Dr Terence Fenn

Head of Digital Media Design (Multimedia) Department
Name: Terence Fenn
Location: 137, FADA Building, APB Bunting Road Campus
FADA Management Staff, FADA Multimedia Staff  Staff Members

Contact Details:
Tel: +27 (0)11-559-1092

Email: tfenn@uj.ac.za

About Dr Terence Fenn

Qualifications: PHD (Information Technology); MARTDESED (UNSW, AUS); MPhil (Information Technology) (UCT) B-Tech: Fine Arts (TWR)

Designation: Senior Lecturer

My principal teaching and research areas include interaction design, experience design, design futures, design thinking and design research. I have published and presented numerous academic papers, of which the overarching themes relate to teaching and practicing design with a specific focus on complex societal problems. I co-founded the UJ  DESIS Lab hosted in FADA. My recently completed PhD focused on the generation of a novel design research method for co-projecting smart urban places with neighbourhood communities.

Supervision areas

I am particularly interested in supervising students who wish to situate their research in design-led research projects that focus on complex problems affecting communities through either service driven or speculative methodologies (or combinations of both). Applicants would likely therefore have a strong interest in interaction design, urban informatics, experience design or user experience design.

Published work.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4298-1743

 Fenn, T. 2023. Creative Correspondence: Leveraging design artefacts to generate shared plausible futures. 17th DEFSA Conference: Vulindlela – making new pathways, Centurion, pp.487-499.

Fenn, T. 2021. Anticipating IR 4.0: Conceptualising a human-centred contribution to the design of emerging complex technological systems. Johannesburg, DEFSA: DE+AFRIKA+4IR+. Johannesburg. pp.102–113.

Hobbs, J. and Fenn, T. 2019. The Design of Socially Sustainable Ontologies. Philosophy & Technology, 32, pp.745–767.

Fenn, T. 2019. The Research through Design Thinking Method: an approach to research report writing in early level post-graduate education. Designed Futures, DEFSA Conference. Cape Town, pp. 88–104.

Fenn, T and Campbell, A.D. 2019. Sensing iGoli: Applying Typological Activity System Models in the Design of Innovative and Appropriate Urban Technologies. The Design After: Cumulus Conference Bogotà. pp. 34-47.

Fenn, T. & Hobbs, J. 2018. Nurturing critical citizen designers: Applying strategic models for reflective practice. In, Costandius, E. & Botes, H. (Eds.) Educating Citizen Designers in Southern Africa. Stellenbosch: SUNMeDIA.

Fenn, T. & Hobbs. 2017. J. Experience-led Design Strategy. The Design Management Academy 2017, International Conference, Hong Kong, Vol 5. pp.1667- 1684. DOI: 10.21606/dma.2017.99

Fenn, T. & Hobbs, J. 2017. Conceiving and Applying Relationship Models for Design Strategy. In A. Chakrabarti and D. Chakrabarti (eds.), Research into Design for Communities, Volume 2, Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies 66. Proceedings of ICoRD 2017. Springer Nature; Singapore. 517-528. DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-3521-0_45.

Fenn, TK. 2015. Integrating contextmapping and interaction design: designing with and for small-scale urban farmers in Soweto. UCT Masters Thesis. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19976.

Hobbs, J. and Fenn, T. 2015. The Firma Model: A Meta- framework for Design Research, Strategy and Critique. The Virtuous Circle, Summer Cumulus Conference. Politecnico de Milano, Milan.

Donaldson, T. & Fenn, T. 2015. The Betterness of Braamfontein. Ethics and accountability in Design: Do they matter? – 7th International DEFSA Conference Proceedings, Midrand, pp. 78-91.

Fenn, T, & Hobbs, J. 2015. Wicked Ethics in Design. Ethics and accountability in Design: Do they matter? – 7th International DEFSA Conference Proceedings, Midrand, pp. 127-135.

Hobbs, J. & Fenn, T. 2015. The Firma Model: A Tool for Resolving Complex Societal Problems. Ethics and accountability in Design: Do they matter? – 7th International DEFSA Conference Proceedings, Midrand, pp. 169-181.

Fenn, T. Framing Complexity: an experience-led approach to designing user research. 2015. Ethics and accountability in Design: Do they matter? – 7th International DEFSA Conference Proceedings, Midrand, pp 112-126

Pretorious, M., Hobbs, J & Fenn, T. 2015. The User Experience Landscape of South Africa. SAICSIT ’15, September 28-30, 2015, Stellenbosch, South Africa. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2815782.2815807.

Fenn, T. & Hobbs, J. 2014. The information architecture of meaning making. In (ed) Resmini, A. Reframing Information Architecture, Human-Computer Interaction Series. Springer International Publishing; Switzerland. 11-30. DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-06492-5_2.

Fenn, T. 2014. Applying Generative Tools in the co-design of digital interactive products in development contexts. Cumulus Johannesburg: Design with the other 90%: Changing the World by Design. Johannesburg, South Africa. September 2014. 368-882.

Hobbs, J. & Fenn, T. 2013. Navigating Indeterminacy through the application of User Journeys. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Design, Development and Research. Kumasi, Ghana. June 2013. 190-209. DOI: 10.13140/2.1.2869.6321

Fenn, T. & Hobbs, J. 2013. Applying user journey design to resolve complex design problems. Gaborone International Design Conference (2013). 24–26 September 2013, Gaborone, Botswana. DOI: 10.13140/2.1.4704.6402

Fenn, T. & Hobbs, J. 2013. Preparing undergraduate design students for complexity: a case study of the Johannesburg Art Gallery Project. Gaborone International Design Conference (2013) 24–26 September 2013, Gaborone, Botswana. DOI: 10.13140/2.1.3262.8484.

Fenn, T. & Hobbs, J. 2012. The information architecture of transdisciplinary design

practice: Rethinking Nathan Shedroff’s continuum of understanding. 2nd International Conference on Design, Development and Research Design, Cape Town, South Africa. DOI: 10.13140/2.1.3787.1362.

Hobbs, J. Fenn, T. & Resmini, A. 2011. Maturing a practice. Journal of Information Architecture. Vol 2(1). 2011. 37-54.

Fenn, T. & Hobbs, J. 2011. A Role for Information Architecture in Design Education: Conceptualising indeterminate problems in design thinking. Sixth International DEFSA Conference. 2011. DOI: 10.13140/2.1.4573.5689

Hobbs, J. & Fenn, T. 2011. A Role for Information Architecture in Design Education: Developing Innovation Through Structured Thinking. Sixth International DEFSA Conference. 2011. DOI: 10.13140/2.1.1821.0564

Hobb, J. & Fenn, T. The Firma model. UX South Africa, Johannesburg 2015

Pretorious, M., Hobbs, J & Fenn, T. 2015. The User Experience Landscape of South Africa. Research report. Available at: www.uxlandscape.com.

Fenn, T & Hobbs, J. 2012. Urban renewal initiatives in Johannesburg: opportunities and networks for the Johannesburg Art Gallery. Unpublished. Pro bona report for the Johannesburg Art Gallery.

Fenn, T. & Hobbs, J. 2011.Teaching Design Thinking: Developing Innovation through Structured Thinking. EIA Summit, Prague, Czech Republic.