Nil is a product designer by training. She has completed her PhD in 2014 at the Robert Gordon University. Her doctoral research evaluates the effectiveness of design support for small and medium sized enterprises in the UK, more specifically in Scotland. She has approached evaluation as a knowledge production mechanism to contribute to the theory of design support rather than the assessment of activities to judge whether a particular programme or consultancy is successful or not. Her research has produced explanatory frameworks that inform design research and practice. She is interested in the articulation of design expertise and value of contextual knowledge in the design discipline.
The overarching theoretical frameworks that inform her research include Dewey’s pragmatism and Schön’s generative metaphor framework and conceptual metaphor theory. In her research practice, she blurs the boundaries between different research paradigms and applies discourse analysis.
Nil has recently joined in Design in Action as a researcher.