MA Design

Heather relocated to the UK from the west coast of Canada to begin postgraduate study with the Glasgow School of Art where she completed a Masters of Research in Design Innovation. In Canada she worked under her own conceptually driven internationally recognised fashion label MONO and comes from a background in education, leading fashion and product design courses at both Emily Carr University and Vancouver Community College. Heather Martin is a Senior Design Lecturer, Design Researcher and the Course Leader of BA (Hons) Fashion Design and MA Design Tutor at Arts University Plymouth. Since 2017 Heather has been shaping the local circular economy and the design curriculum at Arts University Plymouth with her practice-based research project UN - MAKE + RE - CLOTHE. Creative practice and continuous learning has transformed Heather’s life and because of this she is committed to the goal of transforming others lives through design and through learning. Heather enjoys making things, thinking about how to make things better and then implementing strategies and providing leadership to make those things happen.

Emma is a textile designer who has developed a successful interior textiles brand which is sold online and in retail outlets all over the UK. She has worked with globally renowned agencies designing printed textiles for the fashion and interior design markets. She regularly produces one-off commissions and has exhibited work all over the UK and in Europe. In her role at Arts University Plymouth, Emma shares her extensive technical knowledge and passion for printed textile design. She is constantly striving to learn more, innovate her ideas and loves to work with tomorrow's designers. Emma is the course leader for BA (hons) Textile Design, managing the course team and responsible for the shape and focus of the course content. She teaches across all levels of the programme, module leading Textile specific units as well as cross course delivery.

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.