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Dr Tomás García Ferrari

Designer, researcher, teacher | Academic leader and programme builder

Hamilton, Waikato 3210, Aotearoa New Zealand
tomas@garciaferrari.com
Dual Argentina / New Zealand citizenship
ORCID: 0000-0002-6649-5670 | Google Scholar | LinkedIn
Last updated: August 2026

PROFILE

Digital designer, researcher, and academic leader with more than thirty years of integrated practice across Argentina, Germany, and New Zealand. At the University of Waikato (2012–2026, concluding with a University restructure of design), I authored the transformation of a legacy qualification into a four-major Bachelor of Design; designed and led a transnational design degree at NZUWI, Waikato’s joint institute with Hangzhou City University in China (2016–2021); and served as the Department of Design’s first Head. My research examines design’s role across successive technological conditions, currently extending into the Homo Arbiter framework, which positions the designer as critical evaluator and arbiter in AI-mediated systems (Cumulus Athens 2026; Cumulus Dunedin 2026; journal article in preparation). In 1996, before entering full-time academia, I co-founded (bi)gital», one of Argentina’s first-generation digital and web design studios, delivering more than 100 projects with clients in Argentina, France, Germany, New Zealand, and the United States, including Apple Latin America, Soda Stereo, the Buenos Aires Book Fair, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the HfG-Archiv Ulm.

LEADERSHIP AT A GLANCE

  • Group Leader and Founding Head of Department of Design, University of Waikato (2016–2021) – Group Leader from 2016; elected first Head on the Department’s establishment in 2020 within the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, alongside Computer Science, Software Engineering, and Mathematics & Statistics; as Head, formal line-management responsibility for seven academic staff spanning Senior Lecturer to Tutor
  • Programme Leader / Convenor, BDes in Interface Design, NZUWI–Hangzhou City University joint institute, China (2016–2021) – proposed and designed the programme as one of the joint institute’s founding offerings at its 2017 launch; led it across two countries; annual intake of 60 students on a four-year degree, ~240 students in the pipeline at steady state; recruited and led the initial teaching team in Hangzhou
  • Author of two CUAP degree applications – the BCGD → Bachelor of Design transformation (initially three majors), and the Industrial Design major in formal partnership with the School of Engineering
  • Co-founder and Director, (bi)gital», Buenos Aires (1996–2013 active practice) – 100+ projects across the Americas, Europe, and Oceania

Integrated practice: I build what I design. The range extends from typography, identity, and editorial design, through generative graphics and interface design, to LAMP-based back-end systems and databases, alongside development and scripting in Python, Bash, and C++. It also encompasses the production infrastructure underpinning these systems – servers, DNS, security, and firewalls – which I have designed, built, and administered continuously since 1996. Current hands-on practice includes AI-augmented tooling – Python script factories for data analysis and document transformation, built with Claude Code from my own boilerplate template repository – alongside an experimental local-LLM environment (Ollama). My doctorate applies the same stance empirically: the user experience of physical computing for non-expert developers.

SELECTED ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Author and lead proposer, CUAP qualification restructure (01)UW17 (2017) – authored the proposal creating the Bachelor of Design and Bachelor of Design with Honours from the legacy Bachelor of Computer Graphic Design, and led it through multi-stage internal review and national quality-assurance approval; established majors in Interface, Media, and Communication Design, strengthened the programme’s relationship with Computer Science, and secured formal interdisciplinary partnerships with Engineering and Media and Creative Technologies

  • Author and lead proposer, CUAP proposal (04)UW19 – Industrial Design (2019) – expanded the Bachelor of Design with a fourth major, negotiating the cross-divisional collaboration with the School of Engineering that integrated engineering foundations and manufacturing design papers into the creative curriculum

  • Led the Bachelor of Design / Bachelor of Design with Honours Graduating Year Review (2023), securing CUAP approval for the continuation of both programmes; the review documented the programme’s growth from 72 EFTS (2018) to 352 EFTS (2022) across Hamilton and the joint institute in China.

  • Designed, launched, and governed a transnational design degree in China: Waikato’s BDes in Interface Design at NZUWI. Set curriculum and academic standards across two regulatory systems, and contributed five years of service to the joint institute’s Governance and Academic Committees.

