Dr Harah Chon

Biography

I am Course Leader for the Central Saint Martins Birkbeck MBA and a designer, researcher and educator.

I began my professional career as a fashion designer at Ralph Lauren and have experience working in New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore and London. I have held research and academic posts at the School of Design at Jiangnan University, School of Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, LASALLE College of the Arts, the Department of Science of Design at Musashino Art University, and Lien Centre for Social innovation at Singapore Management University. Throughout my academic career, I have mentored BA, MA, MBA and PhD students in the areas of fashion design, business management, design communication, design practice, cultural leadership, regenerative branding, and transdisciplinary collaboration.

My research activities focus on design theory and philosophy across the themes of collaborative design frameworks, disruptive approaches to interdisciplinary design, and design knowledge. The research framework of my PhD thesis was published in The Routledge Companion to Design Research (2015), with an updated chapter in the 2nd Edition (2023). I am the author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and conference papers.

I am an advocate of furthering discourses on design and cultural sustainability, social design, and design impact. I have developed numerous programmes and masterclasses at the intersection of design and business, with a particular focus on systems-based thinking and knowledge transference. Many of my frameworks and methodologies have been applied across the fields of intangible culture and heritage, tourism and hospitality, business strategy, and social innovation.

I am a frequent contributor and guest speaker at international design conferences, symposia and events. I regularly conduct masterclasses on the impact of design and have successfully developed workshops around design communication, systems thinking, and design for leadership.

I hold a BFA from Parsons School of Design, MBA (Distinction) and PhD from Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

I am originally from South Korea.