Livia Rezende is a design historian living and working on unceded Gadigal land.
She is the Postgraduate Coordinator for the School of Art & Design, where she teaches Design History and Theory and supervises postgraduate students in correlate fields. Livia welcomes enquiries from applicants interested in undertaking an MFA, MPhil or PhD by thesis or by practice.
Livia holds a doctoral degree from the V&A/Royal College of Art History of Design...view more
Livia Rezende is a design historian living and working on unceded Gadigal land.
She is the Postgraduate Coordinator for the School of Art & Design, where she teaches Design History and Theory and supervises postgraduate students in correlate fields. Livia welcomes enquiries from applicants interested in undertaking an MFA, MPhil or PhD by thesis or by practice.
Livia holds a doctoral degree from the V&A/Royal College of Art History of Design Programme, a Master's and a Bachelor's degree in graphic and industrial design from Brazil. She holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Art & Design Education and is a Senior Fellow of the Advance Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).
Livia is an expert in exhibition histories and histories of design practice in postcolonial contexts—including design’s environmental, cultural, and social impacts. Livia is internationally renowned in the field of Design History as a Latin American scholar whose publications and thought leadership contribute to expanding the discipline’s geographical and methodological reaches. Livia works with innovative research methods that advance transnational and intersectional design histories, promote positionality and perspective sharing in scholarly and teaching practices. She is recognised for introducing non-Western perspectives and knowledges to the field, for critically reassessing archival methodologies in design, and for advancing collaborative history writing.
As Book Editor for the Manchester University Press, Livia advises on the academic standing of book proposals and manuscripts in the Studies in Design and Material Culture series. She is also Editor of the Journal of Design History with special responsibility for Explorations, a new strategic editorial direction underpinned by EDI principles to foster publishing access for underrepresented groups.
As one of the co-founders of the international research collective OPEN, she works on decolonial methods and praxis through public engagement, educational impact, and scholarly outputs.
My Grants
Australian Council of University Art and Design, 2023: A Decolonial Design History Educators Network, $5,000 with Nicola St John (RMIT), Fanny Suhendra (Swinburne), Diana Albarrán González (Univesrity of Auckland), Nina Gibbes and Zenobia Ahmed
UNSW School of Art & Design Research Grant (Seed Funding Scheme), 2023: $2,739
UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture Faculty Research Fellow, 2021-2022: $45,000
UNSW Art & Design Faculty Research Grant, 2019: $4,997
Royal College of Art (RCA), Research & Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Fund, 2018: $1,000
Arts & Humanities Research Council UK / Newton Fund, 2017: Development through the Creative Economy in China, $6,500
Royal College of Art (RCA), Research Development Fund, 2014-2015: $3,500
My Qualifications
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in History of Design, V&A/Royal College of Art History of Design programme, UK
Master in Design, PUC-Rio, Brazil
Bachelor in Industrial and Graphic Design, ESDI, Brazil
Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, AdvanceHE, UK
Postgraduate Certificate in Art & Design Education, Royal College of Art, UK
My Awards
2021-22 UNSW Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture Research Fellow
2021 Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
2020 Design Writing Prize, Design History Society, United Kingdom
2019 UNSW Art & Design Dean's Award for Research Excellence
2013 Visiting Professorship, Rio de Janeiro State University, Brazil
2012 Junior Postdoctoral Scholarship, Brazilian Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)
2007-10 Full Doctoral Award, CAPES Foundation of Brazil
2010 Conference Travel Grant, Design History Society, United Kingdom
2008 Conference Travel Prize, UK Society for Latin American Studies
2005 Best Written Work, Museu da Casa Brasileira, Brazil
2001-03 Full Master's Degree Award, Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and CAPES Foundation of Brazil
My Research Activities
Livia's previous research project and publications discussed nation-building efforts through designed pavilions, visual communication, exhibits and displays in 19th-century International Exhibitions and World’s Fairs, with emphasis on the commodification of raw materials and the gendering of nature in these ‘design pageantries’.
