Mr Jonathan Forster
Profiles

Mr Jonathan Forster

Associate Head of School (Marketing and Recruitment)

School of Art, Design and Architecture (Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business)

Role

Jonathan is the Award Leader of the Spatial and Interior Designer Ba(hons) degree course at University of Plymouth.   He runs an Interior Design consultancy called Multi Story Thinking that specialises in commercial and residential refurbishment, is a design consultant, employee engagement specialist and host of the Multi Story Thinking podcast.

His course creates graduates who are ready for work, have professional skills and an understanding of their industry, can communicate their ideas and contribute with confidence.

The course explores the space between objects and architecture with a hands on approach to crafting the interior and influencing the perception and experience of people as they use space.

The range of projects creates graduates who are flexible and adaptable, can work at any scale, have strong beliefs and have social responsibility at their core.

The results from our course are creative, confident and employable graduates able to work across the breadth of the interior design world.

Qualifications

Jonathan has a Ma in Furniture Design from the Royal College of Art in London.


He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy with a PGCAP teaching qualification



Professional membership

Member of The British Institute of Interior Design (BIID) 


The BIID is committed to encouraging and supporting creativity and competence in the field of interior design through facilitating best practice, practical professional support, development opportunities and education.Member of Interior Educators (IE) http://www.biid.org.uk/Member of Interior Educators (IE)IE is the national subject association for all Interiors courses in the UK. It is the national authority on Interior education and is an advocate for the promotion and recognition of excellence and intellectual rigor within the diverse range of courses in this countryhttp://www.interioreducators.co.uk/

Teaching interests

I come from a commercial design background and run a design consultancy specialising in commercial and residential interior design.


My approach is to bring this experience and knowledge directly to the student experience. I replicate the conditions of real work, teaching the students the skills they'll need to be competitive in the job market. Our design modules impart these skills, whilst allowing for creative freedom and experimentation, to enable students to find their design voice and have the skills to express themselves in a passionate, professional and approachable way.

I'm working with student accommodation provider UPP (http://www.upp-ltd.com/) running a series of projects to design student focused spaces where my students can engage with industry and use their experience to help design the next generation of student accommodation spaces.

My experience of commercial office design helps inform the teaching of projects that explore the changing face of workplace design.

I draw on my wide range of industry contacts to help support the design projects I run.


Staff serving as external examiners

External Examiner for Interior and Environmental Design. BA Honours, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Dundee.


External examiner acting as 'critical friend' in support of the course as it develops. A sounding board, a bouncer of ideas, interrogator of initiatives and champion of best practice. I'm working closely with Andy Milligan, Gary Kennedy and Linsey McIntosh as they develop and enhance their course.

Research interests


Creative practice & artistic projects

I run an interior design consultancy called Multi Story Thinking, which specialises in retail and commercial interior and private residential projects. With a focus on return on investment, brand and the customer experience our work is characterised by pragmatic and creative solutions which transform the daily experience of their clients. Our recent projects include office interiors for ACCA in London and Glasgow, retail environments for The Sanctuary Spa in London and The Real Food Store in Exeter. Our residential work transforms old fashioned and out dated properties to create spaces that really reflect the way their clients want to live with the Boundary Estate refurbishment recently shortlisted in the New London Architecture 'Don't Move Improve' exhibition.

Additional information

Devon based designer, educator and Multi Story Thinker. Passionate about design/cooking/growing veg & still thinking about building a smoker. Previously 1/2 of​ award winning design consultancy Forster Inc. and now host of the Multi Story Thinking podcast and owner of interior design consultancy Multi Story Thinking

Links

Multi Story Thinking