Dr Mariza Dima
Lecturer in Games Design

Summary

Mariza is a Lecturer in Games Design. She holds a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction Design, an MSc in Design and Digital Media, both from the University of Edinburgh, and a BSc in Applied Mathematics and Physical Sciences from the National Technical University of Athens. She specialises in User Experience and User Interface design for developing meaningful and engaging interactions particularly using tangible, VR, AR and haptic technologies. She has worked between academia and the creative industries as an interaction designer and creative technologist in R&D projects combining engineering and design approaches grounded on theoretical contexts of narrative, dramaturgy, and audience/player engagement. She teaches Player eXperience and UI design for Games, Digital prototyping, Games programming, VFX, Concept Communication, and Business Contexts.

A keen knowledge hunter, she is often inspired by and experiments playfully with perspectives from different fields that could offer a useful alternative lens on user experience design and then turns them into a tool for designing engaging experiences. Her design approach is holistic and experiential where the designer embeds and immerses herself in a collaborative design process and views it as an educational and transformative experience rather than participating in it as a design expert.

She also consults on strategies for devising and developing digital projects and user interactions in the creative industries and has expertise in design methods for collaboration and co-creation.

Responsibility

Digital Prototyping, User Interface Design (UI), User Experience Design (UX), Games Programming, Business Contexts, Concept Communication, VFX