Dr Matthias Hillner

Matthias’ specialisms comprise graphic design and typography, motion graphics and digital media, as well as experience design and design thinking. He is an expert in creative entrepreneurship and innovation management.

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Background

Matthias Hillner holds three postgraduate degrees from the Royal College of Art, London, UK including a PhD in Design IP and Innovation Management received from the Department for Service Design in 2019. In 2015 he was commissioned by the UK IPO to investigate the infringement of design rights in the UK, before he moved to Singapore to become Head of School, Design Communication at LASALLE College of the Arts, and subsequently Director of Programmes at the Glasgow School of Art in Singapore. He is also the Founder of the Studio for Virtual Typography, a design consultancy which was funded through a startup award obtained from the UK National Endowment of Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA).

Matthias authored the book Intellectual Property, Design Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, which was published by Springer in January 2021. He is co-founder of TruBlu, an innovation management initiative, and serves the Action Society for Entrepreneurship (ACE) in Singapore as a startup mentor.

Spoken Languages

• English
• German
• French

Research interests

• Innovation
• Creative Entrepreneurship
• Intellectual Property
• Typography

Areas of research supervision

• Graphic design and branding
• Print and publishing design
• Typography
• Visual communication including digital communication and media design
• Creative entrepreneurship
• Intellectual Property
• Design innovation

Teaching

Matthias currently teaches on:

• Graphic Design: Final Projects

Qualifications

• PhD Service Design, Royal College of Art
• MPhil (RCA) Communication Art and Design, Royal College of Art
• MA (RCA) Communication Art and Design, Royal College of Art
• Dipl (FH) Visual Communication, College of Design Schwäbisch-Gmünd, Germany
• Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS)

Memberships, editorial boards

• Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA)
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK) (fHEA)

Research grants, consultancy, knowledge exchange

• Principal Investigator, Design Right Infringement Survey, UK IPO, 2015-2016, £73,000

Selected recent publications

Hillner, M., 2022. Towards a Democratisation of Innovation. AHFE 2022, The International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics, New York City, US (book chapter).

Hillner, M., 2021. The Evolutionary Nature of Innovation Businesses. AHFE 2021, The International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics, New York City, US (book chapter).

Hillner, M., 2021. Intellectual Property, Design Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (Berlin: Springer) (book).

Hillner, M., 2019. Time Consciousness in Relation to Emergent Typography. AHFE 2019, The International Conference 2020, Washington DC, USA (book chapter).

Recent presentations and conferences

Hillner, M., 2022. Innovation Landscaping — Singapore’s Startup Ecosystem. DMI 2022, Academic Design Management Conference, OCAD University, Toronto, Canada.

Hillner, M., 2022. Reflections on Business Model Design for Startups. DMI 2022, Academic Design Management Conference, OCAD University, Toronto, Canada.

Hillner, M., 2022. Towards a Democratisation of Innovatio.n AHFE 2022, The International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics, New York City, US.

Hillner, M., 2021. The Evolutionary Nature of Innovation Businesses. AHFE 2021, The International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics, New York City, US.

Hillner, M., 2020. I Hate Books - Alternative Approaches to Design Research. ALC2020, Applied Learning Conference 2020, Singapore.

Hillner, M., 2019. Time Consciousness in Relation to Emergent Typography. AHFE 2019, The International Conference 2020, Washington DC, USA.

Hillner, M., 2018. Design Thinking - A Buzz Word or the Holy Grail in Design? E&PDE 2018, The 20th Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics, Washington DC, US.

Hillner, M., de Leon, N., 2018. Managing Innovation - Business Development Model for Design-led Start-ups. International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, London, UK.

Hillner, M., Lim, S., 2018. Design Thinking - Towards a New Perspective. DMI Academic Design Management Conference, Ravensbourne, London, UK.

Lim, S., Hillner, M., 2018. Design Thinking as a Meta Language To Get There - Designing Together. Cumulus Paris 2018: hosted by: Césaap – Conférence des Écoles supérieures d’Arts appliqués de Paris.

Hillner, M., Lim, S., 2017. Evaluating Interdisciplinary Collaboration - Towards a Methodology. Building Community: Design Education for a Sustainable Future, E&PDE 2017, Oslo, Norway: The 19th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education.

Hillner, M., 2017. Design IP legislation in the UK - An Opportunity to Innovate? Research Perspectives on Creative Intersections, 1st DMA (Design Management Academy) Conference, Hong Kong, China: Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Hillner, M., 2017. Managing Design IP in the UK - Does the End Justify the Means? Research Perspectives on Creative Intersections, 1st DMA (Design Management Academy) Conference, Hong Kong, China: Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Hillner, M., 2016. Innovation and IP - What works and what doesn’t? Moving the Innovation Horizon. ISPIM (International Society for Professional Innovation Management) Innovation Summit, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Media experience

Interview by Payal Nayar, 2021. Matthias Hillner, Founder of the Studio for Virtual Typography, Melting Pot

Interview by Leticia Caminero, 2021, Intellectual Property, Design Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Matthias Hillner, Intangible Law, Season 2, Episode 5 (podcast), Leticia Caminero 2013-2020