She studied visual art at the University of Tasmania and worked professionally as a sculptor and theatre designer focusing on design for puppetry and performance. She completed a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of New South Wales and gained her PhD at the Auckland University of Technology. Her research is concerned with innovation through design and new technologies, with a focus on interactivity, e-textiles, and collaboration. Frances has led several initiatives to enable new forms of creative practice including the instigation of a successful New Zealand government-funded project to establish AUT’s Textile and Design Lab in 2007. She was the instigator and lead author in a second New Zealand government-funded project that led to the formation of Colab, a ‘collaboratory’ for creative technologies teaching, research, and partnership.