Role
Sara Corvino is a Senior Lecturer on the BA (Hons) Graphic Design programme. She contributes to undergraduate and MA teaching, supporting students in developing critical, conceptual and innovative approaches to design practice. She is the module leader for Contextual Studies and teaches a range of studio-based modules, including typography, publication design and branding. Alongside her teaching responsibilities, she is involved with organising guest speakers and fostering scholarly engagement.
Career overview
Sara has over 19 years’ experience teaching Visual Communication and Graphic Design in Higher Education. She joined Nottingham Trent University in 2017; prior to this, Sara was based in Shanghai, where she held several academic roles. Among others, she was Programme Director of the Visual Communication Department at Raffles Design Institute/Dong Hua University, Visual Communication Course Leader for the top-up degree year of Northumbria University, RCDC, and the University of Derby.
Sara’s industry background covers a wide range of disciplines, from visual design projects to art installations, exhibitions, and show organisation. She has been a creative director, art director, and designer of many identity systems, museum information points, exhibitions, and digital publications.
In Spain, where she lived for several years before moving to China, she was Director of the Multimedia Publication Department at Zeta Multimedia, part of Grupo Zeta, Barcelona (Spain). Sara was responsible for the localisation, development, and implementation of more than fifty multimedia projects. She played a key role in the Spanish localisation of several educational and entertainment projects from some of the world’s most prestigious multimedia organisations, such as the BBC, Dorling Kindersley, Hachette, Kutoka, Discovery Channel, JoWooD, Green, and Enlight Software.
Research areas
Sara’s main research areas include Active Learning, Design for Society and Visual Culture. Her current research explores the impact of artificial intelligence on creative processes and its implications for Art and Design education and practice, with a particular focus on how emerging technologies are reshaping creativity. She is particularly interested in the ways contemporary practice operates within the ‘in-between’, a space that is neither fully physical nor fully digital, where creative work increasingly requires engagement with these entangled spheres.
External activity
Sara maintains an active professional practice of client-initiated and self-initiated design projects. Her creative activity addresses social, cultural and commercial issues within the broad spectrum of visual communication design, ranging from graphic design to exhibition design.
BERA (Member of British Educational Research Association)
FHEA (Fellow of The Higher Education Academy)
AAIIC (Member and founder of Associazione Accademici Italiani in Cina)
GPDD (Grands Prix Du Design Awards, regular Member of the Jury)
Publications
SELECTED CONFERENCES, PUBLICATIONS & EXHIBITIONS
Corvino, S., 2026, Radical Resistance or Pedagogical Negligence? A Provocation for Art & Design HE. Paper presented at the Creative Education Conference 2026, University for the Creative Arts, Epsom, UK, 17 June 2026. Available at: [https://uca.assetbank-server.com/assetbank-uca/assetfile/86176.pdf]
Corvino, S., 2025, Breakdown or Breakthrough? AI in Art & Design Higher Education. Paper presented at the TILT Annual Learning and Teaching Conference 2025, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK, 17 June 2025.
Corvino, S., 2025, Game Changer or Game Over? AI Integration in Art and Design. Paper presented at the Research & Innovation Conference 2025, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK, 5 June 2025.
Corvino, S., 2025, Art & Design Education in the Age of AI. Paper presented at The Asian Conference on Arts & Humanities 2025, IAFOR/Osaka University, Tokyo, Japan, 16 May 2025.
Corvino, S., 2025, The Quality of Human-AI Collaboration. Paper presented at the TILT AI Symposium 2025, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK, 14 May 2025.
Corvino, S., 2024, A Paradigm Shift: Are We Equipping Higher Education Students for an AI-Driven Future? Paper presented at the BERA Annual Conference 2024, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK, 8 September 2024.
Corvino, S., 2024, Boosting Creativity or Bruising Innovation? Academics’ Perspectives on AI Integration in Art and Design. Paper presented at the GLAD Group for Learning in Art and Design in Higher Education Conference 2024, Ulster University, Belfast, UK, 5 September 2024. Available here.
