Professor Justin Marshall

Professor

School: Design Arts and Creative Industries

Professor Justin Marshall is a practitioner-researcher who is interested in the creative use of digital design and production technologies within art and craft practices.

His multidisciplinary background spans study within the fields of fine art, ceramics, design and craft, and culminated in a PhD that focused on the role and significance of computer technologies in architectural ceramics. He was one of the founding members of the ‘Autonomatic’ research group at Falmouth University, who are recognised as early adopters and innovators in the creative application of digital design and production technologies.

Alongside publishing numerous articles and conference papers he has exhibited work both nationally and internationally, including venues in Ireland, US, India, Germany, Australia and Estonia. His work has featured in field defining exhibitions; ‘LabCraft’ a Crafts Council UK touring show and ‘Fabrication Laboratory’ at the Design Museum in Barcelona. He has held solo shows; ‘Automake’ and ‘Hand Thought’ at The UK National Centre for Craft & Design.

He was a member of the AHRC peer Review College from 2012 to 2018, including sitting on the ‘Follow on Funding’ award panel. He is a Fellow of the RSA. He has been an external examiner for range of courses, including BA(Hons)/MDes 3D Design and Craft Course at the University of Brighton, MSc Product Design at the University of Dundee and BA(hons) 3D Design at Robert Gordon University and BA(hons) Furniture and Product Design at Chelsea School of Art. He has supervised and examined a broad range of PhDs within craft and design subjects.

Campus Address

Room 204c
School of Design, School of Design (CCE2)
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 8ST

Email Justin

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Professor Justin Marshall is a digital craftsperson and researcher who for over twenty years has investigated the integration of digital design and production technologies into craft practices. As such his work is concerned with the role and significance of digital tools within craft practice, both in terms of new aesthetic opportunities, and how the creative use of this toolset challenges the concept of the ‘handmade’. His practice-based research has led him to the proposition of a ‘Digital Craft Ethos’ which identifies a series of distinctions between a pragmatic craft-oriented approach to using digital tools, and instrumental industrial design and engineering approaches.

More, broadly he is interested in how craft, as a materially sensitive and human-centred practice can have value in multidisciplinary research projects and has been involved in numerous collaborative projects that bring together diverse teams to investigate areas beyond the normal scope of craft practitioners. This includes working with computer scientists, journalists, social scientists, and designers on ‘Bespoke’, an RCUK Digital Economy project that explored how creating bespoke networked devices could respond to concerns and needs in a local area. He was Principal Investigator on ‘hiCraft: Crafting a Healthier Internet’, a 3-year AHRC funded project completed in 2025 that used the practices and ethos of craft to explore ways in which to respond to concerns about trust, bias, transparency, and legibility in current Internet of Things (IoT) development.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Enticatypes: exploring how artifacts can entice conversation on craft values in digital making, Vannucci, E., Marshall, J., Wallace, J. 18 Mar 2019, Fourth Biennial Research Through Design Conference
Making with China: Craft-based Participatory Research Methods for Investigating Shenzhen’s Maker Movement, Marshall, J., Rossi, C. 26 Jul 2017, In: Digital Culture & Society
Evolutionary Craft, Marshall, J. Sep 2017, Ding , Dundee, Dundee University

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Invited talk: Recrafting the Internet 2024
Organising a conference, workshop, ...: Create your own ‘Healthy Internet’ badge workshop 2024
Organising a conference, workshop, ...: Internet ‘care’ label workshop 2024
Invited talk: HiCraft: defining and fostering a healthy relationship between people, the internet, AI and things through an ethos of craft. 2024
Organising a conference, workshop, ...: Entangled Threads workshop 2024

PGR Supervision

Helen Andreae ATTENTION PLEASE, LET’S START Design Research and Interventions for Starting Tasks Start Date: 23/11/2022
Helen Andreae ATTENTION PLEASE, LET’S START Design Research and Interventions for Starting Tasks Start Date: 23/11/2022 End Date: 17/10/2025