Ricardo Sosa

Hello world, I am Ricardo Sosa.

I am a designer, but not your average designer.

I am Mexican, but not your average Mexican.

I am an academic, but not your average academic.

I am a cis man, but not your average cis man.

I am multitudes. Intersectional, wickedly defined, non-reducible and in a state of chaotic equilibrium.

Growing up, I loved learning but didn't like school. I taught myself computer coding in 1982 to make my own games, and as a designer in the mid-90s, I worked with and created my own digital tools for creative work.

In 2000 I received two scholarships to do a PhD in the field of “Design Computing” at the University of Sydney. Since then, I have studied, taught and advised practitioners across fields to advance design and use it as a lever to amplify knowledge and practice.

Today my title is “Professor of Design”, but I'm not your average Professor of Design -if there's such a thing.

How can we imagine and build better worlds using collective work that is normally obstructed by institutions, power hierarchies, inertia, dogmas, and incompetent leadership?

Questions like this have led me to work in partnership with indigenous communities, specialists across disciplines, and industry partners.

It also led me 25 years ago to pioneer the study of creativity and innovation using computational social simulations.

Here are some starting points to my work:

1. Sosa, R., Cooper, C. (2026) Forking Futures: Fidelity and Resolution in Responsive Prototyping, DRS 2026, June 7-12, Edinburgh, UK. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.282
2. Sosa, R. (2025) Creatividad, Colonialismo interno, Consumo y Clase: Cuatro Claves para la Co-Creación Creativa, Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios en Diseño y Comunicación Nº 253, 21-37. https://doi.org/10.18682/cdc.vi253
3. Sosa, R. (2025) Design Thinking (A Visual Critique), in Clemente, V., Gomes, G., Reis, M., Félix, S., Ala, S., Jones, D. (eds.), Learn X Design 2025, 22-24 September 2025, Aveiro, Portugal. https://doi.org/10.21606/drslxd.2025.012.
4. Akama,Y., Shultz, T. & Sosa, R. (2025). In the pursuit of decolonising Dominant Service Design - three reflexive stories. In D. Sangiorgi, L. Penin & A. Prendiville (Eds.) Handbook of Service Design, Plural perspectives and a critical agenda, Bloomsbury. bloomsbury.com/us/bloomsbury-handbook-of-service-design-9781350330283/
5. Sosa, R. (2022). Other worlds are possible: Advanced computational and design thinking in South Auckland, In Miettinen S. et al., (Eds.) Artistic Cartography and Design Explorations Towards the Pluriverse, Routledge. link
6. Sosa, R. (2021). Designerly research and researcherly design skills, mindsets, and methods for revolutionary practices. DAT Journal: Design, Art and Technology, 6(2), 386-402. doi:10.29147/dat.v6i2.408
7. Sosa, R. (2022). Generative allegories of oppression and emancipation: Reflecting with computational social models. Diseña, (21), 7-7. doi.org/10.7764/disena.21.Article.7

This video is a 10-min overview of the project “Creative Futuring”: https://youtu.be/c7GdboWQCBU

Portfolio links:

1. Google Scholar profile: scholar.google.com/citations?user=B6kpYOQAAAAJ&hl=en
2. ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3678-0702
3. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/creativeprototyping
4. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@diseno2040

CAREER OBJECTIVE

As a Professor of Design who integrates reflective creative practice with actionable research, I educate, advise and coach innovation practitioners and researchers that are recognised for their contributions to knowledge and social impact. I am interested in academia-industry partnerships and transdisciplinary spaces that advance the responsible use of advanced methodologies and technologies in the social, health, creative, and education sectors.

RESEARCH INTERESTS