Media Design School appoints Andy Blood, ex-Facebook creative strategist as Industry Fellow to lead its way forward into Web 3.0

CB Exclusive – When it comes to tertiary education in Aotearoa, Media Design School has always been a site of firsts: the first to teach gaming; the first to teach 3D design; the first to teach Creative Advertising; and the first to build a unique educational model based on an intensive engagement with industry. And now there’s another first: the appointment of Andy Blood as its Industry Fellow for its postgraduate programmes.

Blood is a fearless creator and serial innovator. Whether it’s working at the intersection of creativity and blockchain, driving the creative agenda within tech platforms, or producing ground-breaking and category-defying advertising, leading with creativity and inspiring others to do the same is part of his DNA.

Says Scott Thompson Whiteside, Executive Dean of Design and Creative Technology: “Andy brings global industry experiences from leading organisations combining creativity, design and technology that is a perfect fit for our students and us.”

Says Darryn Melrose, the General Manager of Design and Creative Technology: “Andy will be an inspirational leader for our staff and students and an important connection to industry to ensure we remain leaders in educating industry-ready graduates.”

As Luke Sullivan astutely puts it: “Andy has earnt a master’s degree in brand storytelling and big ideas in the world of advertising and, after his tenure as a digital strategist at Facebook, a PhD in technology and digital thinking and that precisely sums up for me why his appointment as Industry Fellow is such a great fit for MDS.”

At MDS and its sister institution Torrens University Australia, Blood will lead and inspire the next generation of creative people and entrepreneurs across the most diverse yet intimately connected subjects: gaming, design, advertising, storytelling, and technology.

Says Blood: “I’m here to bring the full force of everything I’ve learnt to bear on these subjects. And to galvanise a network of allies and advocates throughout the global creative and technology industries, to the benefit of the students.

“My relationship with MDS stretches back to the early 2000s, with my first hires now being global leaders in creativity and technology.”

Says Dr. Sarah Baker, Head of Research and Senior Lecturer in the Masters of Design: Andy’s primary role in our postgraduate programs will be reducing the theory-practice gap by fostering stronger collaboration between students, researchers, and industry practitioners.”

Kate Humphries, Programme Director of the renowned Creative Advertising program at Media Design School, says postgrad programmes should be the site of future thinking, and as the momentum of web 3.0 grows, that’s a space where we want our Master of Design to flourish: “If any tertiary institution is going to lead Aotearoa’s thinking and future growth towards a web 3.0 internet, whose very accelerant will be gaming engines and 3D design, that tertiary provider is going to be Media Design School.”

“Knowing that Andy is also going to be playing an in-house role in the Creative Advertising programme and, more importantly, also representing Torrens University in Australia, a proud partner with MDS, is exciting for the whole organisation.”