Jia Wu
Programme:
Creative Music Practice - PhD
Start date:
September 2024
Mode of study:
Full time
Biography
Wu Jia is a practice-based PhD researcher at the Reid School of Music, University of Edinburgh. She holds a master’s degree in Product Design from the Royal College of Art (2016) and in Industrial Design and Technology from Loughborough University (2014). With extensive national and international experience as an industrial designer, her work has earned multiple international design awards and has been exhibited globally. Additionally, she is a university lecturer at a design school in China, where she teaches courses including User Experience Design, Product Form Design, and Computer-Aided Industrial Design. In 2021, she contributed to the book University Aesthetic Education.
Research interests
- Interdisciplinary design studies
- Digital musical instrument design
- Music and human-computer interaction
- AI and embodiment
- Ethics of design
Her research focuses on sound art, user-centered design, and the integration of new technologies in design. This interest began in 2017 when she created "Player’s Pflute," a modular instrument that transforms everyday objects into musical instruments, winning the Lexus Design Award for Prototype Winner and being showcased at the Milan Design Week Triennale. Since 2019, she has designed electronic music synthesizers, including the Robkoo Wind Synthesizer R1, R2, and Clari Mini, which have earned accolades such as the Red Dot, iF, MIDI Innovation, and TEC Awards, and have been well-received commercially. Currently, she is researching the application of AI in electronic musical instrument design, viewing it as an emerging field with vast potential for innovation. She hopes her practice-based research will contribute valuable social, cultural, and economic benefits in the future.