Nigel Cross is Emeritus Professor of Design Studies at The Open University. He is a leading international figure in design education and research, and is a frequent conference keynote speaker.

Professor Cross is a long-time member of the academic staff of the UK’s pioneering, multi-media Open University, where he has been responsible for, or instrumental in, a wide range of distance-education courses in design and technology. His very successful textbook on Engineering Design Methods: Strategies for Product Design is now in its 4th edition (Wiley, 2008). A major focus of his research work has been to build recognition for, and better understanding of designerly ways of knowing and thinking. This work has been published in many journal articles, and in his books Analysing Design Activity (Wiley, 1996), Designerly Ways of Knowing (Springer, 2006; Birkhäuser, 2007) and Design Thinking: Understanding How Designers Think and Work (Berg, 2011).

Professor Cross is Editor-in-Chief of Design Studies, the leading international journal of design research. He has been honoured with the Institution of Engineering Designers’ Trophy for outstanding contributions to education and research, a Lifetime Achievement Award of the Design Research Society, and Honorary Fellow of the Design Society.