Livia Rezende is a Lecturer at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, where she supervises, researches and teaches in design history and theory.

Dr Rezende has straddled design practice and historical research for nearly twenty years, having worked as a graphic designer for national companies and large corporations; the heritage and creative economy sectors, and the print industries while advancing academic research in Design History and Theory. She joined the UNSW Art & Design Faculty in 2019 to form a new team and establish learning, teaching and research in Design History and Theory. 

She has convened workshops on development, sustainability, and open source making. Through cross-cultural partnerships and public engagement, Dr Rezende has helped advance new research agendas like ‘Environmental Histories of Design’ (Germany and Norway, 2015-17), ‘Design and Uncertainty in the Global Present’ (India and UK, 2013-14), and furthered widening participation, social inclusion and academic exchange.

After receiving her PhD from the Victoria & Albert Museum / Royal College of Art History of Design programme (London, UK), Dr Rezende was awarded a Junior Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) in 2012 to undertake research on the 1922 Independence Centennial International Exhibition in Rio de Janeiro. This followed her doctoral thesis ‘The raw and the manufactured: Brazilian modernity and national identity as projected in International Exhibitions (1862–1922)’, where she discussed national representation through designed artefacts, the management of raw materials and conceptualisations of nature in International Exhibitions and World’s Fairs. 

In 2013, she joined the Royal College of Art as Tutor (Research) in History of Design. In 2012, Dr Rezende was awarded a Visiting Professorship by the Rio de Janeiro State University to teach design historical-informed courses at the College of Industrial Design (ESDI). Dr Rezende was Academic Coordinator for the Istituto Europeo di Design, where she managed course leaders and led interdisciplinary ‘Creative Laboratory’ projects in Sustainable and Strategic Design, among others. As the Design History Society’s Treasurer (2013-16), Dr Rezende helped organize events and conferences in the UK, Ireland, Norway, India and the US, and reviewed award applications. She serves as a peer reviewer and scientific and programme committee member for various academic journals and conferences.