  • Developed a sustained research arc on design and technological change, maintained in print since 2000: “Designing the net” (Rotis symposium volume, 2000; following the tipoGráfica precursor, 1999) → Diseño y Weblogs (2007) → Design and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (The Design Journal, 2017; sole-authored; 82 Google Scholar citations) → doctoral thesis on end-user development for the Internet of Things (2025) → Homo Arbiter (2025–present).

  • Established a sustained practice-based record of significant digital-design works. Designed Clarín Digital (March 1996), the first web edition of Argentina’s largest newspaper; built a content management system for the Akademie Schloss Solitude in 1998, before the term was in common institutional use; and created the digital archive of the HfG Ulm in 2000.

  • Teaching evaluations 2022–2025: achieved 91.3% overall across 775 enrolled students and 14 papers; completed 17 Honours and Master’s supervisions as Chief Supervisor.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Senior Lecturer in Design | 2012–2026

School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, University of Waikato, Aotearoa New Zealand

  • Founding Head of Department of Design (2020–2021), created when the School established four departments – Computer Science, Software Engineering, Mathematics & Statistics, and Design: formal line manager for seven academic staff, reporting to the Head of School; workload allocation, staff development, input into operational cost planning as a member of the School’s leadership group, and programme strategy across communication, interface, media, and industrial design; Group Leader 2016–2020. Programmes under my leadership reached 233 EFTS in 2021; the programmes I built grew to 352 EFTS by 2022: ~100 students per year entering the BDes across four majors, ~12 Master’s students annually, and the ~240-student NZUWI pipeline in China
  • Authored the CUAP applications transforming the Bachelor of Computer Graphic Design into the four-major Bachelor of Design, and adding the Industrial Design major through formal partnership with the School of Engineering – the structural moves that opened Design at Waikato to interdisciplinary collaboration; also authored the 2019 academic development proposal converting the Master of Computer Graphic Design and its Postgraduate Diploma into the Master of Design (MDes) and Postgraduate Diploma in Design
  • Designed and led the Bachelor of Design in Interface Design at NZUWI, the University of Waikato Joint Institute at Hangzhou City University – proposed before the institute’s establishment, among its founding programmes at the 2017 launch: curriculum design, academic standards across two institutional and national contexts, Programme Leader 2016–2021 with recruitment and academic leadership of the five-person teaching team in Hangzhou; annual intake of 60 students on a four-year degree (~240 students at steady state); concurrent service on the joint institute’s Governance (2018–2021) and Academic (2017–2021) Committees, with regular in-country visits (four in 2019)
  • Completed the Graduating Year Review for the Bachelor of Design and Bachelor of Design with Honours (2023), securing CUAP approval for both programmes’ continuation
  • Established the Design IN Industry Speaker Series (2021–2023), a monthly programme connecting design students with practising professionals across UX, communication, and industrial design
  • Completed a PhD in Computer Science (conferred 2025) alongside full teaching and leadership duties
  • Regular invited guest lecturer on Design Thinking, Master of Information Technology, annually since 2017
  • The role concluded in 2026 when the University disestablished the Design positions in the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences and relocated design into a newly created Faculty of Design within the School of Arts

Co-founder, Designer, and Full-Stack Developer | active practice 1996–2013; legacy maintenance 2013–present

(bi)gital», Buenos Aires, Argentina

  • Co-founded one of Argentina’s first-generation digital and web design studios (1996); active client work 1996–2013; the studio maintains eight legacy web projects and does not take new clients
  • Delivered more than 100 international design projects across the Americas, Europe, and Oceania for clients including Apple Latin America, the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank, Clarín, Soda Stereo (Enhanced CD sponsored by Apple, released by Sony Music), the Buenos Aires Book Fair, the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, Akademie Schloss Solitude, and the HfG-Archiv Ulm
  • Designed Clarín Digital, the first web edition of Argentina’s largest newspaper (March 1996)
  • Designed, built, and continue to maintain production web infrastructure – server administration, deployment, systems management – since 1996

Professional Practice Fellow | 2006–2007

University of Otago, Aotearoa New Zealand – invited to the fellowship by Prof Thomas Bley, co-founder and Dean of the Köln International School of Design (KISD), who became my mentor in bridging studio practice and academic instruction

Earlier Roles

  • Guest Lecturer, Burg Giebichenstein – Hochschule für Kunst und Design Halle, Germany (1999–2000)
  • Assistant Lecturer and Tutor (Typography, under Prof Rubén Fontana), University of Buenos Aires (1993–1998)
  • Designer, Multimedios América, Buenos Aires (1993–1995)

EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS

Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science | 2017–2025 University of Waikato, Aotearoa New Zealand Thesis: I Want My IoT – End-User Developers and the Internet of Things. An empirical study of the user experience of physical computing for non-expert developers. Defended with minor corrections June 2025; conferred August 2025.