Current research projects includet:
The Discipline of Modern Design: Professionalization, Modernization and Authoritarianism in Brazil during the Cold War, 1947-1985: This book project explores how, during the Cold War, Latin America witnessed a boom in design practice and the professionalisation of the discipline. As evidenced by modernist Brasília (1960) or the cutting-edge Cybersyn project in Chile (1971-1973), Latin America became a haven for the realisation of design-driven international projects. Also, the region was the focus of geopolitical tensions between the United Stated and the Soviet Union, resulting in several US-backed ‘anti-communist’ military coups and the installation of authoritarian regimes that lasted decades. The Discipline of Modern Design is the first book to analyse, from a transnational history perspective, the institutionalisation and professionalisation of modern design and the rise of authoritarianism as associated events underpinned by Cold War politics. Drawing on international archives and oral histories, the book argues that ‘modern design’ and ‘good design’ discourses served not only the Brazilian military dictatorship’s modernization agenda but also the upholding of sociocultural exclusion and conservatism. This project has received a series of small grants, prizes, commissions, critical acclaim, and public attention that evidence the timeliness of research into historical precedents to the current rise of authoritarian cultures.
InterDesigning Network: Formerly known at the Decolonial Design History Educators Network, this international research group (RMIT, Swinburne, UNSW, and University of Auckland) investigates how design curriculum and teaching practices address social injustice. Projected impact includes supporting, through outreach activities, end-users in Design Schools to teach diverse and inclusive design histories. Funded by an Australian Council of University Art & Design Schools (ACUADS) CAT3 grant.
My Research Supervision
Supervision keywords
Areas of supervision
I welcome enquiries for supervising research projects in Design History and Theory, Craft History and Theory, Latin American Cultural History, and correlate fields. Among other areas, research focus can include exhibition histories, and histories of nationalism & national identity formation through craft or design. I have expertise in the following research methods: gender theory, theories of nationalism, transnational and intersectional histories, critical archival methods, and decolonial thinking and praxis.
Currently supervising
Livia is eligible and has capacity to primary supervise MFA, MPhil, and PhD candidates by thesis or by practice.
She welcomes supervision enquiries in Design History and Theory, Craft History and Theory, Latin American Cultural History, and correlate fields. Among other areas, research focus can include exhibition histories, theories and histories of nationalism & national identity formation, gender theory, transnational and intersectional histories, critical archival methods, and decolonial thinking and praxis.
Current PhD & MFA Supervisions
- Bridgit Moran, PhD. ‘Analysing Craft Policy in Australia 1971-2011’ (Joint with Dr Diana Perche, School of Social Sciences)
- Tzu-Mei Stewart, PhD, ‘Utopias and the Architectural Imaginary: Desire, identity and otherness in modern architecture’ (Joint with Prof. Stephen Loo)
- Ashley Eriksmoen, PhD, ‘”Making with”: counteracting conventional material production and consumption through ecofeminism, adversarial design, and circular economy approaches’ (Joint with Dr Fernando do Campo)
- Alice Couttoupes, MFA, ‘Artefacts of empire and enlightenment: examining eighteenth century British creative and scientific practices on stolen Indigenous lands.’
- Tulla Carson, MFA, ‘The Land Speaks: Relationality, Indigenous Knowledge, and the Australian Landscape explored through Design Anthropology, Respectful Design and Objects.’
