M. JAVAD

KHAJAVI

BIOGRAPHY

RESUME

M. Javad Khajavi is an award-winning multi-disciplinary designer, developer, and researcher who works at the intersection of art, design and technology. Javad made his first animation by writing a computer code in 1995 at the age of ten. He is a tech-savvy whose works span several disciplines including 2D and 3D animation, game technology, and virtual reality. He is currently an Associate Professor at Volda University College in Norway. He was previously an Assistant Professor at the National University of Ireland Maynooth. He graduated from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore with a PhD in Media Arts + Design in 2017. He is deeply invested in interdisciplinary research approaches that are informed by practice-oriented research, design thinking, and analytical methods and tools in Engineering. Javad is the author of the book Arabic Script in Motion: A Theory of Temporal Text-based Art (www.animatedtypography.com).

Developer + Engineer

A trained engineer. Logical thinking. Engineering mindset. Math and Physics knowledge and problem-solving skills.

Artist + Designer

An animator and designer. Creative and design thinking. Visual problem-solving skills. Animation and motion design skills.

1985
1990
1995
1998
1999
2000
2002
2003
2008
2010
2012
2016
2017
2019
2022

Journey Started
August 1985
Landed on the planet Earth and started to explore.
Early Influence
July 1990
Became interested in video games and technology after my father bought a computer.
A Moment of Epiphany
March 1995
Created my first animation by writing approximately 200 lines of code using the computer programming language QBasic. The story of the animation was simple, a frog catching a mosquito with its tongue, but it had an impact on me as I found two of my main interests that were going to shape my future: animation (art) and programming (technology).
The Beginning
May 1998
Watched Toy Story for the first time. It was unlike anything that I had ever seen before. I fell in love with 3D animation and decided to learn it.
Started Exploring
January 1999
Started to explore differernt computer programs used for making animation. Within a couple of years, I have explored tens of CG and multimedia applications and learned programs such as 3ds Max, Macromedia Flash, Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, LightWave, Cinema4D, SoftImage, Sound Forge, and so on. I also started programming in Visual Basics.
Found a Direction
August 2000
During high school years, I have made hundreds of experiments with computer animation programs such as 3ds Max, Macromedia Flash, and Adobe After Effects, and created several short animations.
First Professional Steps
September 2002
Started to work as a freelance multimedia designer, 3D generalist, and animator first for my father and my brother's friends and later for different clients including local architecture and interior design studios, and e-learning companies. I have continued working as a freelancer until today.
Studying Engineering
September 2003
There were no animation or multimedia bachelor programs in my country at the time. So, I studied Engineering in the college. My undergraduate education helped me develop logical thinking, prblem-solving skills, engineering mindset, and a strong foundation in Math, Statistics, and Physics.
MSc in Animation
September 2008
Studied a Master in animation, where I improved my animation skills and developed research knowledge.
Established an Animation Studio
January 2010
Established Fanoos, an animation studio that later became an art initiative that focused on creating animated media artworks inspired by Persian (Iranian) cultural heritage.
A PhD in Media Art and Design
July 2012
Moved to Singapore to study a PhD at the School of Art, Design and Media of Nanyang Technological University.
Teaching in Singapore
September 2016
Started to work as in instructor, teaching 3D animation and CG courses at Tertiary InfoTech Institute in Singapore.
An Academic in Norway
September 2017
Teaching and researching in Norway at Volda University College, where I served as the Animation program coordinator until August 2019.
Assistant Professor in Ireland
August 2019
Moved to Ireland and srated to work as an assistant professor at the National University of Ireland in Maynooth teaching modules in animation, interaction design, and game design while researching mainly on Virtual Reality.
Associate Professor in Norway
January 2022
Became an associate professor at Institute for Film and Animation of Volda University College in Norway. Teaching and researching on various topics related to Animation, Virtual Reality, and Game Technology.