University News Last updated 19 August 2016
Birmingham School of Architecture and Design has appointed Nicholas Irvin, Member of the Chartered Society of Designers and the D&AD: Global Association for Creative Advertising and Design Awards, to teach and develop the MA Design Management Programme both in the UK and in Hong Kong.
The new appointment comes in time for the start of the new academic year, with Nicholas being drafted in to call on his experiences managing multimillion pound advertising contracts involving organisations such as Marketing Birmingham and JCDecaux, with a view to nurturing industry links, providing a variety of guest speakers across all design disciplines and offering student placement opportunities within the School.
As well as developing the MA Design Management programme specifically, Nicholas will be supporting students on other design programmes across the School, including Product Design, Interior Design, MA Design Visualisation and also Design Management from undergraduate level. Nicholas said:
Crafting the trade
The 40-year-old, who originally hails from Nottingham, initially crafted his trade in 1998 at Staffordshire University, studying the BA (Hons) Design: Graphics course. Nicholas then moved on to study the MA Design Management course himself at Birmingham School of Architecture and Design in 2010. Nicholas added:
“Design is my passion and I am delighted that I am going to be based in such a superb institution, where I am going to be able to talk about this subject all of the time. On reflection, I always put in 110 per cent and the design experience I have gained on my journey has helped me considerably.”
Working in industry
A career in industry spanning almost 20 years specialising in creative design and project management has seen Nicholas working for a number of well-known organisations on a regional and national scale including Orange PCS, (EE) Everything Everywhere, based in Birmingham where he supported and developed the corporate brand, interior design, POP design, print and online outlets.
Nicholas also has extensive experience in working for Birmingham City Council within a variety of capacities from Senior Graphic Designer, to Senior Account Executive and then Project Manager, including the management of advertising contracts and design concepts, and the negotiation of procurement tenders in collaboration with stakeholders in areas such as urban design, planning and highways.
A career in education
As well as a vast career in industry, the new course tutor will also be drawing on his experiences of working in education having taught Art and Design at North Warwickshire and Hinckley College. More recently, Irvin had been teaching as a part-time visiting tutor on the MA Design Management programme at Birmingham City University, prior to his full-time involvement. Nicholas added:
“I am keen to maintain and develop a successful teaching/lecturing programme across all design disciplines, whilst supporting positive relationships with my fellow colleagues and students. I am also excited to build on relationships with colleagues and continue working collaboratively with universities overseas, particularly at the Hong Kong Design Institute. I also wish to develop my design research within Birmingham School of Architecture and Design.”
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