DrSarah Jane Jones

Dr Sarah Jane Jones is a visual communication designer and researcher with over 20 years of industry experience in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Her practice-based research explores wayfinding design approaches that draw together ecological, historical and cultural narratives, central to this is investigating the relationship between physical signage and digital wayfinding methods, and the creation of new, multi-layered and interpretive wayfinding experiences. Her research offers particular significance to local and state governments with an interest in wayfinding approaches that visualise ecological and cultural storytelling to inform how we find our way and orientate to place. Sarah Jane is committed to translating her design research beyond academic audiences to connect with community, local governments and the creative industries.

At UTS, Sarah Jane is currently part of an Interpretive Signage project for the Indigenous Firesticks Alliance project, which explores ways to story place that promote Indigenous sovereignty, community resilience, agency and economic sustainability. This collaborative research project is funded by the Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants Program, Australian Government and led by UTS Associate Professor Jacqueline Gothe and the Firesticks Alliance.

Additionally, Sarah Jane is a CI on the successful ARC Discovery grant, ‘Surfacing urban wetlands’ funded by the ARC DP240101955 grant led by Associate Professor Alexandra Crosby, with Associate Professor Ilaria Vanni Accarigi, Associate Professor Donna Houston, Professor James Goodman and Professor Juan Salazar.

Sarah Jane has worked on several projects with Indigenous cultural design and research consultancy Djinjama, led by Danièle Hromek (Budawang/Yuin), including the design of 'Marray (Wet): Words from local Aboriginal languages revealed by water', an acclaimed interpretive design work that formed part of the Indigenous Interpretation Strategy for Gunyama Park Aquatic Centre in Sydney’s Green Square precinct (co-authors: Danièle Hromek, Isabelle Toland (Aileen Sage), Sarah Jane Jones and Annabel Stevens (AX Interactive).

In 2022, Sarah Jane’s thesis (PhD) was conferred, the title of her thesis is: ‘Type Trails: Exploring the potential of typography as a system for storytelling in urban wayfinding design’. Sarah Jane presented the practice-based component of her thesis, a digital mapping prototype titled 'Type Trails', at the 2022 Architecture Media Politics and Society conference 'Representing Pasts–Visioning Futures', and the 'Visualising the invisible: image making in climate change communication' Symposium at UTS 2022, and exhibited at the UTS Library Data Arena.

Sarah Jane has won three Australian Graphic Design Awards and is a former finalist in The Designers Institute of New Zealand Best Design Awards. Sarah Jane has previously served as a judge in the Australian Book Design Awards. She is a member of the Australian Graphic Design Association and the International Visual Sociology Association. Students have won the following Awards with projects designed in her classes: Australian Graphic Design Awards yearly from 2014–2023, New Zealand Design Awards Best Awards in 2020 and 2021, Society of Experiential Graphic Design Awards (SEGD, USA) in 2018 and a UTS Human Rights Award in 2016 and the International Student Typographic Design Award (ISTD) in 2015.