Postgraduate Specialisation in Communication Design Theory | 2004–2006 University of Buenos Aires, Argentina (QS Art & Design 2026: =74) Formal qualification: Carrera de Especialización en Teoría del Diseño Comunicacional – a three-trimester postgraduate research programme (400 contact hours) culminating in a research thesis. Thesis: Diseño y Weblogs (Director: María Ledesma).

Diseñador Gráfico – University Degree in Graphic Design | 1988–1991 University of Buenos Aires, Argentina Four-year undergraduate university qualification in studio practice, typography, communication design, and design theory; trained under Ronald Shakespear (design) and Rubén Fontana (typography).

RESEARCH PROGRAMME

A single question pursued across successive technological conditions: what design conditions determine whether people can participate in emerging technologies?

  • Practice-based inquiry into digital participation (1996–present). Digital infrastructures for Clarín, the Akademie Schloss Solitude, the HfG-Archiv Ulm, the Buenos Aires Book Fair, and the Inter-American Development Bank – systems enabling non-developers to publish, contribute, and manage content; a practice first articulated in “Designing the net” (tipoGráfica, 1999; expanded for the Rotis symposium volume, 2000)
  • First formal research (2007). Postgraduate thesis Diseño y Weblogs: why weblogs scaled massively when the enabling technology had existed for a decade, analysed through design interventions
  • Theoretical deepening (2013–2018). Three peer-reviewed papers on design’s shift from making closed artefacts to cultivating conditions; anchored by the sole-authored Design and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (The Design Journal, 2017; 82 citations)
  • Empirical investigation (2017–2025). Doctoral research on the barriers preventing non-expert end-user developers from creating bespoke IoT projects, identifying three design moves that sustain participation
  • Current work (2025–present). The Homo Arbiter framework – the designer as critical evaluator and arbiter in AI-mediated systems – with a companion four-quadrant framework for observing AI; Cumulus Athens 2026 (delivered), Cumulus Dunedin 2026 (accepted), journal article in preparation

Intellectual lineage: rooted at FADU, University of Buenos Aires – my alma mater and one of Latin America’s largest design schools – where I trained and then taught typography in the cátedra of Rubén Fontana, the pioneer of typographic education in South America, later led by Carlos Venancio, now Dean of FADU. That formation connected directly to the HfG Ulm tradition – a tradition with Buenos Aires in its own genealogy, through Tomás Maldonado, one of Ulm’s defining figures and Bonsiepe’s teacher – and to its living protagonists. Prof Gui Bonsiepe selected Carolina Short – my long-standing collaborator and (bi)gital» co-founder – and me for the Design Fellowship at Akademie Schloss Solitude (1998–1999) and subsequently invited our candidacy for a professorship in Interface Design at KISD, Köln, where I advanced from a shortlisted field of eight to the final three (1999–2000). With Carolina Short, I was invited to present our work at the Rotis Symposium – Otl Aicher’s house and studio – with the presentation published as “Designing the net” in the symposium volume (Aicher & Rinker, Eds., Pixis Verlag, 2000), and we presented the pre-project of the HfG-Archiv Ulm digital archive at Max Bill’s house in Zurich; the studio built the archive (2000) and later published comparative research on the Ulm school (DRS 2020; Design History Society 2021).

HONOURS, AWARDS AND GRANTS

  • 1999 First Prize in Web Design – (URL)bano, 12. Stuttgarter Filmwinter
  • 1998–1999 Design Fellowship, Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart. Juror for Design: Prof Gui Bonsiepe

External Research Grants

  • 2017–2019 Urban Narrative: Co-creation of urban design briefs by citizens from data storytelling. BRANZ Ltd, NZD 254,009. Co-investigator; Principal Investigator Prof Mark Dyer (Engineering). UoW Project 106029.

Industry-Sponsored Research

  • 2017 Development of an IoT Device: Commercial and Technical Aspects. Virscient Ltd, NZD 5,250, supporting MInfoTech research. UoW Project 105519.

