
Professor Vanja Garaj
Professor of Design
Michael Sterling 151
- Email: vanja.garaj@brunel.ac.uk
- Tel: +44 (0)1895 266964
Summary
Professor Vanja Garaj is a Professor of Design, Director of Research for the Brunel Design School and Module Leader for the DM5605 Design Innovation Futures (MSc Integrated Product Design, MA Design Strategy and Innovation and MSc Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Design) and DM5545 Design and Branding Futures (MA Design and Branding Strategy) modules.
Vanja was previously the Head of the Department of Design (2018–2021) and Director of Postgraduate Research for Design. Before joining Brunel Design in 2017, he was the Programme Director for MSc Digital Design and Branding in the Digital Media Subject Area, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Brunel, leading a range of modules on digital design at postgraduate and undergraduate levels—covering product, service and graphic design aspects.
His teaching promotes goal-oriented experimentation while emphasising the importance of a carefully managed human-centred design process and practice-based approach in collaboration with industry. He coordinated live student briefs across design fields, with the partner organisations including Cancer Research UK, NHS, Pan Macmillan, Help for Heroes, Friends of the Elderly, Corney & Barrow, Shell, Ibis and BT.
Vanja's research spans the areas of Inclusive Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), User Experience (UX) and Human Factors. He has been the Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on a number of research and innovation projects funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Innovate UK, Research England, Arts Council England and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)/Greater London Authority (GLA).
He was awarded at the Red Dot Design Award, Design Week Awards, D&AD Awards, Seoul Design Award, Good Design Awards (USA), The Webby Awards, Design for a Better World Award by Centro Brasil Design and West London Business Awards.
Qualifications
PhD in Systems Engineering (Human Factors), Brunel University of London
PgCert in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Brunel University of London
BSc/MDes in Product Design, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Responsibility
Head of the Brunel Digital Design Lab
Co-Founder of the Design Factory London, part of the Design Factory Global Network (DFGN)
Project Leader for Co-Innovate: Brunel Co-Innovate Journeys and Bridging the Gap
Newest selected publications
Kwon, H., Choi, Y., Zhao, X., Min, H., Wang, W., Garaj, V. and (2024) 'How immersive and interactive technologies affect the user experience and cultural exchange in the museum and gallery sector'. International Journal of the Inclusive Museum (IJIM), 18 (1). pp. 1 - 26. ISSN: 1835-2014 Open Access Link
et al.Shen, J., Yin, M., Wang, W., Hua, M., Choi, Y., Garaj, V., (2024) 'Dwells in museum: The restorative potential of augmented reality'. Telematics and Informatics Reports, 14. pp. 1 - 10. ISSN: 2772-5030 Open Access Link
et al.Yin, L., Dudley, JJ., Garaj, V. and Kristensson, PO. (2024) 'An Online Survey Assessing the Accessibility Barriers Encountered by Users of Virtual and Augmented Reality'.31ST IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR 2024). Orlando, FL, USA. 16 - 21 March. IEEE. pp. 330 - 334.Open Access Link
Aljaafreh, A., Garaj, V. and Choi, Y. (2023) 'Using a digital participatory approach to facilitate inclusivity in Jordanian heritage sites: Stakeholders’ requirements and a proposed system'. Architecture Papers of the Faculty of Architecture and Design STU, 28 (3). pp. 3 - 9.Open Access Link
Dudley, J., Yin, L., Garaj, V. and Kristensson, PO. (2023) 'Inclusive Immersion: a review of efforts to improve accessibility in virtual reality, augmented reality and the metaverse'. Virtual Reality, 27 (4). pp. 2989 - 3020. ISSN: 1359-4338 Open Access Link