Peter Thomas
Liverpool School of Art and Design
Faculty of Arts Professional and Social Studies
Email: P.J.Thomas@ljmu.ac.uk
Pete is the programme leader for Graphic Design and Illustration at Liverpool School of Art. A designer, researcher and artist, his work is characterised by insight, clarity, and simplicity. He has exhibited and presented in institutions around the world including The Barbican, The Design Museum, The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, SXSW, La Triennale di Milano, Ventura Lambrate and The Victoria and Albert Museum.
Prior to his current role he co-founded the design consultancy Uniform and in the creative studio Tom Pigeon. He has taught in arts institutions across the UK and has served on the board of Craft Scotland and Creative Dundee. His recent projects have invited people to share their thoughts, feelings and hopes for the future and he believes passionately in the value of creativity as an agent for positive change.
Academic appointments
Programme Leader Graphic Design & Illustration, Graphic Design & Illustration, Liverpool John Moores University, 2021 - present
Highlighted publications
Thomas P. 2023. Speculations Ceccarelli N, Sironi M. DesignAround. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Italian Design Society, DesignIntorno: The 2022 National Conference of the Società Italiana di Design :27-31 Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Clarke L, George B, Raj R, Rogers J, Singh N, Skelly M, Thomas P. 2021. Learning to speak to an elephant and other stories of decentralised digital futures. Thomas P, Rogers J, George B. University of Dundee Author Url Public Url
Clarke L, George B, Raj R, Rogers J, Singh N, Skelly M, Thomas P. 2021. Learning to speak to an elephant and other stories of decentralised digital futures. Thomas P, Rogers J, George B. University of Dundee Author Url Public Url
Thomas P. Femera Futura
Thomas P. 'Travelling. A collection of drawings' contributing to the exhibition 'A Journey Through Human Genetic Diversity'
Artefact
Thomas P. 2024. Travelling. A collection of drawings.
Rogers J, Skelly M, Clarke L, Taylor N, Thomas P. 2020. Our Friends Electric: Exploring alternative narratives for voice assistants
Thomas P, Skelly M. 2018. HappyHere
Rogers J, Skelly M, Thomas P, Clarke L, Taylor N. 2017. Provocative Voice Prototypes
Conference publication
Thomas P. 2023. Speculations Ceccarelli N, Sironi M. DesignAround. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Italian Design Society, DesignIntorno: The 2022 National Conference of the Società Italiana di Design :27-31 Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Taylor N, Rogers J, Clarke L, Skelly M, Wallace J, Thomas P, George B, Raj R, Shorter M, Thorne M. 2021. Prototyping Things: Reflecting on Unreported Objects of Design Research for IoT PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2021 ACM DESIGNING INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS CONFERENCE (DIS 2021), ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS) :1807-1816 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Rogers J, Clarke L, Skelly M, Taylor N, Thomas P, Thorne M, Larsen S, Odrozek K, Kloiber J, Bihr P, Jain A, Arden J, von Grafenstein M. 2019. Our Friends Electric: Reflections on Advocacy and Design Research for the Voice Enabled Internet CHI 2019 - Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, :1-12 DOI Publisher Url
Wallace J, Rogers J, Shorter M, Thomas P, Skelly M, Cook R. 2018. The Self-Reflector: Design, IoT and the high street CHI ’18 Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2018-April :1-12 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Rogers J, Skelly M, Clarke L, Thomas P, Taylor N. 2017. Our Friends Electric DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Evans M, Thomas P. 2011. Products that tell stories: The use of semantics in the development and understanding of future products DS 69: Proceedings of E and PDE 2011, the 13th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, :678-683
Journal article
Thomas P, Spruce J, Moriarty S. 2021. From Sharing Screens to Sharing Spaces Design and Technology Education: An International Journal, 26 :96-111 Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Internet publication
Thomas P, Rogers J, Clarke L, Skelly M, Raj R, George B, Singh N. 2021. Decentralising Digital Author Url
Books (authored)
Clarke L, George B, Raj R, Rogers J, Singh N, Skelly M, Thomas P. 2021. Learning to speak to an elephant and other stories of decentralised digital futures. Thomas P, Rogers J, George B. University of Dundee Author Url Public Url
Clarke L, George B, Raj R, Rogers J, Singh N, Skelly M, Thomas P. 2021. Learning to speak to an elephant and other stories of decentralised digital futures. Thomas P, Rogers J, George B. University of Dundee Author Url Public Url
Favis MC. 2019. Designs of Our Time Beazley Designs of the Year 9781872005386
Dundee UO. 2019. Dundee by Designers 2019 UNESCO City of Design Dundee 9780993328619 Publisher Url
Rogers J, Thomas P, Thorne M. 2017. DING: A Magazine About The Internet And Things Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design
