Key details
Dr Sophie Beard
Senior Lecturer in Graphic and Digital Design
Sophie Beard is a graphic design educator and practitioner with over 20 years’ experience working in higher education. She teaches across studio and theory at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, with a focus on collaborative, co-led learning and socially engaged design.
A graduate of Central Saint Martins (BA Graphic Design, 1998) and the Royal College of Art (MA Communication Art & Design, 2002), she completed a UAL-funded, practice-based PhD at London College of Communication in 2010, exploring the role of the family photograph in the British newspaper.
She is Co-founder and Director of Collectarium, a participatory publishing platform that invites new ways of seeing through community engagement. Her work has been published and exhibited internationally.
Currently she holds the role of FLAS Faculty Senior Tutor and Senior Lecturer in Graphic and Digital Design at the University of Greenwich. Her leadership roles have included Deputy Head of the School of Design, Interim Academic Portfolio Lead for Design Anthropology (April-Oct 2023) and Interim Academic Portfolio Lead for Landscape Architecture & Urbanism (Jan-June 2024). Across these Leadership positions, she has contributed to curriculum development, academic strategy, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Responsibilities within the university
- FLAS - Faculty Senior Tutor
- Senior Lecturer, BA Graphic and Digital Design
- Module Leader - Graphic Design in Branding and Advertising
- Deputy Head School of Design and Creative Industries (Nov 22- Sept 24)
- Interim Academic Portfolio Lead for Design Anthropology (April-Oct 2023)
- Interim Academic Portfolio Lead for Landscape Architecture & Urbanism (Jan-June 2024).
- Steering Committee Member for the Research Centre for Spatial and Digital Ecologies.
- Project Lead for Centre Press
- A member of the FLAS Awarding Differences Steering Group
- A member of the Continuation Stakeholder Group.
- A member of the Faculty Student Success Committee.
- A member of the IHMD Steering Group.
Awards
2002 University of the Arts Postgraduate Research Studentship Award
Recognition
External Examiner - MA Communication Design, University of Falmouth (2025-28)
External Examiner - BA (Hons) Media and Communication Design, Macromedia University, Berlin (2020-24)
External Examiner - MA Illustration & Visual Media, London College of Communication (UAL), London (2019-23)
External Examiner - BA (Hons) Illustration & Visual Media, London College of Communication (UAL), London (2018-23)
External Academic Advisor for the Validation of the BA (Hons) Information & Interface Design,
London College of Communication (UAL), London (2014-15)
Research / Scholarly interests
Beard has published and exhibited internationally, with research situated within the field of Visual Communication. She is particularly interested in Vernacular Photography and its Practices, Material Culture, and the methodological approach of The Archive and Act of Collecting.
Sophie's research interests lie in the terrain of Vernacular Photography and the methodological approach of The Archive and Act of Collecting. She is interested in exploring new methodologies, and opportunities for participatory and collective design.
She is co-founder of Collectarium (with Allyson Waller, University of Brighton) a publishing platform that creates design activities to engages audiences in new ways of seeing through participatory and collective design. https://collectarium.co.uk/
In addition, she is the Project Lead for Centre Press within the Research Centre for Spatial and Digital Ecologies which is an experimental research project that explores the act of publishing. https://www.centrepress.org/
Media activity
- Beard, S. and Waller, A. (2025) The Ideal Home for Lockdown Living Exhibition Review. Recessed Space, 10 September. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/recessed.space/
- Beard, S. & Waller, A. (2024) ‘Now Play This 2024’ Exhibition Review. ‘The eccentricity is the point’. The Observer, Simon Parkin, Sunday 14 April 2024. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/games/2024/apr/14/now-play-this-2024-somerset-house-london-review-liminal-playing-between-worlds
- Beard, S. & Waller, A. (2024) ‘Now Play This 2024’ Exhibition Review. ‘A skate through cyberspace: on the edge with the Now Play This festival of experimental video games’ The Guardian, Keza MacDonald Mon 8 Apr 2024. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/games/2024/apr/08/a-skate-through-cyberspace-on-the-edge-with-the-now-play-this-festival-of-experimental-video-games
- Beard, S. & Waller, A. (2024) Collectarium Interview - Now Play This Festival 2024, Liminality: Playing between worlds. Somerset House, London.