Completed PhD Supervisions
- Dr Natalie O’Connor, 2022, ‘The Nature of Redness: A Practice-Based Research into Red Pigments to Offer a New Understanding of Material Colour’, School of Art & Design, UNSW
- Dr Emin Artun Özgüner, 2020, ‘Inheritance / Disavowal: Commemorating and Representing the Nation-State in Turkey from Empire to Republic, 1908-1950s’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
- Dr Yun Wang, 2019, ‘The History of Contemporary Chinese Graphic Design in the Context of Globalisation’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
- Dr Yongkeun Chun, 2019, ‘Displayed Modernity: Advertising and Commercial Art in Colonial Korea’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
Completed Master by Research Supervision (as Primary Supervisor)
- Catherine Hill, 2017-2018, ‘Objects of Empowerment: Posters by the See Red Women’s Workshop’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme. Awarded DISTINCTION
- Elena Jarmoskaite, 2017-2018, ‘Bad Blood: Motivated Reasoning in the Visual Communication Promoting Anti-Vaccinationist Views in the Nineteenth and Twenty-first Century United States of America’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme. Awarded DISTINCTION
- Lisa Rotzinger, 2017-2018, ‘Bruce Archer and Research at the Royal College of Art (1961-2002). Theoretical Frameworks for Research in Design in the Context of an Institution’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
- Eva Kasser, 2017-2018, ‘The Functionalism Debate: Connecting the divided Germany. On the Theoretical Education of Industrial Design in the former German Democratic Republic and Federal Republic Germany, with a special focus on the period before Germany's Reunification’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
- Ayelet Shats, 2016-2017, ‘Native Style: Ethnographic Dress Collections, Khaki Clothes and the Omnipresence of Fashion in Mandatory Palestine and Israel 1917-1967’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme. Awarded DISTINCTION
- Ruth Sykes, 2016-2017, ‘'Sexism, Our Stock-in-trade': Feminism and Female Graphic Designers’ educational and professional experiences in London during feminism’s joint wave’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
- Guglielmo Rossi, 2016-2017, ‘The Collective Production of Radical Politics in Print: Libertarian Culture and Publishing in the 1970s’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
- Alex Heslop, 2015-2016, ‘Open Shop: A Reassessment of London's Printing Trades, 1980-1992’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme. Awarded DISTINCTION and Best Dissertation Prize.
- Derya Adiyama, 2015-2016, ‘An Identity Dilemma: ‘Turkish(less)-ness’ in Industrial Design in Turkey’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
- Kate O’Neill, 2015-2016, ‘Capturing the Invisible? Photography and Domestic Service in Britain, 1840-1920’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
- Laura Quintrell, 2014-2015, ‘Materialising Informal Empire: Great Britain and Argentina on Display at the Exposición Internacional del Centenario (1910)’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
- Miranda Vane, 2014-2015, ‘Designing the Delicious: A Design History of Contemporary Food Making’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
- Sophie Farrelly, 2014-2015, ‘The Design of the Children's Nursery from 1850 to 1914’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
- Tania Messel, 2013-2014, ‘Unity in a Tangled World. The Introduction and Development of Corporate Identity programmes in France, 1950-1975’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme. Awarded DISTINCTION
- Everton Barreiro, 2013-2015, ‘The Hybrid Man in the Tropics': Flavio de Carvalho's New Look and Histories of Brazilian Modernist Dress’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
- Steffi Duarte, 2013-2014, ‘Agents of the Struggle: Posters by the ANC in Exile and European Solidarity Movements Against South African Apartheid, 1960-90’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
Completed Master by Research Supervision (as Joint Supervisor)
- Kara Bargmann, 2015-2016, ‘Manifesting Destiny: The American Craft Council, the Society of North American Goldsmiths and the influence of craft communities on the contemporary jewellery practitioner 1939–1984’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
- Susan Newell, 2015-2016, ‘Ceramics as ‘applications of geology’, an exploration of the collection of the Museum of Practical Geology, c. 1835–1860’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
- Kaisu Savola, 2014-2015, ‘When Beauty is Not Enough. A Short History of the Scandinavian Design Students’ Organisation 1966-1969’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme. Awarded DISTINCTION
- Ellen Rivers, 2014-2015, ‘Designed Futures in Omni Magazine 1978-88’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
- Josephine Tierney, 2013-2014, ‘Designing Taste: a Re-examination of British Printed Textiles 1830-1899’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme. Awarded DISTINCTION and Best Dissertation Prize.