Corvino, S., 2022, The Potential of Active Learning in the Transition into Higher Education. Paper presented at the BERA Annual Conference 2022, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK, 8 September 2022.
Corvino, S., 2021, Fostering Students’ Engagement: Re-framing a Specific Intervention for Online Delivery. Paper presented at the TILT Annual Learning and Teaching Conference 2021, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK, 14 September 2021.
Corvino, S., 2021, Fostering Students’ Engagement with Historical Issues Surrounding the Field of Graphic Design. Paper presented at the Active Learning Conference 2021, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK, 21 July 2021.
Corvino, S., 2019, Bauhaus and the New Typography. Paper presented at the Homage to the Bauhaus Conference 2019, University of Nottingham (Lakeside Arts), Nottingham, UK, 10 April 2019.
Corvino, S., 2012, Traveling in the Luxury Socialist Times. Featured design work in Contemporary International Artists Group Exhibition catalogue, Luxun Fine Arts Institute, China, pp. 74–75.
Corvino, S. (2010) Featured design work in The Urbanity Project. Shanghai Arts Community, Shanghai, China, pp. 110–114.
SELECTED MULTIMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
1999–2003, Mia: Crea & Colorea; Mia: Lengua; Mia: Mates; Mia: Ciencia. Spanish localization and graphic production (production lead/editorial coordination). Kutoka / Zeta Multimedia.
2002, Mortadelo y Filemón / La Banda de Corvino. Production lead/editorial coordination. Zeta Multimedia, Spain. ISBN 84-97380-28-6.
2001, Mortadelo y Filemón / Operación Moscú. Production lead/editorial coordination. Zeta Multimedia, Spain. ISBN 84-95310-98-8.
2000, Mortadelo y Filemón / Terror Espanto y Pavor. Production lead/editorial coordination. Zeta Multimedia, Spain. ISBN 84-95310-00-7.
2001, Tweenies. Spanish localization and production coordination. BBC, UK. ISBN 84-95310-902.
2000, El Mago de Oz. Spanish localization and production coordination. GMD / Zeta Multimedia, Spain. ISBN 84-95310-03-1.
1999, El Gran Atlas del Mundo DVD. Spanish localization and content adaptation (production lead). Dorling Kindersley / Zeta Multimedia, Spain. ISBN 84-95310-84-8.
1999, La Máquina del Tiempo. Spanish localization (production lead/editorial coordination). Dorling Kindersley / Zeta Multimedia, Spain. ISBN 9788489370875.
1998, Mi Primer Diccionario Interactivo. Spanish localization and editorial coordination. Dorling Kindersley / Zeta Multimedia, Spain.
1998, Mi increíble cuerpo humano. Spanish localization and editorial coordination. Dorling Kindersley / Zeta Multimedia, Spain. ISBN 84-89370-67-2.
1999, Las Tres Mellizas: La Casita de las tres Mellizas. Graphic design and production. Cromosoma, Spain. ISBN 84-30319-211132.
1998, Les Tres Bessones: Sopa de Contes. Graphic design and production. Cromosoma, Spain. Spain. ISBN 978-3-19-509031-5.
1997, Diccionario Multimedia: Español ↔ Inglés. Graphic design and production. La Vanguardia, Spain. ISBN 84-80162-77.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2017–2018, YITech, Italian Technology Exhibition. Corvino, S., Curator, Creative Director and Designer. Organised by AAIIC, with the patronage of the Italian Embassy and support of ITA, China (Suzhou, Nanjing, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu).
2012–2013, Traveling in the Luxury Socialist Times. Corvino, S., Artist. Organised by Luxun Fine Arts Institute and No.1 Art Studio, Northern China (December 2012–January 2013).
2010, As a Global Citizen What Moves You? Dissent, Hope & Ideas. Corvino, S., Artist. The New BLK Gallery, Power to the Poster & Nicholas Burroughs, NE, United States, September 2010.