Raised and educated in south London, England, I undertook and completed foundation and undergraduate studies in the fine arts specialising in the area of sculpture. The majority of my works, which consisted of large wooden and steel wall hangings, were influenced by the repetition and perspectives of the urban landscapes that surrounded me. I think these studies still influence the work I produce today, in terms of graphic and constructed designs.

Following graduation in 1984, I was employed for six years within the tv / film industry where the majority of my time was spent working on television commercials, live action animations and promotional music videos. Work ranged from special effects to art direction and set design. I was honoured to be working with creatives with extremely high detailing standards and this has definitely taught me to set high standards of my own work and those whom I now direct in various projects. I admit that these standards can be difficult for others to work with sometimes and the term 'perfectionist' has often been branded both as a compliment and a criticism. i am trying to take it on board.

In 1990, I travelled to Australia on a holiday visa and basically never went home, finally becoming a citizen in 1994. By this stage I was working for The University of New South Wales at the College of Fine Arts (COFA). I soon found a niche within the early stages of the Bachelor of Design curriculum and within three years was appointed coordinator of the first year program. Again I was lucky to work with staff I admired and who shared a philosophy of teaching Design based on concepts rather than simply acquiring skills. For the last few years however, I have been undertaking more and more research projects and less face to face teaching.

In 1998, I completed a Master of Higher Education which led me to investigate deeply, the current teaching practice of 'Design Studio' subjects and in turn future possibilities. Omnium Research was founded to be considerate of the advances made within digital technology and the apparent changes in the requirements of contemporary students in relation to their own needs and those of todays design professions. In 2003, I was also appointed Head of COFA Online: a newly formed academic unit established to design, produce and facilitate a suite of online courses across a range of art and design disciplines. I am constantly involved in directing various global online creative projects including some in collaboration with ICOGRADA (International Council of Graphic Design Associations). Such international reputation of Omnium's research led to us being awarded funding through a three-year Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Grant for 2004 – 2006.

As a result of achievements in these areas, I have been fortunate to have received the following awards and nominations for our research through The Omnium Project and teaching and learning initiatives through COFA Online:

• 2001 - UNSW Vice-Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence Using Educational Technology
• 2002 - Nomination for the Australian Prime Minister's Teaching Award
• 2004 - Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools (ACUADS) Distinguished Teaching Award
• 2004 - UNSW Learning and Teaching Award
• 2005 - Australasian Society of Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (Ascilite) President's Award 'For innovation and exemplary use of technology in higher education'
• 2006 - Carrick Institute: Citation for ‘outstanding contributions to student learning' 'For pioneering internationally recognised best practice in online education in the creative arts and design'

I am also currently undertaking my PhD at the University of Sydney, titled 'Drawing on The Virtual Collective': Formalising a Framework for Collaborative Online Creativity (OCC) in the Visual Arts. As a result of this study and all the previous research I have undertaken, I am lucky to be asked to present and publish outcomes of Omnium's research, both nationally and internationally, at numerous design and education conferences, as well as in peer reviewed journals and publications worldwide.

After studying and working in Berlin for the last year, Anne-Louise has returned to the College of Fine Arts to complete the final year of her Bachelor of Design degree. Majoring in the two fields of graphics and textiles, it was Anne-Louise’s interests in education and promoting socially aware design that has led her to work with the Omnium team.

In 1995, Andy Polaine co-founded the award-winning new-media collective Antirom in London and worked with clients such as the BBC, Levis Strauss and Co. and The Science Museum as well exhibiting several interactive installations and performances around the world.

Andy was also a producer at dotcom giant, Razorfish, in the UK before moving to Australia where he started the interactive department of visual effects company, Animal Logic. He was a Senior Lecturer in Interactive Media at the College of Fine Arts, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, and formerly the Head of the School of Media Arts. His doctoral research examines the underlying language of interactivity through play theory.

Now living in Germany, Andy has been a Guest Professor at the Bauhaus University and continues to work as a lecturer (both online and face-to-face), interaction designer and writer. As part of his work with the Omnium Project at UNSW (www.omnium.net.au), he co-convened an online community called The Omnium Creative Network (now 'Omnium Outreach Projects') that focuses on social awareness and ethics in creative industries.

He has published over 150 articles and papers and regularly speaks at a range of conferences and institutions. As well as this, Andy also finds the time to regularly podcast on the design blog Core77.

