Loughborough University

Faculty Member, School of the Arts

Lecturer in Graphic Communication

About

Simon Downs trained as a painter / illustrator and has worked across a range of visual communication design disciplines until 2003.
He has taught at DeMontfort and Loughborough Universities, before becoming a full-time researcher and lecturer at Loughborough in 2003.
Simon researches Visual Communications connections with other philosophical, technological and cultural domains of knowledge.
His research includes:
Setting up the journal ‘The Poster’ with Intellect books.
Preparing ‘The Graphic Communication Handbook’ for Routledge.
Working in the field of Drawing Research as one of the editors of ‘Tracey - the journal of contemporary drawing’.
Working with the Loughborough Innovation Research Network investigating a multi-disciplinary approaches to creativity.
Several papers on culture, technology and visual communication.
Simon holds memberships with:
Design Research Society (and the DRS Special Interest Group on Design Pedagogy).
Is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
He is currently a member of both of Loughborough University’s Drawing Research Group and Animation Academy.
The first Tracey book, Drawing Now, by Downs, et al, was published in 2008.
He is a Universities and Colleges Union (UCU trade union) rep' at the School of Art & Design (together with Dr. Anja Baumhoff).

Contact Information