Penny Sparke


Penelope Anne "Penny" Sparke is a British writer and academic specialising in the history of design. She has been Professor of Design History at Kingston University, London, since 1999, where she is also Director of the Modern Interiors Research Centre.

Early life and education

Sparke was born on 6 November 1948 in London, England. She studied French Literature at Sussex University between 1967 and 1971, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She remained at Sussex to undertake a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, which she completed in 1972. She undertook postgraduate research at Brighton Polytechnic, and completed her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Design History in 1975. Her doctoral thesis was titled "Theory and design in the age of pop". Sparke was awarded an honorary degree from the University for the Creative Arts in 2016.

Academic career

From 1975 to 1982, Sparke was a lecturer in design history at Brighton Polytechnic. She was then a lecturer in design history at the Royal College of Art in London between 1982 and 1999. In 1999, she joined Kingston University, London, where she had been appointed Professor of Design History. She additionally served as Dean of its Faculty of Art, Design and Music from 1999 to 2005, and as Pro-Vice Chancellor from 2005 to 2014.
Sparke has written 15 books about Twentieth-Century Design. She has also curated a number of exhibitions, including The Plastics Age at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 1990. Her areas of specialism include design history, history of the modern interior, and design and gender. In 2010, Sparke’s book The Genius of Design was published to accompany a 5-part BBC2 television series, 'The Genius of Design' which was broadcast in 2009.

Other work

In 2007 Sparke, worked as a consultant for Pyrex helping with the communication project for their new cookware range designed by George Sowden.
She was previously the Course Director of the V&A Museum/Royal College of Art Postgraduate History of Design Programme.
Sparke is currently Chair of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Design History, published by the Design History Society.

Selected works