Professor Dr. Myra Thiessen

Biography

Myra Thiessen is a Senior Lecturer at Monash University, specializing in design legibility, readability, and usability. With a background as a design practitioner and educator, her work focuses on developing communication systems that enable marginalized individuals, particularly those with cognitive differences, to access information in healthcare settings. She is particularly interested in how motivation, context, and environment affect comprehension and decision-making. Myra employs evidence-based design principles and utilizes empirical research methods to assess visual materials' effectiveness. Her role also involves collaborative research in user experience design and addressing UN Sustainable Development Goals. She completed her PhD in Typography Graphic Communication at the University of Reading, researching visual explanations for dyslexic children's literacy, alongside a Master of Arts in Information Design and a Bachelor of Design in Communication Design.

Research Interests