Researcher

Keywords

Biography

Danielah Martinez is an Associate Lecturer of Industrial Design at the school of Built Environment, UNSW, and PhD Candidate at the School of Art and Design, UNSW. In her PhD research, Danielah applies critical and participatory design methodologies in socially-engaged research topics. Danielah comes to academia from a design practice background in product graphics, colours, materials and finishes, surface and textile design. She has worked on...view more

Danielah Martinez is an Associate Lecturer of Industrial Design at the school of Built Environment, UNSW, and PhD Candidate at the School of Art and Design, UNSW. In her PhD research, Danielah applies critical and participatory design methodologies in socially-engaged research topics. Danielah comes to academia from a design practice background in product graphics, colours, materials and finishes, surface and textile design. She has worked on residential and commercial projects with Australian and International architecture and interior design firms and, prior to this, was employed as senior designer in Australia’s leading small appliances company. Danielah has been an invited panellist on topics such as creativity, collaborative practice in design and women in design and has sat on the judging panel for the Design Institute of Australia’s Graduate of the Year Award (2019). Danielah’s practice-based, human research aims to challenge normative methodologies in design practice.


My Awards

Australian Good Design Gold Award Winner 2023, Overlay Rugs by Danielah Martinez for DesignByThem (Product - Furniture and Lighting category)


My Research Activities

Danielah's PhD research is supported by an Australian Research Training Program scholarship. It is a self-initiated, practice-led investigation into dominant productivity narratives of ageing within industrial design. Under the supervision of Associate Professor Katherine Moline and Professor Reside Oya Demirbilek, Danielah leads all aspects of the research, including ethics approvals, method design, participant recruitment, data collection, and analysis. The study introduces a caring design methodology that repositions designers, users, and designed objects in interdependent relationships, offering a contemporary and inclusive approach to participatory design. This work challenges normative models of ageing and proposes inclusive principles for commercial design practice.

As an education-focussed academic, Danielah's pedagogical research contributes original insights to design education by critically examining how competency-based education (CBE) can be integrated into creative practice contexts. Working collaboratively with Bronwen Williams and Dr Haider Akmal, Danielah contributed to the development of an ethics-approved study focussed on FADA1010, a foundational interdisciplinary design course. This research explores how CBE frameworks can support creativity, motivation, and student wellbeing, and has directly informed curriculum and assessment practices aligned with the pedagogical values of design education.


My Engagement

2024 - current: Student Experience Co-ordinator, School of Built Environment


My Teaching

Danielah fosters dynamic and supportive learning environments where students are inspired to deliver innovative work confidently. Danielah teaches design studio and technical courses across the Bachelor of Design, including interdisciplinary design studio and Industrial Design specialisation. Danielah supervises students in the Bachelor of Industrial Design Honours in topics relating to care and design.

Current courses

Industrial Design Studio 2A - Production at Scale

Industrial Design Studio 2B - User Centered Design

Industrial Design Studio 3A - Integrated Product Design

Industrial Design Studio 1B - Form and Meaning

Materials and Manufacturing for Industrial Designers 1

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Location

Level 2, Room 2004
Anita B Lawrence Centre, West Wing