Dr Marguerite van der Merwe

Bio

Marguerite holds a PhD in Information Design from the University of Pretoria, in South Africa. Her thesis, Introducing play in design higher education: A South African case study, explores how the inclusion of play manifests in design higher education by influencing students’ design process. The resulting play-fuelled pedagogy of design illustrates how play functions as a meaningful tool for learning, which affords students the opportunity to relieve stress, build momentum, learn about themselves, challenge their assumptions, enables empathy, and encourages continued play in practice.

In her capacity as design educator at the University of Pretoria, in South Africa, Marguerite taught a broad range of subjects, ranging from branding design, editorial design, design for good and packaging design projects. Her MA in Information Design investigated the potential of a tailored branding theory for value-driven organisations.

As an educator, researcher and practicing designer, she is particularly interested in the fields of branding, typography and editorial design. Her research interests are sparked by the curiosity as to how the integration of play, storytelling and co-design can create engaging design outcomes and experiences. Currently, she is pursuing inter-disciplinary research collaborations in the field of play and designing for children together with play therapists and educational specialists.

Research outputs

• Bennet, A.G., Cassim, F., & van der Merwe, M. 2017. How design education can use generative play to innovate for social change: A case study on the design of South African children’s health educational toolkits. International Journal of Design 11(2):57-72.
• Van der Merwe, M. 2020. Introducing play in a South African design education project: A case study. Irish Conference of Game Based Learning 2020, 25-26 June.