His blog can be found at: www.polaine.com/playpen

Leong K. Chan is senior lecturer in graphics/media and postgraduate research coordinator at the School of Design Studies, College of Fine Arts, The University of New South Wales.

Leong's research areas include cultural identity, graphic design and national experience; graphic communication and the representation of HIV/AIDS; iconography and symbolism in graphic communication; and information design in print and electronic media.

Since 1997 Leong has contributed to the relatively new area of graphic design research in Australia by way of cross-disciplinary research projects supported by a successful track record of research funding. Leong's research expertise in graphic design and Asian cultures also contributes significantly to the cultural history of graphics through conference papers, journal articles, chapters, curated exhibitions and catalogues.

In 2002 the Australian Research Council awarded a 3-year research grant to Leong and Dr Raymond Donovan (University of Newcastle, New South Wales) for the project, "A Design History of Australian HIV/AIDS Public Health Campaigns 1983-2004". In 2003 Leong and Rick Bennett (Director, CoFA Online) were awarded a 3-year Australian Research Council grant to research online collaboration for visual communication designers.

Besides academic research, Leong also freelances in graphic design projects and practises in printmaking and bookbinding when he has the opportunity.

As a member of the Omnium Research Group, Simon McIntyre has co-operatively pioneered learning and teaching approaches for fully online art and design education since 2003, and has helped establish an internationally recognised quality e-learning reputation for the group.

Working in close collaboration with Rick Bennett, McIntyre has since drawn together educators, researchers, and creative professionals to focus on researching the development and design of sustainable and effective online learning programs. Bennett and McIntyre’s online learning and teaching research within the Omnium Research Group has resulted in the development the COFA Online Course Author Fellowship Program, which provides cross-disciplinary staff training and support in curriculum development and teaching approaches specifically for the online environment. This Fellowship and associated pedagogical research has resulted in a substantial progression in the field of online learning and teaching at the College of Fine Arts, The University of New South Wales. McIntyre’s research and practical experience has culminated in the co-development and supervision of a unique fully online international Master of Cross-Disciplinary Art and Design program for the University.

In 2006, McIntyre and Bennett’s research and implementation of online learning and teaching research was nationally recognised by the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education by being awarded a Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning for Pioneering internationally recognised best practice in online education in the creative arts and design.

McIntyre is currently undertaking a PhD examining fully online collaborative learning communities, focusing on addressing the under-researched area of online education within the creative arts.

In 2003/2004 Ian McArthur initiated the COLLABOR8 Project to foster multidisciplinary projects online between design education programs in different institutions, and specifically across different cultures.

Having over 25 years experience as designer and design educationalist, Ian McArthur has held leadership roles in vocational and higher education in Australia and South East Asia. From 2001 - 2003 Ian was Program Director of Graphic Design, La Salle DHU International Design College [Dong-Hua University, Shanghai, China]. He holds a Master of Design [Middlesex University, UK] and two education degrees [UTS, Sydney].

Ian's professional practice focuses on cross cultural design management and is based on a perspective that China, India, and Asia more generally, offer significant opportunities for design as a profession to maximise the potentials of collaborative practice, new technologies and design education in the global community.

Ian currently coordinates COFA Online's Undergraduate online program and lectures in the School of Design studies at The College of Fine Art (UNSW) and is a Creative Director and founder of Birds&Fish Communications.

Over the years, Vince has used photography as a basis for his interdisciplinary research activities and towards negotiating the impact of digital technologies on art practice. He has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions in Australia, and, complementing his own artistic practice, has also curated exhibitions such as Archival Permanence: time and timelessness in 100 years of Australian photography, The Synthetic Image: digital technologies and the image, and Small Worlds: a romance.

He is currently engaged in an ongoing interdisciplinary PhD project into the implications of virtuality and the art of exhibition. He has published in relation to this research in peer-reviewed journals and refereed conferences, both nationally and internationally (including AoIR3.0/NetWorkTheory and AoIR4.0/Broadening the Band, PixelRaiders2, DCITA/OzeCulture and DRS/Futureground).

Ouita Broadfoot grew up on the South Coast of New South Wales, in a small town called Bulli. She completed her Bachelor of Design (Honours) degree at the College of Fine Arts, The University of New South Wales in 2002. Her involvement with The Omnium Project began while completing an honours study dissertation- "Design Studios: On-line?", in which she examined a comparative analysis of methods in traditional and online design studios.

