Ms Karen Yevenes

Karen Yevenes graduated with a Bachelor of Industrial Design (First Class Honours) from the University of Canberra in 1997. Karen’s Honours research on Semantics and Design was focused on the language of product features and the resulting psychology on female users. This eventuated in a kitchen appliance that espoused the theories and aesthetic of her final year studies. During her final year at the University of Canberra, Karen also worked as a tutor, teaching in the first year Design Studies program within the Faculty of the Built Environment.

Prior to studying Industrial Design, Karen graduated from the Australian Catholic University with a Bachelor of Education, specialising in Visual Arts.

Both qualifications have enabled Karen to contribute to the Industrial Design curriculum at UWS in a unique way, whereby students are challenged to create thoughtful and inventive products that are aesthetically sensitive to user needs. Karen’s background in education was pivotal in the development of the of the Academic Literacy Resource Book (2004), a writing guide for first-year design students; and Karen was also pivotal in developing the content and structure of the first year common unit Engineering and Design Concepts (2005), where assessment tasks entail problem-based learning.

Upon completion of her undergraduate studies in Industrial Design, Karen gained valuable work experience at Axis Design Sydney, undertaking conceptual development of street furniture for the City of Ryde project. The project involved the design of bus shelters, park seating, and public amenities in a style that reflected the aesthetic of heritage buildings in the area. This role reiterated the importance and value of hand-generated perspective drawings, a skill that Karen teaches in her units today.

In 1998, Karen joined Delineation Graphix in inner-city Sydney. Karen’s role in this studio entailed the generation of architectural visualisation graphics in large billboard format usIn her position as Digital Artist with the Sydney based studio, Digital Pulse, Karen specialised as a 3D modeller and texture artist, creating visualisations and animations for various architectural projects. The role also required creative development of storyboards and web page design using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

All studio-based roles gave Karen an opportunity to gain invaluable industry experience that she has been able to share with students both at UWS and also during her tenure as a casual Lecturer in Design Studies at UTS Insearch in 1999.

Since starting at UWS in 1999, Karen has focused on curriculum development of undergraduate units. Karen’s core areas of teaching include Design Studio and Industrial Graphics units and she has been involved in various research projects as a supervisor of Honours candidates. Honours projects that Karen has supervised are vast and broadly include: Design for the aging & disabled and their carers; Design for children: play; learning; disabled children & their carers; and Product Semantics: the language of product design. Karen has also co-supervised various projects in collaboration with industry partners such as CSIRO and ResMed. Most recently, Karen supervised two Honours candidates in the Diagnosis of Sleep Apnea in Children.

This information has been contributed by Ms Yevenes.