Dr Manuela Taboada

Profile image of Dr Manuela Taboada

Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Design,
Interaction Design


Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
  • SDG 13 - Climate Action
  • SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Personal details

Positions

Adjunct Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Design,
Interaction Design

Keywords

change through design, collaborative design, design and complexity, design experience, design thinking, place identity and branding, places as complex emergent systems, sustainable tourism, visual communication

Research field

Design, Communication and media studies, Urban and regional planning

Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy (University of New England)
  • BSc Computer Science & System Analysis (Other)
  • BA Hons - Industrial Design & Visual Communication Design (Other)

Teaching

Manuela has a higher degree teaching portfolio that spans over 10 years both in Australia and in Brazil. She has written, coordinated and run undergraduate classes in both countries on subjects that range from visual communication design and web-design to design theory, creativity and design thinking. Manuela has led and participated in major curriculum development projects on the roles of student representative, entrepreneur and staff member both in Brazil and in Australia, for private and higher degree courses in the areas of visual arts, visual communication and interactive design. In 2011 Manuela has driven the inclusion of a first year unit dedicated to creativity and design thinking in the IVD program (DXB101 Design & Creative Thinking). Between 2012 and 2015 Manuela had the role of Study Area Coordinator for Interactive & Visual Design at QUT during her time as Study Area Coordinator, she lead the major changes in the IVD curriculum, which had its major focus on understanding creativity as an entrepreneurial skill, developing visual expression as a trans-media ability, and using designerly ways of thinking to re-define and propose solutions to technical, visual and social problems. More recently, Manuela developed the curriculum for a new Foundation Unit for the School of Design. Design Consequences is a unit that looks into the historical evolution of design and its impacts and consequences in shaping our contemporary world and our ways of living and being in the world. Current and past units:

  • DYB214 Design Consequences
  • DVB201 Typographic Design
  • DVB102 Image Production
  • DXB101 Design & Creative Thinking
  • DXH601 Integrated Experience Design
  • KIB231 Typography & Illustration
  • KIB120 Graphic Design
  • KIB338 Print Media

Publications

QUT ePrints

For more publications by Manuela, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).

View more publications

Filter publications:

A complete list of publications is available at: https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/manuela.taboada

Supervision

Current supervisions

  • Designing the Future of an Australian Circular Plastics Economy: Exploring the role of design and systems thinking in the transition of a linear plastics economy to a circular plastics economy in Australia
    PhD, Principal Supervisor
    Other supervisors: Professor Leonie Barner
  • Dismantling Contemporary Analogue Boardgame Systems and Their Influence on Individual Identity and Self-Worth
    PhD, Associate Supervisor
    Other supervisors: Dr Jane Turner

The supervisions listed above are only a selection.