As a researcher and product design engineer, my primary interest is in the intersection of design and social impact. Throughout my research, I have explored how different organisations and communities, such as social entrepreneurs, policymakers, museums and community-led organisations, use design to create social impact.

My current research focuses on co-design and its potential to enable people to transition their practices and behaviours in ways that align with social impact goals. I am interested in understanding how co-design processes can generate more meaningful and sustainable outcomes.

As an advocate for social impact, I am committed to using my skills and knowledge to create positive change in the world. I believe design can be a powerful tool for an inclusive and equitable social transformation.

If you are interested in discussing my research or collaborating on a project related to design and social impact, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would be happy to chat with you and share my perspectives and insights.

Recent Publications 

• Nthubu, Perez, Richards, & Cruickshank (2022). Navigating Complexity through Co-Design: Visualising, Understanding and Activating Entrepreneurial Ecosystems. The Design Journal, 1–22.
• Perez, Whitham, Coupe, Cruickshank (2022) Talking about food: reflecting on the transitions of practices in people with lived experiences of food poverty, presented at the DRS2022 Conference.
• Perez (2021) Co-designing boundary objects in social entrepreneurship: The generation of negotiating artefacts in social entrepreneurship ecosystems, presented at the IASDR2021 Conference: [With Design].
• Galabo, Nthubu, Cruickshank, Perez (2020) Redesigning a workshop from physical to digital: Principles for designing distributed co-design approaches, presented at the Design: Vertical & Horizontal growth Conference.
• Coupe, Whitham, Cruickshank, Perez, Pearson (2020) Co-designing tools to empower further, independent co-design: collaborating with diverse individuals with lived experience of food poverty, presented at the DRS2020 Conference: Synergy.
• Perez, Hands, McKeever, Whitham (2019) Design within Social Entrepreneurship: A Framework to reveal the use of Design in interdisciplinary spaces, The Design Journal, 22:sup1, 229-241
• Whitham, Perez, Mason, Ford (2019) Realising the value of open innovation in policy-making: Equipping entrepreneurs for valuation work, The Design Journal, 22:sup1, 189-201
• Whitham, Cruickshank, Coupe, Wearing, Perez (2019) Health and Wellbeing: Challenging Co-Design for Difficult Conversations, Successes and Failures of the Leapfrog Approach, The Design Journal, 22:sup1, 575-587