Designing for human health

I am an Associate Professor and the Eva and Marc Besen International Research Chair in Design at Monash University. Through collaborative projects I have brought humanity centred design to technologies for hearing loss, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, gut disease and loneliness. My design work has been recognised with seven Australian Good Design Awards (including the 2018 Australian Good Design Award, Australia’s peak design award) and the CSIRO Design Innovation Award and I was recently awarded the 2022 Australian Women in Design Award. Projects I has led have been presented to the Victorian Royal Commission into Mental Health and informed the creation of Victoria, Australia’s Voluntary Assisted Dying Guidelines. My design work is part of Australia’s heritage collections in Victoria and NSW and has been exhibited internationally to audiences exceeding 700,000 people. My Tactile Tools co-design method has been used to evolve new models and systems of care for low birth weight, eating disorders, cancer care, aged care, voluntary assisted dying, mental health and acquired brain injury.

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Contact me: leahheissdesign(at)gmail.com