Richard Appleby MDesRCA fcsd sfhea

Professor

Richard Appleby is Professor of Industrial Design in the Department of Industrial Design at XJTLU Xi'an Jiaotong - Liverpool University. He teaches design studio projects for undergraduate and postgraduate design practice and prepares Phd study.

He graduated from the Royal College of Art, where his final work was featured at the Victoria and Albert Museum ‘Boilerhouse’ Exhibition in 1982. With further exhibitions in Europe and the Kunstlerhaus, Vienna, within the Best of Young British Design Exhibition 1984. He has established a significant profile as an industrial designer whose creative skills founded the ‘Atlantic Design’ product design studios, designing for manufacturing companies in many parts of the world.
His initial product design commissions came from Sony Tokyo for consumer music products and Sports products for the European marine industries, designing sailing and navigation products that became market leaders. Richard has also designed products in the telecoms industries BT, NEC, Psion, Maxon and many others, in Canada, USA, Europe and Korea.
As a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers in 1992, he was later invited to Eindhoven as a founding design member of the new TU/e Faculty for Industrial Design. As Design Director for the Master program he initiated many future concepts with many collegiate designers, scientists and engineers, for the ‘Intelligent Spaces’ platform.
Later as Course Leader for Product Design at the University for the Creative Arts in the UK, he introduced Product and Interaction Design and Product and Furniture Design, in collaboration with Textiles, Ceramics, Metalwork and Jewellery Design. His design research has been published in Paris, the Czech Republic, also featured within China’s Art and Design magazine ‘Designing Social Interaction and Shared Experiences’. His most recent essay “Material and Immaterial” (2019) considers different materials processes for designer’s studio practice.


  • Senior Fellow Higher Education Academy
  • Fellow Chartered Society of Designers
  • MDesRCA Industrial Design, Royal College of Art, London, UK
  • BA(hons) Industrial Design, Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK


  • Professor Industrial Design - Architecture and Design Department - 2019 - present
  • UG Programme Director Industrial Design - 2019 - present
  • Interim PG Programme Director Industrial Design - November 2019-20
  • Product Design Director - University for Creative Arts - Surrey - 2008-19
  • Reader at Surrey University Digital World Research Centre 2008-2011.
  • Design Director - TU/e Industrial Design Program - Eindhoven - 2001-08
  • Senior Tutor - Royal College of Art - Industrial Design - 1996-99
  • Industrial Designer - Therefore / IDEO / WebbScarlett - London - 1995-2001
  • Industrial Design Manager - Bell Northern Research - Ottawa - Canada - 1993-95
  • Atlantic Design Product Studio - Soho - London - 1985-93
  • Undergraduate Programme Director Industrial Design - September 2019 - present


  • Form and Materials
  • Materials and Studio Practice
  • Furniture Design
  • Industrial Design Studio Practice


  • Appleby R. S. and Overbeeke C.J. Perceptive View, how light messages share perceptions of a remote atmosphere. 4th International conference of Designing Pleasurable Products and Interfaces, DPPI09, conference proceedings, Compiegne University of Technology, France, October 2009, pp. 116-121 (UTC, Compiegne)
  • Appleby R. S. and Overbeeke C.J. Tangible Light Interaction, how light portrays the tangible action of things and spaces around us. In Ambient Intelligent Perspectives, First Ambient Intelligent Forum. AMIF2008, Vol 1,University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, October 2008, (IOS Press, Amsterdam) ISBN 978-1-58603-946- 2 pp.27-41
  • Baggermans, G.P.J., Ross, P.R., Appleby R. S. (2009). Experiences with tangible light interaction: project newsflash. Proceedings of the Designing Pleasurable Products and Interfaces 2009 - DPPI'09. (pp. 539-543). Compiegne, France.
  • K. Overbeeke, R.S. Appleby, I. Janssen Reinen, D. Vinke - 'Nine competencies, Six units - design education at TU/e - Delft University, Nederlands (2004) 2nd International Engineering and Product Design Education Conference EPDE04 - RA presented paper


  • Appleby R.S, Encompassing Research book Chapter pages 42-56, 'Material and Immaterial - Product Design within a Craft Context', published 2019. University for the Creative Arts. ISBN 978-1-9995961-9-4
  • Appleby R. S, Xiao Li, Designing for Social interaction and Sharing Experiences - University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, UK. China ART & DESIGN, pages 128-130, ISS 1008-2832 / CN11-3909 – October 2013


  • Keynote "Interaction, Performance and Materiality - International Conference on Intelligent Design and Innovative Technology (ICIDIT 2022) Xi'an, China


  • Design Judge: 2023 the China (Dehua) Ceramic Industrial Design Competition "He Chaozong Cup", National Institute of Industrial Design and Research of the Ceramic Industry, the Industrial Design and Arts Committee of Fujian Artists Association and Ceramic Development Committee of the Dehua County
  • Design Judge: 2022 Global Hua Design Award ("Infinate Possibilities")( WDO), Innovative Industry Strategic Alliance of China (IDAC)
  • Publication Chair: International Conference on Art Design and Digital Technology(ADDT 2022)Nanjing, China
  • Management Leadership Team - Architecture and Design XJTLU Sept- 2019 to present
  • Course Steering Committee – Worcester University for Design Degree Programme - 2018
  • External Examiner - Goldsmiths University MA Design Innovation - 2013 - 17
  • External Examiner - Kingston College BA Art & Design - 2012 -16
  • Validation Committee – Open University - Product Design - 2014
  • External Examiner - Plymouth University Product Design & Spatial Design 2006-10


  • IND305 - Culture and Theory (UG)
  • IND307 - Final Year Projects (UG)
  • IND311 - Professional Practice (UG)
  • IND405 - Transformative Design (PG)
  • IND402 - Industrial Design Masters (PG)
  • IND108 - Materials for Design(UG)
  • IND206 - Industry Collaboration (UG) CT


  • Senior Fellow Higher Education Academy 2020
  • Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers - 1994 - 2022
Richard Appleby