MA Design (Communication)

Dedicated to teaching both theory and practice since 1999, Mel began teaching at Arts University Plymouth in 2004. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Arts University Plymouth Teaching Fellow and RSA Fellow. Mel’s skills and experience are consolidated in her role as Assistant Dean and Principal Lecturer, having long since decided that working alongside the next generation of designers and creatives was exactly where she wanted to be. Previously course leader for BA (Hons) Illustration, Mel built a team of dedicated staff to help shape the identity and curriculum of the course, and the Illustration provision at Arts University Plymouth grew from strength to strength Current pedagogic research is focused on play and the role of curiosity in creative learning. Mel has presented papers at conferences across the UK and Europe: Illustr4tio International Conference (‘Illustration as Reparation’ 2019), GLAD Conference (‘Trading Places: Developing a Model for Interdisciplinary Practice’ 2017), HEA Annual Arts and Humanities Conference (‘The Great Editorial Race: the serious business of play’ 2016), ELIA Teachers Conference (‘The Serious Business of Play’ 2015). She is co-author of journal paper ‘Drawing Thinking: Illustration as Pedagogy' with AUP Senior lecturer Jason Hirons. With a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design and MA in Visual Culture from Bath Spa University, in her own practice Mel is obsessed with discarded books and abandoned photographs and seemingly random pieces of ephemera. Through drawing and collage Mel plays with juxtaposition to transform the use, meaning and interpretation of the images she finds and a recurring theme is the plight of lost, broken and damaged things. As part of Mel's role as Assistant Dean, she assists the Dean of Art, Design & Media in the academic and operational leadership of undergraduate Design courses at Arts University Plymouth, driving pedagogic innovation and supporting subject specialisms in Design. She is an active committee member and convenor of the Making Learning research group.In 2026, Mel was appointed as an Associate Professor at Arts University Plymouth, reflecting both her impact within the university and her wider national standing in creative pedagogy, further underscored by her recognition in 2025 as the university’s first National Teaching Fellow.

Sue Lewry’s creative journey began in London’s fashion industry, where she worked for over 15 years as a graphic designer and art director specialising in editorial and catalogue design. In 2015, her practice shifted when she discovered printmaking, leading her to complete a Master’s in Printmaking at Arts University Plymouth, where she received the Principal’s Commendation Award for her innovative practice-led research. Now based in Plymouth, Sue runs her DIY print studio, producing works across paper, textiles, and large-scale installations. Alongside her studio practice, she lectures on BA (Hons) Graphic Design and is a subject tutors for MA Design (Communication). She also contributes to Arts University Plymouth as an early-career researcher, investigating how printmaking, design, and embodied processes can disrupt digital dominance and reframe the politics of making. Central to her practice is Colossal, a mobile screen-printing studio conceived as both a functioning press and a performative artwork. More than a community tool, Colossal operates as a rebellious intervention, questioning hierarchies of labour, visibility, and authorship. By staging live, durational print works in public or unexpected contexts, Sue challenges perceptions of printmaking as “activity” and reasserts its position as a critical, contemporary art practice. Collaboration remains key to her approach. Sue works with artists, designers, and organisations across the South West and contributes to the Plymouth Design Forum, supporting critical debate and creative exchange. Her dedication to experimental, research-driven practice underscores a commitment to art and design that is ambitious, critical, and transformative. www.suelewry.com & www.colossalprint.uk

Sam Rowe is a Senior Lecturer and Course Leader on BA (Hons) Illustration and a lecturer on BA (Hons) Graphic Design, where he team-teaches modules on sequential illustration, professional practice, and independent and self promotional practices. Outside his time teaching at Arts University Plymouth, Sam is a freelance illustrator, art director, and designer, working with clients such as The New York Times, Financial Times, Airbnb, Atlassian, The McConnell Foundation, NPR, Dyson, and Bristol University amongst others. Sam is represented globally by The Loud Cloud, an agency that works with a dynamic group of unique illustrators, designers and animators. Sam regularly works with the Society for Research into Higher Education, delivering workshops and seminars focusing on visualising research and sharing best practice. Prior to joining the academic teaching staff at the college, Sam taught illustration at the universities of Gloucestershire and Plymouth. In 2021, Sam also became part of our Postgraduate cohort of students, beginning his MA in Illustration. His research centres on voice and communication, particularly those that bridge difficult gaps in understanding such as language and deep time.

As a practicing graphic designer and founder of Studio Auto, Matt Thame has consistently reinvented and modified his output, resulting in a body of work that is both extensive and incredibly diverse. Matt has built an international reputation for striking design work for the music industry, with a prolific output for many major record labels. His work on album covers for labels such as Strut Records & Universal is particularly renowned. Studio Auto continues to broaden its client base to include current arts organisations, corporate identities and independent artists. Matt works in a multi-disciplinary style incorporating illustration, photography and typography in a flexible and individual approach to each project. As a tutor at Arts University Plymouth, Matt enjoys sharing ideas, encouraging potential, expanding skills and communication, drawing on his own experiences as a working designer to complement and enhance the students discovery into the demanding standards that are required of a contemporary graphic designer, in presentation, creative process, conceptualization and art direction.