Thomas K Girard

Thomas K Girard (born 30 December, 1980 in Vancouver, Canada) is a Canadian design scholar, user experience consultant, lecturer and speaker. He is best known for his TEDx talk at Emily Carr University of Art and Design on the theme “Greater than you.” Girard is an independent communications and industrial designer working on freelance projects and collaborating with artists globally alongside teaching students. He also worked as a staff user experience designer at computer maker Lenovo in Beijing, on early mobile and tablet products. Girard brings to the table a unique and diverse approach to arts that is highly acclaimed in the designing industry. 
In 2020, Girard was offered a place at the Royal College of Art, London for the academic year 2020-2021. He has been frequently seen as a panelist for UX India, ACL and Boma ECU on the topics of design, user experience and wearable technologies.
Girard has over a decade’s experience working on projects and is a 4 time recipient of the Emerging Scholar award. He has spoken at universities, and institutions across Canada and globally, including the talk and workshop on "Unique Ways of Making" for Oculus VR and AltspaceVR, "Unique Ways of Prototyping for Idea Validation" for Vancouver User Experience Research meet-up, "Unique Ways of Prototyping" by Sauder School of Business, "Vulnerability" by Penn State University and "Unique Ways of Making Things" by Culture Days. Girad has launched UNIQUEWAYS WITH THOMAS GIRARD an audio podcast, has featured international names like John Maeda and Debbie Millman, as well as Vancouver names like Dr. Ron Burnett and Dr. Ron Wakkary.
==Early life and education==
Girard was born and brought up in Vancouver, BC, Canada. He pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Communications Design at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design and graduated in 2005. In 2019, Girard applied for a master’s of arts program in liberal studies at the Simon Fraser University in 2019 and successfully completed in 2022. Simultaneously Girard has been accepted at the Royal College of Art, London, where he is pursuing a degree in Information Experience Design, Experimental Design stream. Girard has been accepted to attend University of Oxford for a travel study where he will attend lectures equivalent to the Master of Arts coursework.
==Career==
After completing his graduation, Girard worked as an interface designer for a number of firms in Vancouver, Canada. 
In 2003, Girard travelled to China, which played a major role in the shaping of his creative persona. Girard was inspired by China’s industrial revolution, which can be seen in his works. While living and working abroad, Girard was offered a job at Lenovo in Beijing, China. He worked as a staff user experience designer on some of the initial products launched by Lenovo.
In his time in China Girard was also offered a job as a Visual Communications Specialist at the University in Shanghai, where he exercised his learning at the Emily Carr University. 
Having been passionate about learning and sharing his knowledge, Girard actively participated in teaching jobs. He taught at his alma mater for four years, Emily Carr University of Art and Design.
Girard, in addition to being a designer, is also a Lecturer. He has taught Visual Communications in Delhi and Shanghai and was an Assistant Professor in Mumbai. In 2018, Girard was appointed as an assistant professor at the D.Y. Patil University in India.
Girard has recently announced the release of his second book titled "Emerging Scholar & Oxford". In 2021, Girard was appointed as an assistant professor at the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies with offer of tenure-track.
Girad recieved an offer as Associate Dean of the School of Design at Pearl Academy, specialising in Communication Design for West Delhi". He launched Unique Way podcast
==Projects==
Girard has been considered as a leader in human–computer interaction (HCI) and Experience design. Throughout his career, he has worked on a number of projects, some of them include:
* CECD-110-SU02 Basics of Communication Design
* CEIE-110-F001 Design Fundamentals
* CEIE-210-S001 (29182) Mobile Application Design
* CEIE-210-S001 Mobile Application Design
* DESN-200 Core Studio Design
* INTD-210-F002 Core Studio Interaction Design
* INTD-217-F001-2017 Core Studio Interaction Design
* INTD-316-F001-2017 Interaction Design : Principles
* INTD-400-F001-2017 Core Studio Interaction Design
* PDD-102 Elements of Design 
==Awards==
Girard attended the Design Principles and Practices conference in Barcelona, Spain at ELISAVA as well, where he received an Emerging Scholar Award. He also attended the Arts in Society conference in Vancouver at Emily Carr University of Art and Design where he received an Emerging Scholar award. Other awards include:
* RBC Emerging Scholar, Royal Bank of Canada Foundation, Spur Festival for Art, Politics and Ideas
* Emerging Scholar, Common Ground Research Networks (Design Principles and Practices, Arts in Society, New Directions in the Humanities)
==Selected abstracts==
Girard has created a number of abstracts that have been accepted by a number of major institutions. He had abstracts accepted in Perth and Mexico, as well as Lisbon, and Saint Petersburg, some of them include:
* Arts in Society Conference, Galway, Ireland
* Arts in Society Conference, Lisbon, Portugal
* Arts in Society Conference, Perth, Australia
* Design Principles and Practices Conference, Brooklyn, New York, USA
==Books==
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
==Licenses and certifications==
Girard holds a number of certifications and licenses related to design principles and practices. 
* 2021 Delegate, Design Principles and Practices Monterrey Mexico by Common Ground Research Networks
* 2021 Delegate, The Arts in Society Australia by Common Ground Research Networks
* 2020 Delegate, The Arts in Society Ireland by Common Ground Research Networks
* 2019 Emerging Scholar Awardee, Design Principles and Practices Saint Petersburg by Design Principles and Practices
* 2019: Emerging Scholar Awardee, The Arts in Society Lisbon by The Arts in Society
* 2018: Emerging Scholar Awardee, Design Principles and Practices Barcelona by Design Principles and Practices
* 2018: Emerging Scholar Awardee, The Arts in Society Vancouver by The Arts in Society
* 2014: RBC Emerging Scholar Awardee by Royal Bank of Canada Foundation
* 2022 Delegate, New Directions in the Humanities Greece by Common Ground Research Networks
* 2022 Delegate, Design Principles and Practices Australia by Common Ground Research Networks
* 2022 Delegate, Arts in Society Spain by Common Ground Research Networks
* 2021 Emerging Scholar Awardee, New Directions in the Humanities Spain by New Directions in the Humanities
* 2022: Emerging Scholar Awardee, Design Principles and Practices Newcastle by Design Principles and Practices
==Personal Life==
Girard was born and raised in the Lower Mainland. Girard has always been passionate about learning. This is something he carried on from the Emily Carr University, where his mentor taught him to continue the quest of learning throughout his life. 
==Gallery==
== In the media ==
<youtube width="300" height="300">U3kn3qagwu4</youtube>  
<youtube width="300" height="300">-F2dZscVKcQ</youtube>  
<youtube width="300" height="300">UKgD664K6rc</youtube>
==References==
==External links==
* Official website
* Personal website
* 
* 
Category:Canadian user experience designers
Category:Canadian consultants
Category:Canadian academics
Category:Canadian motivational speakers