Pia Pedersen

Curriculum vitae

Education

2010–2016:

Doctoral student, Communication Design
Design School Kolding
Public PhD defence June 2016
Title: ’Beyond Rows of Little Men – Resuming Isotype Transformation with the Case of the Bilson Venture Exhibition, 1946’
Funded by grants from the Ministry of Culture Denmark and the Danish Centre for Design Research

2009:

Predoctoral student, Communication Design
Design School Kolding
Funded by grants from the Danish Centre for Design Research

2000–2005:     

Visual Communication
Design School Kolding
Graduation June 2005
Scholarship for Graduators in Graphic Design

2004:   

Exchange Student, Arts graphiques
ESAG Penninghen, Paris

Experience

2017-:

Assistant Professor, Centre for Visibility Design
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation

2016–2017:

Postdoctoral researcher, Institute of Visual Design
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation

2006–2008:    

Information Designer and Layouter,
Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, JP/Politikens Hus, Newspaper Consortium

2005–2006:    

Digital Designer 
DR Design, Danmarks Radio, The Danish National Broadcasting Service

Research areas

The Legibility of Pharmaceutical Pictograms

Providing written information about medicines is both mandatory and important for a patient’s treatment. This information, usually in the form of patient information leaflets and labels, however, is not always easy to use: Thin paper, complex wording and bad typography reduces people’s ability to find, read, understand and apply medical information to the extent of causing accidents.

One way of making medical information more accessible is through the incorporation of pharmaceutical pictograms. However, reducing these into implementable sizes causes legibility issues; especially for the elderly, who is a growing population group with a high need for medicines. 

This project combines perception psychology with information design to test the performance of pharmaceutical pictograms. By working with visual variables, such as shape, size and stroke, the purpose is to find the features that increases pictogram legibility. Through the findings, the aim is first, to improve the effectiveness of medicine information, particularly for the elderly and visually impaired; and second, to add to the field of pictogram design in general. 

The project is a sub-project of the project ‘Typeface Legibility for Visually Impaired Readers’, funded by The Danish Council for Independent Research [grant number DFF – 7013-00039],running between 2017-2021.