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About Me

Dr Grace Lees-Maffei is Professor of Design History in the School of Creative Arts at the University of Hertfordshire, UK where she directs the Professional Doctorate in Heritage (DHeritage). She is Chair of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Design History, and with Professor Kjetil Fallan (University of Oslo, Norway), is founding Co-Series Editor of Bloomsbury’s Cultural Histories of Design book series.

Professor Lees-Maffei’s research as a design historian has contributed to knowledge and understanding of heritage and design, national identity and globalization in design, domesticity, design historical methodology and the historiography of design. Much of her work has focussed on the mediation of ideas about design through channels including domestic advice literature, corporate literature, graphic design, magazines and advertising.

Recent Publications

Lees-Maffei’s most recent book is Design and Heritage: The Construction of Identity and Belonging (Routledge, 2022), coedited with Prof Rebecca Houze of Northern Illinois University. She co-wrote Reading Graphic Design in Cultural Context with Dr Nicolas P. Maffei. (Bloomsbury Academic 2019). With Prof Kjetil Fallan (University of Oslo, Norway), Grace co-edited Designing Worlds: National Design Histories in an Age of Globalization (Berghahn 2016, paperback 2018) and Made in Italy: Rethinking a Century of Italian Design (Bloomsbury Academic 2014). Also published in 2014 was Grace’s sole authored research monograph Design at Home: Domestic Advice Books in Britain and the USA since 1945 (Routledge 2014) and Iconic Designs: 50 Stories about 50 Things (Bloomsbury 2014, paperback 2020). Grace edited Writing Design: Words and Objects (Berg 2012) and co-edited of The Design History Reader (Berg 2010) with Rebecca Houze.

Grace’s research has been published in journals including Design Issues, Design and Culture, The Design Journal, the Journal of Design History, Women’s History Review, Modern Italy, Arts and Humanities in Higher Education and the Journal of Writing in Creative Practice.

Media Coverage

Lees-Maffei has engaged the public with her research via film and radio appearances and through research assistance to a series of media producers.

Social Media

Country Focus

UK

Expertise by Geography

British Isles, England, United Kingdom, United States

Expertise by Chronology

20th century, 21st century

Expertise by Topic

Material Culture, Women