Edward Appiah

Faculty Biography

Edward Appiah is an Associate Professor of Design and Pedagogy at the Department of Communication Design, KNUST, Kumasi. and the Coordinator of Research and Postgraduate Studies at the department. He had his doctoral degree in Design Education and Social Innovation at the Faculty of Informatics and Design, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa. His research interests are in Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability, and Technology in Design, with emphasis in Design Pedagogy. He also holds Masters in African Art and Culture from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He is the local Coordinator for Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability (DESIS), a network of design labs, based in design schools and design-oriented universities, actively involved in promoting and supporting sustainable change. He is an ardent believer of ‘always a new paradigm’, and believes that there is always a new way of sustainability in life. Edward Appiah is committed to the philosophy and practice of sustainable socially responsive (and responsible) design and recognizes its potential in promoting equity and quality of life in Africa and beyond.Professor Appiah is the first and only surviving of three children of his late parents. He had his basic education at various basic Schools, and his secondary school education at Fijai Secondary School, Sekondi for both of his O-Level and A-Level Studies. He later gained admission to Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, and graduated with BA (Hons) degree at the College of Art, specializing in Graphic Design.Professor Appiah was first appointed as a Technical Instructor in the 1998 and later became a Senior Lecturer in 2016 after being converted from Technical Instructor to Lecturer in 2008. He was Assistant Coordinator in charge of Postgraduate and Research Studies in the Department of Communication Design from 2003 to 2010. In 2014, Professor Appiah was appointed the Head for the Department of Communication Design and the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Art in 2015 – 2017. He was appointed the Hall Master for the Independence Hall from 2017 to 2021.Professor Appiah was the Examination Officer at the Department of Communication Design and later became Faculty Examination Officer for the Faculty of Art, and a Member of the Academic Board of KNUST in 2003 to 2006. He was also a member of the College Board of the College of Art and Built Environment from 2014 to 2017. Professor Appiah served as an adjunct Lecturer at the Radford University, Accra from 2008 to 2010. He is a fellow of Independence Hall, KNUST since 2004. He has trained over a dozen MPhil and PhD students and participated both in Ghana and other South African Universities. He has also served as an external examiner to the Postgraduate Programme in Universities in Ghana and other African countries.  Besides, Professor Appiah serves as an advisory board member for local and international postgraduate programmes. He is a lead consultant for three different design projects in Ghana and South Africa, resource person for sustainable design and in the built environment, key speaker and facilitator of several design and sustainable design workshops in Ghana and other parts of Africa. He is a design mentor to young faculty members in Sustainable Design both in Ghana and beyond. Professor Appiah is also a reviewer for both local and international high-impact peer-reviewed journals and an international conference speaker, having attended numerous conferences and a practising Christian. He is married with five children (all girls).