- Beard, S. & Waller, A. (2020) ‘Collectarium Lockdown Masks’, In: Design Week Picks of the month: The best design events to catch in July. 3rd February 2020. Available at: https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/29-june-5-july/picks-for-july/
- Beard, S. & Waller, A. (2020) ‘Collectarium Lockdown Masks’, In: What Design Can Do, July 10, 2020.
- Beard, S. & Waller, A. (2020) ‘Brighton area people urged to mask up for self-portrait in new art project’ The Brighton & Hove Independent, Press Article (print) Sussex Express, Hemsley, A. 10 July 2020. Available at: https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/people/brighton-area-people-urged-to-mask-up-for-self-portrait-in-new-art-project-2910030#:~:text=new%20art%20project-,Brighton%20area%20people%20urged%20to%20mask%20up%20for,portrait%20in%20new%20art%20project&text=University%20of%20Brighton%20graphic%20design,the%20creation%20of%20face%20masks.
- Beard, S. & Waller, A. (2020) Collectarium Interview with Joe Talbot talking about Lockdown Masks Project, BBC Radio Sussex.
- Beard, S. & Waller, A. (2020) Collectarium Interview with Lesley McCabe talking about Lockdown Masks Project, BBC Radio Surrey.
Recent publications
Exhibition:
- Beard, S. & Waller, A. & Maloney, P. (2025) ‘The Ideal Home for Lockdown Living’, Safe House 1, London. https://londondesignfestival.com/activities/the-ideal-home-for-lockdown-living
- Beard, S. and Waller, A. (2025) ‘Collectarium - How Do You Feel?’, Pop-up Exhibition and Workshop. Look Again Newhaven, Newhaven.
- Beard, S. & Waller, A. & Maloney, P. (2024) ‘Collectarium Lockdown Space’: Now Play This 2024, Liminal; Playing Between Worlds’, Sommerset House, London https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/now-play-this-2024
- Beard, S. & Waller, A. (2023) ‘How Do You Feel?’, Phoenix Art Space, Brighton
Publication:
- Beard, S. & Waller, A. (2022) ‘Collectarium Lockdown Masks’, Collectarium, London, ISBN 978-1-3999-3381-0
Article:
- Beard, S. (2020) ‘The First and Last Picture - The Temporality of the Family Photograph’ Journal: Rundbrief Fotografi e –Vol. 27 (2020), No. 1 [N.F. 105]
Presentations
- Beard, S. & Waller, A. & Maloney, P. (2025) ‘Collectarium Lockdown Space: sharing viral domestic transformations’. In: Domesticity Under Siege: International Architectural Conference, School of Architecture Technology and Engineering, University of Brighton.
- Beard, S. & Waller, A. (2025) ‘Collectarium’, Catalyst Research Lecture, University of Brighton, Brighton.
- Beard, S. & Waller, A. ‘Publishing Participation’. (2023) Structures of Community Symposium, as part of the Resolve Collective Residency, co-hosted by the Centre for Spatial, Environmental and Cultural Politics, University of Brighton, CCA Gallery, Brighton
- Beard, S. & Waller, A, & Maloney, P. (2021) ‘Collectarium Lockdown Space: Sharing domestic transformations and innovations for pandemics.’ Urban Assemblage: The City as Architecture, Media, AI and Big Data, Amps. University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield.
- Beard, S. & Waller, A. (2020) ‘Collectarium Masks’. The Great Wave International Conference, The House of Beautiful Business, Berlin.
- Beard, S. (2018) ‘Collecting Collects’, Photography and Society Conference. German Documentation Centre for Art History. Image Archive Foto, Marburg (DDK), Germany.