Grant Ellmers

Dr. Grant Ellmers is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Wollongong, Australia, specializing in design, photography, and creative arts education. His research encompasses two interconnected streams: the development of design and creative expertise, and photography practice investigating Australian urban spaces. Dr Ellmers’ design expertise research, recognised in a recent international literature survey, examines how designers think about their practice in ways that support expertise development including how structured approaches to reflection foster knowledge transfer in creative practice. This work bridges the gap between research and professional practice (translational research) drawing on practice-based and practice-led research methodologies. He is extending this research to consider the emerging impacts of artificial intelligence on design practice and the impact this may have on the development of design expertise. This emerging focus directly informs his teaching practice, where he is incorporating AI tools and methodologies to prepare industry-ready graduates who can engage effectively with AI systems while retaining their critical design thinking capabilities. Dr Ellmers’ photographic practice, recognised nationally through awards at the Centre for Contemporary Photography, explores the interplay of history, culture, and identity in Australian urban spaces. Through documentation of both metropolitan centres and remote urban towns, he explores the complex relationships between built environments and cultural narratives, expressing these spaces through a visual language that moves between representational and abstract forms. His recent work in Tennant Creek highlights the ethical challenges of representing communities and reveals how urban development and selective historical documentation contribute to the ‘great Australian silence’. Dr. Ellmers completed his PhD in design education in 2014, developing a structured and critical approach to reflection that guides designers to think about their practice in ways that foster knowledge transfer. This research continues to influence his teaching practice, where he implements learning scaffolds and assessment tasks that highlight the themes of thinking and making within project-based and studio-based learning environments. Through these complementary research streams, Dr. Ellmers contributes to both theoretical understanding of creative practice and the documentation of Australia's evolving urban landscape. Communication and media studies, Visual arts