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Dr Katharina Vones
Katharina Vones
Research Fellow
| Biography | Katharina is a researcher and design practitioner specialising in the fields of smart materials research and developing embedded microelectronic systems that facilitate intuitive user interactions in the context of wearable futures. She is currently in the process of completing her practice-led AHRC-funded PhD in the development and application of thermochromic and photochromic silicones in creating stimulus-reactive jewellery objects with a particular focus on computer aided methods of design, such as three-dimensional printing, at the University of Dundee. As part of her practice as a researcher she also investigates aspects of material culture, more specifically the relationship between materiality, the object and technology and the emergence of the posthuman in design, with a particular interest in the field of Bio-Art. Since completing her first undergraduate degree in Design and Applied Arts (specialism Jewellery & Silversmithing) at the Edinburg College of Art in 2006 and her subsequent Masters degree at the Royal College of Art in 2010, Katharina has sustained an independent practice as an Art Jeweller, resulting in a multitude of exhibitions both nationally and internationally. These include places as far-flung as South Korea, as well as the prestigious SOFA Craft Fair in Chicago as part of the Craftscotland delegation in 2013 and a major exhibition of unusual body ornamentation at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2015. In Europe her work has been shown at the renowned gallery Marzee in the Netherlands, the Legnica Silver Festival and the Goldsmith’s Fair in London, to name but a few. Her work has also featured in numerous publications, such as the 500 series and the contemporary jewellery anthology Adorn, curated by Amanda Mansell. During Katharina’s time at the Royal College of Art, she was eager to expand her knowledge of commercial product design, and to this end pursued a freelance collaboration with jewellery brand Annoushka to develop a range of feminine luxury jewellery. Working as a freelance designer gave her an insight into large-scale production techniques and the production processes involved in developing a sample into a finished product ready for manufacture, and resulted in the production of the Sakura range, which was subsequently sold in luxury outlets such as Liberty London and Harrods. As a researcher, Katharina has to date published several articles in design-related journals and presented her work at a variety of conferences focused on design research and human computer interaction, starting in 2012. Katharina has worked as a lecturer in design (both theory and practice-led) for the past ten years, including being an invited lecturer at the Hiko Mizuno School of Jewellery and Tama Art University in Tokyo. She has received numerous awards for her work, most notably the Helen A. Rose Bequest and Chairman’s Medal at the Edinburgh College of Art, and has recently been shortlisted for an Arts Foundation Fellowship Award in Contemporary Jewellery. |
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| Research Interests | The Posthuman Body, Smart Materials, Digital Jewellery, 3D-printing, Microelectronics, Interactive Craft |
| Teaching and Learning | Teaching: Visual Research Methods, Debating Design I, Debating Design II. |