PUBLICATIONS

The record below combines peer-reviewed publication with a sustained body of practice-based digital works of documented significance, including Clarín Digital (1996), the Akademie Schloss Solitude content management system (1998), and the HfG-Archiv Ulm digital archive (2000). The most cited output, Design and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (The Design Journal, 2017; 82 Google Scholar citations), is sole-authored. Recent markers: an invited Bloomsbury chapter (2024), Cumulus Athens 2026 (delivered May 2026), and the Homo Arbiter work in progress. Google Scholar (July 2026): h-index 5, i10-index 3, 175 total citations.

Doctoral Thesis

García Ferrari, T. (2025). I Want My IoT: End-User Developers and the Internet of Things. PhD thesis, University of Waikato. https://hdl.handle.net/10289/17495

Forthcoming and In Preparation

  • García Ferrari, T. (2026). Design: From the Fourth Industrial Revolution to Everyday AI. Cumulus Athens 2026: Roots/Routes in Design. Athens, 05–09 May 2026.
  • García Ferrari, T. (2026). Sustaining Judgment: Design Agency in a Technofeudal Landscape. Cumulus Dunedin 2026.
  • García Ferrari, T. (in preparation). A Four-Quadrant Framework for AI. Journal article manuscript.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

  • Dyer, M., Weng, M.-H., Wu, S., García Ferrari, T., & Dyer, R. (2020). Urban narrative: Computational linguistic interpretation of large-format public participation for urban infrastructure. Urban Planning, 5(4), 20–32. https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v5i4.3208
  • Dyer, M., Dyer, R., Weng, M.-H., Wu, S., Grey, T., Gleeson, R., & García Ferrari, T. (2019). Framework for soft and hard city infrastructures. Proceedings of the ICE – Urban Design and Planning, 172(6), 219–227. https://doi.org/10.1680/jurdp.19.00021
  • García Ferrari, T. (2017). Design and the fourth industrial revolution: Dangers and opportunities for a mutating discipline. The Design Journal, 20(sup1), S2625–S2633. https://doi.org/10.1080/14606925.2017.1352774
  • Short, C., García Ferrari, T., & Quijano, M. (2016). HfG-Archiv Ulm Online: De la realidad exclusiva a la virtualidad inclusiva. RChD: Creación y Pensamiento, 1(1), 13–25. https://doi.org/10.5354/0718-2430.2016.44192
  • García Ferrari, T. (2014). Communication design and the age of abundance. e-Revista LOGO, 3(1), 31–40.

Book Chapters

  • García Ferrari, T., & Short, C. (2024). A team of 5 million: Tackling the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. In L. Mullagh & R. Cooper (Eds.), Design through a pandemic: From reaction to resilience (pp. 114–129). Bloomsbury. Invited chapter. https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/design-and-covid19-9781350266735/
  • García Ferrari, T. (2018). Design futures: The role of design in a software society. In Unfrozen: A design research reader by the Swiss Design Network (pp. 231–244). Swiss Design Network.
  • Short, C., & García Ferrari, T. (2000). Designing the net. In F. Aicher & D. Rinker (Eds.), Gebrauch und Gebräuchlichkeiten. Vom Umgang mit den Dingen und ihrer Gestalt. Ein Symposium in Rotis (pp. 39–50). Pixis Verlag.

Postgraduate Thesis

García Ferrari, T. (2007). Diseño y Weblogs. Carrera de Especialización en Teoría del Diseño Comunicacional, Universidad de Buenos Aires.

Book Reviews

García Ferrari, T. (2024). Review of Creative Design and Innovation by Robin Roy. Design Research Society. Link

Published Conference Proceedings

  • Short, C., García Ferrari, T., & Quijano, M. (2021). HfG-Archiv Ulm Online: From exclusive reality to inclusive virtuality. Design History Society Annual Conference 2021, Basel. https://doi.org/10.26254/med/6313
  • Short, C., & García Ferrari, T. (2020). The HfG Ulm and sustainable design: A comparative analysis. Proceedings of DRS 2020 (pp. 751–767). Brisbane. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2020.186
  • Dyer, M., Dyer, R., Weng, M., Wu, S., & García Ferrari, T. (2019). Urban narratives for city infrastructures. WEC2019: World Engineers Convention (pp. 1127–1134). Melbourne.
  • García Ferrari, T., Hinze, A., & Bowen, J. (2018). An IoT for everyone: Fact or fiction? 32nd BCS Human Computer Interaction Conference, Belfast. http://dx.doi.org/10.14236/ewic/HCI2018.97
  • García Ferrari, T. (2017). Design and the fourth industrial revolution. EAD12|2017 Design for Next, Rome.
  • García Ferrari, T. (2016). Design futures: The role of design in a software society. First SDN Design Research Winter Summit, Switzerland.
  • García Ferrari, T. (2014). Visualising the relation between sound pitch and font weight. ATypI Barcelona 2014.
  • García Ferrari, T. (2013). From tailors to gardeners: Shifting roles for the design professionals. UNIDCOM/IADE Sense and Sensibility 2013 (pp. 288–296). Florianópolis.

