- 200 years
- Study
- International
- Business and employers
- Research
- About us
https://webcdn.mmu.ac.uk/profiles/img/profile-images/Mike-Oustamanolakis-crop-145x145-60632abc3dd2b.jpg
I started as a graphic designer and spend several years freelancing and serving all sorts of clients. My desire to learn and pursuit for studies, lead me on a long journey in Europe. I studied design in Greece, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Shanghai, China, and in the process of doing this world tour, I got two masters in design. Eventually, landed in Hong Kong where I transformed into a UX designer. Seven years later, I found myself studying design again, this time at a doctorate level. Throughout my professional career, I have always been teaching design: organising workshops, educating clients, lecturing students, teaching corporate clients and so on... and finally, In late 2020, I moved to Manchester and joined MMU as a lecturer in web design, taking full-time responsibilities to educate future designers!
Teaching is hard. It's challenging, and at times it seems to be impossible, especially with the current situation where we teach design concepts and do all the hands-on work online. Even though the content we teach does not change a lot over time, no two classes are ever the same. Each class and each cohort is a different, unique experience, giving you room to engaging with the students accordingly. The sense of accomplishment and rewards you feel when you see engaging students rapidly is priceless. Teaching design is not at all about rote learning. It's about pushing students to go beyond the standard and use their imagination and creativity. When they finally do come back to class after they struggle with incredible work that exceeds what I expected, I get mixed feelings: a sense of accomplishment as a mentor and a sense of pride for what the learners have
Here's wise Homer Simpson:
The Internet? Is that thing still around?
Joke aside, here's Buddha's designerly wisdom:
We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.
We, designers, have a responsibility to the world, as we are giving shape to the world, and we are deciding many experiences that fellow humans will feel and live. If we can think of a better world, we can also design a better world.
My teaching methods vary greatly depending on the content. My teaching toolbox includes things such as dialogue, workshops, slides, memes, current news or events, images of cats... It all depends on the situation and the course!
I am fluent in English and Greek. I used to understand some Finnish when I was living in Finland and I could speak some Dutch when I was living in the Netherlands, but I forgot them all. Also, in Shanghai, I was picking up Mandarin quite fast, which is surprisingly easy! Besides natural languages, I'll teach you HTML and CSS. Maybe throw in a bit of Javascript in your learning mix too.
M. Oustamanolakis (2019). Improving Design Through Design Pedagogy. In: PhD Seminar Winter Session 2019. pp.123-125.
M. Oustamanolakis (2018). Design Thinking by Non-Designers in Corporations. In: PhD Seminar Winter Session 2018. pp.93-97.
M. Oustamanolakis (2020). Ideation vs Idea Generation. What Is The Difference?. In: Vertical & Horizontal Growth. Saint Petersburg, Russia, 28/10/2020. pp.41-43.
M. Oustamanolakis (2020). A Study on the Factors That Contribute to the Growth of Idea Generation Ability in Design Education. In: International Conference on Open and Innovative Education Proceedings. Hong Kong, pp.222-230.
M. Oustamanolakis (2019). Ideation in Design Education. In: 18th NORDCODE SEMINAR, 1st IDBM Creative Research Symposium.. Helsinki, Finland,