Rate My Professor Ari Chand

Dr Ari Chand serves as Senior Lecturer in Illustration and Animation at the School of Art and Design within the College of Creative Arts, Design and Humanities at Adelaide University. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Design from the University of Newcastle in 2018, Bachelor of Natural History Illustration (Honours Class 1) in 2012, and Bachelor of Fine Art/Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary) in 2011, also from the University of Newcastle. Additionally, he is a Fellow of Advance HE (2025) and holds a Certificate in Arts and Management from Università Bocconi (2024). Chand's research specializations include visual communication design, illustration practice, art education, and creative industries, with a particular emphasis on sociological frameworks applied to design and illustration. His work explores how illustration and visual communication can facilitate transformation and communication in areas such as biodiversity and science, education, histories and heritage, social work, and health. Research interests encompass animation, video games and computer-generated imagery, cultural and creative industries, design history, theory and criticism, visual arts, and visual cultures.

Throughout his career, Chand has held positions including Lecturer in Illustration and Animation at the University of South Australia (2023-2025), Conjoint Lecturer in Visual Communication Design at the University of Newcastle (2023-present), and various lecturing roles at Newcastle from 2018 to 2023. He has extensive teaching experience in illustration studios, drawing, design history and theory, digital literacy, and conceptual thinking, and supervises higher degree research students on topics such as pro-environmental attitudes through botanical illustration and accessibility guidelines. Notable publications include co-authoring "Margaret Senior OAM: Illustration as a tool for environmental communication and conservation" (Australian Gardening History, 2026), "Illustrated and Written by…" (International Journal of Education Through Art, 2025), "Creative industries careers: shifting aspirations and pathways from high school to university—a NSW case study" (Australian Educational Researcher, 2023), and book chapters such as "Not Just Art Therapy: A Case Study Embedding a Design Practitioner in Youth Violence Intervention Program 'Name.Narrate.Navigate' (NNN)" (2025). Awards include a Mid-Career Teaching Award Commendation from UniSA (2025), Emerging Scholar Award from the International Conference on Design Principles and Practices (2022), Industry Engagement Award from the University of Newcastle (2022), and Finalist in the Dobell Drawing Prize (2019).