Dr Ramon Amaro appointed Creative Director of Design Academy Eindhoven

Design Academy Eindhoven (DAE) has announced the appointment of Dr Ramon Amaro as its new Creative Director and Executive Board Member, in a press release. He will succeed Joseph Grima, who served in the role from 2017 and completes his second and final four-year term this year.

Dr Amaro’s appointment comes as the Academy prepares for a significant transition: its relocation to De Kanaalzone, a newly developed cultural district in the heart of Eindhoven. In his role as Creative Director, Amaro will join the Executive Board (College van Bestuur) and collaborate closely with incoming General Director and Chair Raf De Keninck to shape the institution’s artistic vision, educational philosophy, research agenda, and strategic trajectory.

The appointment was welcomed by the Supervisory Board of DAE. Board Chair Meta Knol praised Amaro’s interdisciplinary background and leadership qualities, describing his arrival as a step toward “an ecology of care, relevance, and imagination.” Knol said acknowledging his contributions over the past eight years in a press release.

Amaro's professional experience spans roles in design engineering at General Motors and policy development with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In the academic realm, he has held positions in the UK, including at Goldsmiths, University of London, and most recently served as Senior Researcher for Digital Culture at the Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam. There, he founded -1, an initiative that fosters experimentation across design, architecture, and technology. His recent book, The Black Technical Object (Sternberg, 2023), examines the cultural and social implications of emerging technologies.

Amaro’s approach to design emphasizes its social, philosophical, and political dimensions, positioning it as more than a material discipline. He aligns with DAE’s long-standing commitment to critical engagement, material exploration, and community-focused practice.

“Design Academy Eindhoven has long understood design as a way of exploring conditions for change,” said Amaro in an interview. “It's community is already practising care — not only in the object or the process, but in the full ecology around it.”

In his new role, Amaro aims to encourage radical collaboration, critical inquiry, and the development of speculative approaches to design education. He emphasizes methodologies grounded in lived experience and situated practice, with a view toward just and inclusive futures.'

The Academy’s upcoming move to De Kanaalzone is seen by Amaro as a key moment to deepen its engagement with the local and international community. “This isn’t just about where we work — it’s about how we relate,” he said, describing the relocation as a chance to reshape social and institutional relationships both within and beyond the Academy.

Amaro expressed a vision for DAE as a space defined by curiosity, diversity, and critique — where care informs the use of technology and design becomes, in his words, “a glitterbox of potential” in a rapidly changing world.