After studying Audiovisual Communication and Multimedia (100% English) at ERAM, Ferran followed up a Top-up in Interactive Design at the University of Lincoln (UK). After graduating, he moved to Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania, USA) to work as a visiting researcher at the Robotics Institute de Carnegie Mellon University, where he combined R&D tasks with creativity and transmedia content design. At the same time, he continued developing his research interests, including publishing academic articles, teaching at IEBS Business School, and collaborating with various institutions such as the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO).
Later, he moved to Denmark to pursue a Master of Science in IT Product Design at the University of Southern Denmark, specializing in Participatory Design. He conducted his master’s thesis at elBulliLab in collaboration with Ferran Adrià, exploring the potential of play and social interaction as enhancers of the gastronomic experience. He was awarded the prestigious “La Caixa” postgraduate scholarship, which allowed him to move to Santa Cruz (California, USA) to further his academic career. There, he completed a PhD in Interactive Technologies (PhD in Computational Media) at the University of California Santa Cruz, as part of the Social and Emotional Technology Lab led by Katherine Isbister. His doctoral research focused on discovering new ways to design everyday technology that, beyond addressing functional or productive needs, also caters to people’s social, playful, and emotional needs.
He has presented his work at over 20 international conferences, including CHI, DIS, and NordiCHI, and collaborated with more than 40 universities and 15 non-academic partners, including Google Research. He has also developed co-design methods applied to fields such as assistive technology, smart cities, and nature-related experiences.
As part of his academic research, Ferran has published his findings at renowned international conferences such as the Gamification World Congress’13 in Barcelona; SIDeR’16 and ’17 in the Netherlands and Sweden; NordiCHI’16 in Sweden; EFOOD in Lisbon; DIS’17 and ’18 in Scotland and Hong Kong; and CHI in Scotland, as well as in academic journals like Bit y Aparte and the International Journal of Food Design. Alongside his academic research, Ferran collaborates with various institutions as a consultant in playful experience design, both professionally and in teaching roles, such as at Kolding Designskolen in Denmark.
Ferran has worked as a lecturer at the Escola Universitària ERAM (University of Girona), where he is also part of the Playful Living Lab, a design lab focused on exploring innovative and playful experiences.
His career has been recognized with awards such as the Times’ 100 Best Inventions (2021), an Honorable Mention at CHI (2021), and the SIDeR Best Paper Award (2016).