- Georgia Cherry, 2013-2014, ‘Defining the 'Dark Light'. The Mediation of X-Ray in England, 1895-c.1906’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
- Thomas Warham, 2013-2014, ‘Chairman Mao’s Parades: Spectacle and Spectatorship in the Festivities of Chinese National Day, 1949-1976’, V&A/RCA History of Design Programme
Completed Supervision of Critical and Historical Studies Masters’ Dissertation (as Primary Supervisor)
- Janna Fuller, 2016, ‘What Somali boarding schools and design theorists can teach Detroit about improving its broken education system’, Global Innovation Design Master's Programme, School of Design, Royal College of Art/Imperial College London. Awarded DISTINCTION.
- Clea Jentsch, 2016, ‘Own Less, Live More’, Global Innovation Design Master's Programme, School of Design, Royal College of Art/Imperial College London. Awarded DISTINCTION.
- Fiona O’Leary, 2016, ‘An Awkward Identity: The Construction of Identity through Experience of Assistive Aids’, Design Products Master's Programme, School of Design, Royal College of Art. Awarded DISTINCTION
- Catherine Ka Hei Suen, 2016, ‘Five Dimensional Sensorial Strategies’, Innovation Design Engineering Master's Programme, School of Design, Royal College of Art/Imperial College London
- Jorge Cartes Sanhueza, 2016, ‘Mass Customization: an ethical dilemma for designers: cosmetic or functional customized design?’, Innovation Design Engineering Master's Programme, School of Design, Royal College of Art/Imperial College London
- Oliver Lehtonen, 2016, ‘Trans-industrial designer generations: Opportunities and Responsibilities in the Design Industry’, Innovation Design Engineering Master's Programme, School of Design, Royal College of Art/Imperial College London
- Elodie Soler, 2016, ‘Food, Design & Behavioural Economics’, Innovation Design Engineering Master's Programme, School of Design, Royal College of Art/Imperial College London
- Luca Alessandrini, 2016, ‘The Role of Makers Revolution in the Italian Contemporary Economic Scenario’, Innovation Design Engineering Master's Programme, School of Design, Royal College of Art/Imperial College London
- Jan Samuel Libin-Libera, 2016, ‘Failure and Experiment: the other side of progress’, Design Products Master's Programme, School of Design, Royal College of Art
- Vaclav Mlynar, 2016, ‘In Design We Trust: The importance of creativity in shaping our future’, Design Products Master's Programme, School of Design, Royal College of Art
- Kawther Alsaffar, 2016, ‘The Value of Culture in Design: a non-Western global perspective’, Design Products Master's Programme, School of Design, Royal College of Art
- Felicie Eymard Ericsdottir, 2016, ‘Where absence and emptiness are more present that anything tangible’, Design Products Master's Programme, School of Design, Royal College of Art
- Jane Kim, 2016, ‘Memory’, Design Products Master's Programme, School of Design, Royal College of Art
- Yeting Jiang, 2016, ‘How design inspired by national culture can succeed globally?’, Global Innovation Design Master's Programme, School of Design, Royal College of Art/Imperial College London
My Engagement
- Book Series Editor, Studies in Design and Material Culture (Manchester University Press)
- Editorial Board, Journal of Design History (Oxford University Press), with special responsibility for the Explorations section
- Book Review Editor, Journal of Modern Craft (Taylor & Francis)
- Member, Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ)
- Member, Art Association of Australia and New Zealand (AAANZ)
- Member, Design History Society UK
My Teaching
Livia has co-designed all four core courses in the Design History and Theory curriculum for the Bachelor of Design (Integrated Design) program.
At the School of Art & Design, she teaches into Design History and Theory at undergraduate and postgraduate levels:
- Design History and Theory 1: National Design Histories (DDES1200)
- Design History and Theory 2: Global Design Debates (DDES1201)
- Design History and Theory 3: Positions in Design (DDES2200)
- Design History and Theory 4: The Making of Design Cultures (DDES3200)
- Histories and Theories for Design, Master's of Design (SAHT9143)
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5415-0416