Ella Britton

Biography

Hello. I am the Course Leader for the MA Design for Social Innovation and Sustainable Futures at London College of Communication. I have been involved in the collaborative shaping and leadership of this course from its beginnings in 2019.

Before this role, I was a research resident at the V&A looking at the strategic role of design inside cultural and learning institutions. I worked as a consultant on the development of the new Young V&A. I also created a pedological experiment inside one of the gallery spaces called the Collective Design School - exploring models of collectivism inside formal and informal design learning.

Between 2015 - 2018 I lived and worked in Mexico, developing a new experimental laboratory with architecture and design students at Tec de Monterrey in Querétaro. We worked together to situate our design curriculum alongside the creative practices within local urban and rural communities. While I was there I also ran a Currículo/a Abierto/a where our Design School classes happened over a week within a local museum as an open access studio for the neighbourhood. I also worked with students to create Art Schools in parking spaces.

In the UK I led the Knee High Design Challenge with the Design Council, working in collaboration with Southwark and Lambeth Councils on system reform to tackle health inequalities for young children and their families. As part of this work, I led a robust 6 month design research project which led to a £1.25 million investment in local families and children.

I have also worked as a social design consultant with thinkpublic, British Council, Civic.co, and Participle. Facilitating collaborative design processes, leading system and service design projects, and mentoring creative people who are establishing their eco-social creative practices.

I am also a mother of three young children who spends a lot of time in the woods and remain very connected to ideas of Care, Imagination and Play in my practice and teaching. My PGCert Action Research project was based on how the woods could collaborate on eco-social design education.