Ms Rachel Gannon

As Associate Professor and Acting Head of School of Design, which consists of four schools; Illustration Animation, 3D Design, Fashion and Graphic Design, I have strategic oversight of school portfolio including leading on learning and teaching, research and knowledge exchange initiatives that support the Universities KPIs.

I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) which I was awarded through the Kingston Academic Practice Standards Framework (KAPS) in recognition for my achievements leading on developing an inclusive curriculum, redesigning group work and embedding research skills in the curriculum. KAPS Panel feedback said that ‘the two case studies provide a wonderfully rich narrative of what the candidate has done and they are inspiring'.

I am co-founder and co-director of Illustration Educators, a subject association and international organisation established by educators to support, advance and disseminate the subject, practices and discipline of illustration by providing forums for discussion and debate.  Working  closely with a group of academics from Camberwell College of Art and the Royal College of Art, including co-director Darryl Clifton (UAL:CCW), Illustration Educators launched in 2021 with over 100 interested members and a dedicated programme of events scheduled for 2022-23. I am a member of the CHEAD Subject Association Alliance that brings together leadership of the art, design and media subject associations with related organisations. 

I am currently External Examiner for the BA Illustration programmes at Leeds Arts University, University of Plymouth and UCA: Farnham, with previous posts at Liverpool John Moores University and University of East London.

Qualifications and expertise

• Senior Fellow Higher Education Academy
• Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice

Undergraduate courses taught

• Illustration Animation BA (Hons)

Postgraduate courses taught

• Illustration MA

My research interests lie in the potential of the discipline of illustration, its shifting landscape and innovative approaches to illustration methodologies, informed by a successful 18-year professional illustration career. I am an active researcher whose articles and practice-based works have been published in the leading research and professional publications in this subject. I am a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Illustration. 

In 2021 I co-authored Illustration Research Methods (Bloomsbury, 2021), a dedicated critical and theoretical text offering a new discipline specific vocabulary to explore the processes and methods through which illustration now operates. Proposing ‘illustration' to be considered as holistic processes consisting of a range of project appropriate interpretative and creative practices rather than simply a finished outcome. Leading design theorist Steven Heller (School of Visual Arts, New York) publicly endorsed Illustration Research Methods as an ‘essential volume in the evolution of this significant discipline.' Similarly, Rick Poynor (Professor of Design and Visual Culture, Reading), said it makes a ‘vital contribution to the discipline's critical discourse'.

I have planned and developed significant research events, most notably organising and chairing the 11th annual conference for Illustration Research. Timed to coincide with the publication of Illustration Research Methods (2021) and thematically drawing upon the research I conducted in this area, Education and Illustration: Models Methods Paradigms (Kingston University, 2021) showcased and discussed multiple positions and levels within the pedagogic and professional illustration practice, highlighting pertinent contemporary disciplinary concerns and how these impact, and are impacted by, education and academic research culture. The event hosted 800+ delegates from 27 countries (the largest gathering of international illustration researchers, academics and practitioners). 

I am currently supervising a PhD student at working at the intersection of design, anthropology, illustration and mycology (Edinburgh College of Art).

Areas of specialism

• Illustration practice
• Trans-disciplinary research methods
• Practice-based research
• Trans-media storytelling

Scholarly affiliations

• Journal of Illustration

Publications