معرفی
Dr Myra Thiessen is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Design within the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture at Monash University. She serves as the Program Coordinator for the Communication Design program and is a core researcher in the Design Health Collab. Her academic and professional work centers on design for legibility, readability, and usability, with a strong commitment to accessibility and equity in communication systems.
She holds a PhD in Typography and Graphic Communication from the University of Reading, where her research focused on visual explanations to aid dyslexic children in literacy acquisition. She also earned a Master of Arts in Information Design and a Bachelor of Design in Communication Design from the University of Reading and the University of Alberta, respectively.
Her research interests include typography, functional legibility, user-centered design, and evidence-based design methodologies. She specializes in developing communication systems that support comprehension and decision-making, particularly for individuals with cognitive differences in healthcare settings. Her work integrates motivation, context, and environmental factors into design solutions, contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially in health and education.
Her recent publications reflect a strong trend in digital health, patient engagement, and user experience design. These include studies on adverse drug event reporting platforms, dementia care environments, and self-service airport security systems, demonstrating interdisciplinary collaboration across health, design, and technology.
- Good Design Award, Design Research: 'Sleeptite Remi Dashboard', 2024
- Good Design Award, Design Research: 'Sleeptite REMi Smart Bedding System for Aged Care', 2024
- Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Research Enterprise - Nominee, 2022
Dr Thiessen has been involved in multiple research projects as a Chief Investigator, including initiatives on hand hygiene guidelines, universal design principles for Alfred Health, and self-service airport security systems. She collaborates extensively with interdisciplinary teams and has been featured in international media such as CNET, FOX NEWS, and the US Department of Homeland Security. She also served as Editor-in-Chief for the Critique International Research Conference in 2013. She is currently accepting PhD students and continues to lead impactful design research within the Design Health Collab.
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