Robert Mowbray

Biography

I am currently employed by UAL as Senior Lecturer in Graphic Branding & Identity. I have been in-post since 2019. Prior to this appointment I was continuously employed by UAL as an Associate Lecturer, since 2014. Over my time at LCC I have contributed to the teaching and learning on a range of courses, including both MA and BA (Hons) Graphic Media Design.

I achieved HEA Fellowship in 2022 and am currently working towards SFHEA. I completed my teacher training – City & Guilds, Level 5 Diploma in Education and Training, back in 2015. I am a member of the International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD).

Prior to a career in teaching and learning, I was an experienced design practitioner with over 25 years commercial experience. I worked across a broad range of creative specialisms including: branding, advertising, marketing and publishing. I was a founder director of a design practice for more than eight years. The experience of running a successful business demonstrates my ability to work flexibly, finding practical solutions to new or unique problems.

In 2010 I embarked on a program of personal development. To date, this has included the achievement of a first class (Hons) degree in graphic design before completing an MA in graphic design - passed with distinction.

I maintain a personal design practice, developing self-initiated design projects. Ghost Town: The hauntology of Croydon, a public exhibition of my work at The Parfitt Gallery, Croydon. I am part of the UAL Subcultures Interest Group (SIG) and also attend Punk Scholars Network events.
My design practice incorporates experimental uses of existing software, new technologies and mixed media. Although my commercial career was spent chiefly in print, I have experience of working in digital realms; (use of AI and open source processing techniques) and 3D formats (using concrete to communicate psychogeographic principles of time and space).

My teaching practice includes a focus on divergent thinking and the encouragement of dialogic practice. I’m particularly interested in issues surrounding originality and ‘adventure’, on the importance of ‘seeing things differently’, pushing boundaries, making connections and working in ways which create a distance from the original and prioritises ethical design outcomes which are compelling and distinctive.