I am a designer, researcher, and scholar-practitioner working at the intersection of design, technology, and society.

As a researcher

My current work develops the Homo Arbiter framework – design as judgment and arbitration in AI-mediated systems. I hold a PhD from the University of Waikato (2025) and a postgraduate specialisation in Communication Design Theory from the University of Buenos Aires. My most cited work, Design and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (The Design Journal, 2017), examines design’s evolving role under technological transformation. I have presented research at international conferences including the Design Research Society, European Academy of Design, Swiss Design Network, Design History Society, and Cumulus.

As a practitioner

In 1996 — together with Carolina Short — I co-founded (bi)gital», one of Argentina’s earliest web design studios. Over 16 years we delivered more than 100 international projects for clients including Apple Latin America, the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank, the Buenos Aires Book Fair, Soda Stereo, and the Akademie Schloss Solitude. Before (bi)gital», I designed the first digital edition of Clarín – Argentina’s largest newspaper – for an incipient World Wide Web (March 1996).

In 1998 Carolina and I received a Design Fellowship from the Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany. The juror for Design was Prof. Gui Bonsiepe.

As a teacher and programme builder

From 2012 to 2026 I held a Senior Lecturer position at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, where I led the transition from the Bachelor and Master of Computer Graphic Design (BCGD/MCGD) to the Bachelor and Master of Design (BDes/MDes), establishing four majors and interdisciplinary collaborations with Engineering, Media and Creative Technologies and Computer Science. I also authored and led the Bachelor of Design in Interface Design at NZUWI, Waikato’s partnership with Hangzhou City University in China.

Earlier teaching roles include Professional Practice Fellow at the University of Otago (2006–07), Guest Lecturer at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design, Halle (1999–2000), and Typography tutor at the University of Buenos Aires under Prof. Rubén Fontana (1992–96) and Prof. Carlos Venancio.

Contact | tgf@bigital.com | LinkedIn | Google Scholar | ORCID