In addition to managing the graphics and content of the Omnium websites, Ouita researched online education and regularly taught Design at the College of Fine Arts.

Paul came to the College Fine Arts to begin a Masters in Digital Media in 2005 after graduating from the University of Sydney in the previous year with a degree in Computer Science. His interest in the use of programming as a creative tool led him to hold a workshop on Processing and Java with Andy Polaine for students with a background in design and media art.

After learning of the work being done by Omnium and developing an interest in online collaborative communities, he joined the team in 2006 as an intern to contribute to the development of the software.

Paul left Omnium at the end of 2007 to move to England where he plans to write music, make films and talk about ninjas.

Wolf Landmann is a research fellow from the Bauhaus University Weimar, Germany where he graduated with a Diploma of Media Design in 2002 creating a software draft for computer based lecturing within distributed online environments.

Before joining the Omnium Project in 2003, Wolf was working for different online educational research projects in Germany. Wolf started at Omnium as a Research Assistant and between February’04-January’05 as a Research Associate, developing the Whisper-Chat Messenger - the synchronous collaboration feature of the Omnium software.

His unique combination of specific skills across all stages of online project implementation arose from a diversity of online projects with international agencies in Germany, Switzerland and Australia - making him a specialist for the design and development of Internet applications and interfaces.

"Coming from a background of a more traditional craftsmanship in design and typography, and since then constantly trying to 'catch-up' with new technology - I probably unconsciously focused on the integral parts of (visual) communication ... after a while this 'jumping' was looking like a clear path to me."
- Wolf Landmann

You can visit Wolf's personal website at: www.landman1.de

Francesc was born and grew up in Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) in a area called Gracia. He has always been interested in all areas of design and when he found out that ESDI had begun a new graphic and media design degree he didn't think twice about enrolling.

While he was completing his honours project, he found out about the EPSILON Program, an important grant that the Spanish goverment gives to graduates to work overseas. He chose Australia because of an interest in Australian and Asian design. Working with The Omnium Project meant that he could work on many interesting projects and get experience in his other passion, the educational world.

As an intern with Omnium, Francesc contributed to the development of the software, including prototyping new interface components.

Sam became involved in the Omnium Research Group through his role at the College of Fine Arts before joining the project in a full-time capacity as technical director in 2005. Despite this the varied activities of the group went from strength to strength for the period in which he was Technical Director and Lead Developer.

He left Omnium to work for Automattic in 2007.

He has over seven years of experience in web development, and a further three years experience in design related fields. He also has a blog called The Unlettered Gentleman.

Charles Santoso graduated from the College of Fine Arts (COFA) in 2004 with a Bachelor of Design. He received a certificate of Merit from the Dean for his high academic achievement and contribution to School of Design Studies and Faculty. Charles studied Graphic, Environment and Object design as major study areas and focusing on Digital Illustration area in his free time.

Charles has worked as a freelance artist to illustrate cards for an upcoming Trading Card game and creating concept art works, which include characters, spaceships and vehicles for Seven Seals Saga project, an upcoming sci-fi action comic. In 2004 Charles was featured in the COFA magazine for his exhibition, which showed a collection of concept arts for his own story, ‘Araman’.

Charles has completed works ranging from websites, book covers, CD covers, booklets, brochures, logos and posters, to designing icons for interfaces. In 2004, he joined The Omnium Project as a graphic designer and online project administrator and have been actively involved in the production and facilitation of major online projects such as Creative Waves 2005.

In addition to his full-time and freelance jobs, he also taught part-time at College of Fine Arts [COFA Online], the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. He taught an online graphic design course for a few semesters in 2005-2006 as well as his own online digital illustration course.

Charles maintained the connection between theory and practice through his work in Omnium and in his own studio - Alfa Creative.

Charles left Omnium in 2007 to pursue a career as a digital artist at Animal Logic.

Dan joined the Omnium Research Group in early 2007, fresh from university where he completed a Bachelor of Design Computing. Dan quickly grew to become an integral part of the technical team, and evolved to become the Lead Developer and Technical Director of the Omnium Research Group's open source software suite.

On top of this, Dan actively contributed to the Omnium Design Studio with his eye for detail and all things aesthetic. Dan loves writing standards compliant markup, and so naturally he hates Internet Explorer - don't we all?