Design-Press Writing

Regular contributor to tipoGráfica (1996–2007), the leading Spanish-language design and typography publication in Latin America (ed. Rubén Fontana); (bi)gital» also designed and maintained the magazine’s website for several years, serving as digital design specialists to Fontana Diseño. Feature Diseñando la red (1999, with Carolina Short) was the Spanish-language precursor to the 2000 book chapter “Designing the net”. Independent essays on design ethics, digital anthropology, and e-government (2008–2010) at bigital.com.

POSTGRADUATE AND HONOURS SUPERVISION

Chief Supervisor for 17 completed Honours and Master’s dissertations and theses (MDes, MCGD, MInfoTech, MMCT, BCGD Hons; 2013–2025), including four first-class results; full list available on request.

REVIEWING AND EDITORIAL ACTIVITY

  • 2026 International Journal of Technology and Design Education (Springer; SJR 0.989, Q1; IF 2.7) – invited manuscript reviewer, AI integration in visual design education
  • 2025 DRS2026 Edinburgh – five papers (generative AI and cultural identity; AI multi-agent systems in non-Western contexts; design systems and UX; speculative prototyping; design-robotics pedagogy)
  • 2023 DRS2024 Boston – six papers reviewed, addressing generative AI in design pedagogy, decolonial frameworks in Latin American design contexts, and gender ethics in computing
  • 2023 Learn X Design 2023, DRS Education Special Interest Group – reviewer
  • 2022 DRS2022 Bilbao – three papers (Co-Design; AI and Design; IoT; Interaction Design)
  • 2016 7º Congreso Internacional de Tipografía, Valencia – two papers reviewed
  • 2015 CHINZ 2015 (Computer-Human Interaction New Zealand Conference) – two papers reviewed

INSTITUTIONAL SERVICE

  • 2018–2021 NZUWI Joint Institute at Hangzhou City University – Governance Committee, Member
  • 2017–2021 NZUWI Joint Institute at Hangzhou City University – Academic Committee, Member
  • 2015–2017 Web Steering Committee, University of Waikato – Member (pan-university website)
  • 2013–2017 Bachelor of Media and Creative Technologies – Joint Committee, Member

INDUSTRY, GOVERNMENT, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

  • 2022 NZ Police Critical Command Information group – invited visualisation expert supporting decision-making for policing strategy; invited presentation, NZ Police Data Science Conference, Wellington (with Carolina Short)
  • 2021–2023 Design IN Industry Speaker Series – established during tenure as Head of Department; monthly industry–student sessions across UX, communication, and industrial design, on campus and at community venues
  • 2018–2019 Urban Narrative community engagement, Maraenui, Napier – designed participatory workshop tools and data visualisations from community consultation; presented at the 2019 NZ Planning Institute Conference
  • 2023–2025 Hillcrest High School Innovation Academy – invited talks, “Introduction to Design Thinking”
  • 2023–present Fundación Gutenberg, Buenos Aires – invited annually since 2023 to teach in the Diplomatura en Diseño y Producción Editorial; listed among the programme’s Especialistas Invitados

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

ATypI – Association Typographique Internationale
DRS – Design Research Society
DINZ – Designers Institute of New Zealand
IxDF – Interaction Design Foundation

LANGUAGES

Spanish – native | English – fluent | German – elementary

ADDITIONAL CAPABILITIES

Music composition, recording, and audio production (four years’ formal training, Conservatorio Manuel de Falla, Buenos Aires; released recordings on streaming platforms) – drawn upon in research on sound and typography (ATypI Barcelona 2014) and in audiovisual teaching. A sustained workshop practice in carpentry and physical computing – furniture pieces, a bass guitar built together with my son, and a sensor-based MIDI controller – continuing the same integration of making and thinking that structures my research and teaching.