Gil Barros

Gil is a multidisciplinary designer, researcher and educator with a practice spanning interaction, communication and service design, as well as architecture. Originally from Brazil, he holds a PhD in Architecture and Design (University of São Paulo, 2013), an MSc in Electrical Engineering (University of São Paulo) and a degree in Architecture and Urbanism (University of São Paulo).

He was a Visiting Professor at SPPGA (School of Public Policy and Global Affairs) at UBC and for more than ten years was a professor at FAUUSP (Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of São Paulo), one of the top 100 design courses in the world.

His approach to teaching is informed by his research in the fields of IxD, Strategic Design and Design Methods. He also benefits from his fifteen-plus years of design experience working for various design agencies and as a sole proprietor, with projects big and small, for private and public sectors, as well as international clients and multicultural teams in São Paulo and San Francisco (USA).

His recent papers investigate disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to design methods, design expertise in novice designers, and the role of design as an “expanded field.” As a Brazilian living overseas, he is also committed to initiatives related to decolonization, peripheric and participatory design and more inclusive and equitable practices.