Three new Design Institute of Australia Fellows were announced at the QLD Designers Australia 2021 Awards in Brisbane on 25 November.

Since 2013 Dr Beck Davis has developed a distinguished career as an academic in design education. Prior to that she commenced her career as a freelance product designer specialising in design research, new concept development, concept prototyping, marking profile analysis and reporting. She also worked in the manufacturing sector managing new product development while juggling academic opportunities at the Queensland University of Technology.

Beck has been a Full Member of the DIA for over a decade and gone on to play a number of leadership roles including State Branch Chair and Director.

She has demonstrated outstanding ability, experience and achievement in a Design or Associated Profession. She is recognised for her design thinking and collaborative expertise. In 2015 she received her PhD by investigating how designers collaborate and respond to sustainable design criteria. She has exhibited and curated local and international exhibitions, has been the recipient of design research funding, and performed numerous roles as judge, panellist, collaborator, committee member, mentor and speaker. Apart from the DIA, Beck holds memberships in the Design Research Society (UK), The Design Society (US) - Special Interest Groups: Design Creativity and Design Process, International Society for Gesture Studies (IGIS) and is an Honorary Member Golden Key International Honour Society, Awarded ‘Best Lecturer’ South Bank, 2015.

Dr Beck Davis took up a position at the Australian National University in Nov 2018. In Jan 2021, she was promoted to Head of School in the School of Art and Design, College of Arts & Social Sciences, ANU. Beck undertook some important work for DIA in June 2019 in drafting a submission to the Commonwealth for the Government Australia & New Zealand Standard Classification Research (ANZSRCR) review to update the Fields of Research (FoR) codes for design. She continues to generously contribute to submissions and reviews as a member of the DIA National Advisory Council (NAC) Policy Committee.*

Find out more and read about all Fellow recipients online.

* Text courtesy Design Institute of Australia