Andrew Jackson is Principal Lecturer in design and research at the University College for the Creative Arts at Rochester, and the Course Leader for BA (Hons) Design, Branding and Marketing. He has a background in commercial design, running a design studio for ten years before gaining an MA in Design History from Middlesex University. His research interests are centred on theories of consumption, particularly in relation to amateur design and craft practice. As well as numerous conference presentations, he has previously published papers in Tanya Harrod’s Obscure Objects of Desire and Pamela Johnson’s Ideas in the Making, and is a contributor to the recent special issue of the Journal of Design History devoted to Do-it-yourself and Democracy. He is a founder member of the Home Interaction Research Centre.