Kate Sweetapple

Kate Sweetapple is a design academic with an interest in the intersections between language, literature and design. Her focus is the use of practice-led research methods to extract and visualise data sets from written texts. Her research is realised through a variety of practices: designing, curating, writing and teaching. She is interested in the positioning of design as an experimental practice, specifically the move away from design’s more instrumental role. Kate is also drawn to design curation as a site to argue for an expanded understanding of the role of the designer as a cultural critic and agent. Current research projects include ‘Writing Rights’ with Humanities + Design at Stanford University. Kate is Associate Head of School, Design, at the University of Technology Sydney. She holds a PhD in Visual Communication. Three national institutions have acquired Kate’s experimental cartographic work: National Library of Australia, National Gallery of Australia and the National Maritime Museum of Australia. She is regularly invited to be a judge, examiner, panellist, and design commentator.