Gina Olsson
Job title:
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 throughout the UK & Eire, on all aspects of commercial practice and project delivery.
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.
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 worked across a diverse variety of sectors, specialising in the Drinks, Leisure & Hospitality industry, including Brand Homes & Visitor Experiences.
Gina has taught at both Masters and Under-graduate level, at several Scottish institutions, including Glasgow School of Art and Duncan of Jordanstone in Dundee, and in addition has delivered online teaching for The Interactive Design Institute. Gina currently teaches Interior Design at ECA, across the undergraduate programme, where she is course organiser for third year studies. Previous roles in the Design school include Learning & Teaching Convener and Undergraduate Exam Board Convener.
Gina teaches across the undergraduate Interior design programme, and is currently course organiser for year three. This role sees her manage the course content, academic calendar and assessment criteria, supporting the students throughout the year. In addition, Gina delivers the Level 8. materials reimagined elective supporting her research themes, which allows students to explore the design process through materials and making.
Gina is currently the external examiner for the MA Interior Architectural Design at Birmingham City University, and has held previous external posts for 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.
The current paper - ‘Work-watching: Exhibition as a re-presentation of Existing Distillery Interiors’ presented at the Exhibiton as Interior Online conference for The Modern Research Centre (09.05.23) focuses on the framing of these environments as live exhibitions in context.
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.
As an active member of the interdisciplinary research group, Lines, Gina presented her work, 'Material Intervention, A Virtual Representation of Material Reality', at the symposium, 'Unplugged Lines: Narrative in Practice', in June 2017; where fellow group members disseminated their current practice and research interest to an invited audience.
