phaidon Design Classics, Phaidon | 2012 |
| Emil Ruder: A Future for Design Principles in Screen Typography, Design Issues, MIT Press, Winter Issue, p.35-54. | 2010 |
Exhibitions
| Year | |
|---|---|
| Motyf 2018 International Festival of Motion & Interactive Typography, Virtual Types – Future Forms of Typography | 2018 |
| Pushing Boundaries and Practices – An interdisciplinary exhibition of work in progress by LCC PhD students at London College of Communication, March 3-16th | 2012 |
| Making Modernity: Media Explorer, touch screen installation at the Chemistry Heritage Foundation Museum in Philadelphia (permanent exhibit) for RGB Company, UK | 2008 |
Research projects
Hilary’s research into user experience, interface design and data visualisation for information discovery, funded by Enterprise Ireland, was commercialised in 2014, into an online visual search and discovery product for education and research called SeeSearch. SeeSearch was granted two US design patents in 2015 and was selected to be a participant in Google’s Adopt-a-Startup Programme in September 2015 and Telefonica’s Wayra Startup Academy in 2014.
From 2008-2010, Hilary was Principle Investigator of a data visualization and business intelligence research project called Vizi, which was funded by Ireland’s National Digital Research Centre (NDRC). In 2010, Vizi won the Irish Software Association (ISA) award for Best Industry Academic Research Collaboration with Irish digital agency Twelve Horses.
| Year | |
|---|---|
| Principal Investigator, Enterprise Ireland Commericalisation Fund project: SeeSearch – search and discovery for academic research and libraries | 2012–14 |
| Principal on various innovation voucher projects for Irish SMEs funded by Enterprise Ireland | 2012–13 |
| Principal Investigator – Feasibility Study: Information Discovery for Libraries and Education, funded by the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC) | 2011 |
| Principal Investigator – Commercialisation Project funded by the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC): Vizi Data visualisation business intelligence platform | 2010 |
Lectures/Conferences
| Year | |
|---|---|
| Motyf 2018 International Festival of Motion & Interactive Typography, Virtual Types – Future Forms of Typography | 2018 |
| IRG Design Thinking Conference 2018, workshop in Visual Thinking, Helix, DCU, Dublin, May 2018. | 2018 |
| Graphic Design needs a Virtual & Augmented Reality Check, Graphic Design Educator’s Network Annual Conference: Ideas of Revolt, Sheffield, UK, 7-9 September, 2017. | 2017 |
| Designing the Future RX, MCE4 2017 4th Annual Conference: Positive Tech, Copernicus Science Centre, Warsaw, Poland, May 7-9, 2017. | 2017 |
| Designing the Future RX (Reading Experience), Motyf 2016–International Motion Type Conference & Festival, Gutenberg Museum, Mainz, Germany, Nov 2016. | 2016 |
| Design Principles for Screen Typography, Face Forward International Typography Conference, Association Typographique Internationale (ATypI), Dublin Institute of Technology, 11-12 December | 2015 |
| Speculative Futures: RX + The Future Book, Ecologies of Publishing Futures, Royal College of Art (RCA), London, November 23 | 2015 |
| Creating Engaging Web Scale Library Discovery for a Google Generation, What’s Next for Web-scale Discovery, LIR HeaNet Annual Seminar, Trinity College Dublin, March 30 | 2015 |
| A UX Design Approach to Solving Information Overload – creating a new discovery product, AGRAPA 4th International Conference: The Need for Design + Designing for Need, Academy of Fine Arts Katowice, Poland, March 20 | 2015 |
| Visualisation in Design Thinking – Unexpected Outcomes, Think(In) Visual Communication Conference, Warsaw, Poland, December 12 | 2014 |
| TEDx talk – Screen Typography: Words Made Usable, South Dublin County Libraries, Tallaght Victory Centre, Dublin, November 2011 | 2011 |
Awards + Achievements
| Year | |
|---|---|
| Two US Design Patents granted for SeeSearch Discovery Product | 2015 |
| Finalist: Disruptive Category IXDA International Design Awards for The Waste Land App | 2012 |
| Winner: Best Adult Title Future Book Awards, for The Waste Land App | 2011 |
| Finalist: Irish Appy Awards, Best iPad App category for The Waste Land App | 2011 |
| Winner: Best Industry Academic Collaboration, Irish Software Association (ISA) Award for the Vizi Project, Twelve Horses and IADT | 2010 |
| Interactive BAFTA Nomination: Offline Learning category for Mind Reading – A Guide to Human Emotions, BAFTA | 2002 |
Other activities
| Year | |
|---|---|
| External Examiner to BAs in Graphic Design, Animation and Game Design, University of Huddersfield, UK | 2016-2019 |
| Peer Reviewer, She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation, Published by Elsevir | 2016 |
| Assessor: International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD) Annual Student Assessment Programme | 2016 |
| Consultant Head of Design + UX, Independent News and Media, January 2014-January | 2015 |
| External Examiner, BA(Hons) Graphic Design & Digital Design, Letterkenny Institute of Technology | 2011-2014 |
| Member: Atypi, IDI, IXDA, 100 Archive |