Design
Thomas P. 2018. Trustable Technology Trustmark Author Url Publisher Url
Chapters
Thomas P. 2018. Design Learnings from Decentralized Approaches George B. Future of Human Ecologies. Quicksand. India Author Url Publisher Url
Thomas P. 2017. Our silent Monitors Dundee Design Festival 2017 UNESCO City of Design Dundee. Dundee, Scotland Author Url Publisher Url
Thomas P, Stevenson Keating P. 2014. The Making of Weather Systems Open Collaborative Making A Digital Perspective Zebra Press 9780957686816
Scholarly edition
Rogers J, Clarke L, Thomas P, Taylor N, Skelly M. 2017. Prototyping a Voice Enabled Internet: a practitioner’s guide
Exhibition
Rogers J, Shorter M, Thomas P, Caccavale E, Mitri S. Apple Karts
Thomas P, Skelly M. Our Silent Monitors Author Url Publisher Url
Thomas P, Skelly M. HappyHere: Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Publisher Url
Thomas P. Approaching Air Publisher Url
Thomas P. Isolation Nation
Thomas P. Femera Futura
Thomas P. 'Travelling. A collection of drawings' contributing to the exhibition 'A Journey Through Human Genetic Diversity'
Highlighted activities
Conference organisation:
Politics and Design 2023, Co-organiser / Chair, https://www.instagram.com/p/CxqTOg8oNsN/. 2024
Politics & Design 2022, Co-organiser / Chair, https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci7e113svGJ/. 2022
Design Rwanda, Co-organiser / Panel Member. 2019
Media Coverage:
Purpose and Education. Interview with Creative Review 2023. 2023
Professional activities
Conference organisation:
Politics and Design 2023, Co-organiser / Chair, https://www.instagram.com/p/CxqTOg8oNsN/. 2024
Politics & Design 2022, Co-organiser / Chair, https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci7e113svGJ/. 2022
Design Rwanda, Co-organiser / Panel Member. 2019
Media Coverage:
Purpose and Education. Interview with Creative Review 2023
Decentralising Digital Research Project featured in Branch Magazine.
Branch is an online magazine written by and for people who dream of a sustainable and just internet for all. 2021
branch.climateaction.tech
branch.climateaction.tech
Other invited event:
Learning Sessions at Quicksand., Organised by Quicksand. Bangalore, India., Presentation of projects and practice.. 2023
Decentralising Digital / CITAPP Seminar Series, IIIT Bangalore, CITAPP at IIIT Bangalore is an interdisciplinary research and advocacy centre that focuses on the policy challenges and the organizational demands made by technological innovation. The Centre seeks to provide a means to nurture and transform public policy around the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in engagement with academia and researchers, policy planners, political leaders and community representatives, technology vendors, public officials and civil society organisations). In this presentation the Decentralising Digital team explained their approach to Designing for Hopeful Futures. https://citapp.iiitb.ac.in. 2022
Riding the New Wave: Opportunities for innovation in Design Studio Pedagogy., Futures of Design Education. Organised by Design Research Society., As the majority of UK HE institutions implemented a return to campus based delivery from Sept 2021 it was clear that some of the pragmatic approaches to teaching adopted through necessity over the previous two years due to covid19 restrictions held lasting value beyond crisis modes of teaching. Covid19 disrupted many established norms of design pedagogy, with the loss of the design studio as a focal point for engagement and learning on campus being a central challenge faced by many tutors. As a signature pedagogy of design education, the studio provided an environment for mediated, sticky, social and habitual exchanges in supporting students learning. However, delivering teaching through an enforced period of separation from those environments proved that through adversity can come new insights. In this discussion we will reflect upon how the disruption to our established practices revealed a new wave of opportunities to consider in the development of what we knew as the design studio.. 2022
Vikalp Varta 2.4: Decentralising Digital Futures, India / Online, Vikalp Sangam is a platform to share the best stories of viable alternatives to India's unequal and ecologically destructive development paradigm. Vikalp Varta is a series that initiates dialogue on alternatives with organisations, communities, and individuals who work towards alternative pathways of well-being, health, economy, society. Working with rural communities in Karnataka, India, Decentralising Digital is an ongoing research project seeking to co-create new narratives for decentralised digital futures. They are exploring how developments in emerging technologies might be harnessed to meaningfully support and can be built along with rural communities in India. And how the work can be adapted and used by other communities and stakeholders, in their own work in reimagining different, more sustainable futures with and for communities. They will share thoughts and stories from their 2-year research project. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ6v-14191w. 2021