Gina Olsson
Job title:
Senior Lecturer, Interior Design
Role:
Programme Director UG Interior Design
Office:
K.01, North-East Studio Building
Office hours:
Tuesday, 9am - 5pm; Wednesday 9am - 5pm; Thursday, 9am - 5pm
Research Output:
Edinburgh Research Explorer linkBiography
Gina Olsson is an Interior Designer, with extensive professional experience in commercial practice across the UK and for global brands.
Gina studied Interior Design at Glasgow School of Art, before continuing her studies at Brighton University, receiving a Post-graduate Diploma and Masters Degree in 1999.
Gina has worked across a diverse variety of sectors, specialising in the Drinks, Leisure & Hospitality industry, including Brand Homes & Visitor Experiences. Favourite completed projects include The Irish Whiskey Academy, at Midleton in Eire, for Irish Distillers, Pernod Ricard. The scope of the project involved the restoration and refurbishment of a listed building on an existing distillery site, to provide a unique educational VIP visitor experience. This project reimagines the Interior as a narrative device, which allows users to be immersed within and educated about the clients’ product portfolio, and the (Whiskey) manufacturing process. The visitor graduates through a series of carefully detailed stage sets, which facilitate storytelling within each space.
Gina has taught at both Masters and Under-graduate level, at several Scottish institutions, including ECA & Glasgow School of Art, with experience of authoring and delivering remote online teaching.
Gina currently leads the undergraduate programme in Interior Design here at ECA. She continues to teach with a focus across all years engaging students in projects linked to her professional expertise and research interests. Previous ECA roles within the school of design include time spent as the UG Exam Board Convener and a Learning & Teaching Convener supporting the Director of Education.
Gina teaches across the programme, supporting students within our dedicated Interior Design studio.
Project briefs include key areas of focus and expertise, in material exploration, making, specification and assembly. Teaching in year three has a particular emphasis on brand, project narrative, research and analysis, creative concepts, developing enhanced skills in professional practice, moral and statutory obligations, and project presentation.
Gina has held posts of external examiner for the MA Interior Architectural Design at Birmingham City University, and the BA Hons Interior Design & BA Hons Design programmes at Salford University.
Research
Research
Research interests include - Brand & Narrative Environments: Materials & Materiality: Scale: Drawing, Design & Construction Process.
The current research project - 'Building Brand Narratives' examines Visitor Centre environments and brand homes in the Whisky Industry, as a new type of interior experience.
A recent paper - ‘Work-watching: Exhibition as a re-presentation of Existing Distillery Interiors’ presented at the Exhibition as Interior Online conference for The Modern Research Centre focused on the framing of these environments as live exhibitions in context.
In November 2025, Gina chaired the panel 'Drawing out the Interior', as. co-convener for the Interior Educator Conference, 'Imagining Interiors' hosted at ECA. A special edition of IDEA Journal co-authored with colleagues from the Interior team, will be published later in 2026.
Previous research and presentations align with Ginas interest in the material landscape of Interior Design, reviewing design process and outcomes, through the understanding and use of internal construction materials.
In June 2018, Gina presented and exhibited her artefact ‘Material Intervention: MANIFEST’, at the 4th RAI Conference at the British Museum. As an interactive display of material understanding, made manifest, through a collection of individually constructed material portraits.
