About

Amanda Perry-Kessaris is Professor of Law at Kent Law School.

Amanda has qualifications in law, economics, and graphic design. She regularly completes cross-disciplinary and professional development training, including in design futures, iconographic theory, archaeology, and ethnography; culture and well being, applied public history, curation, and event experience design; and research leadership, engagement, and impact.

She is an elected Fellow of the Design Research Society, elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. 

Interests

Two questions run through Amanda’s research:

• How do, and how might, law and design enrich each other?
• How might we enhance our ability to understand and influence the actual and potential economic lives of law?

Current projects include:

• Law and Design: A pragmatic approach supported by Leverhulme Research Fellowship RF-2026-133\8.
• Legal futures though The Horniman Museum and Gardens with Elen Stokes (University of Bristol), supported by Socio-Legal Studies Association Research Grant.
• Enlivening legal education through The Postal Museum with Emily Allbon and Susannah Coster, in partnership with The Postal Museum. Aiming to influence heritage institutions; and higher, secondary, and public legal education. Supported by Kent Law School Research Investment Fund.
• Design-driven approaches to policy-making on land use and ownership in Malawi with Cyprian Kambili and Nebert Chirwa. Aiming to influence communities and policy makers in Malawi. Supported by International Science Partnerships Fund.

Recent projects include

• What if a citizens’ assembly were to design a future Cyprus peace process? with Fiona Mullen and Meltem Onurkan Samani, in partnership with Cyprus Peace and Dialogue Centre. Influencing Cypriot civil society. Supported by SLSA Impact Grant.
• Bristol legal futures with Elen Stokes.
• Fantasy legal exhibitions with Victoria Barnes. Supported by SLSA Seminar Fund and Kent Law School.
• Evidencing and combatting hate crime in India: concepts, mindsets and processes with Joanna Perry and Mohsin Alam Bhat, in partnership with CEJI. Influencing anti hate-crime activists in India. Supported by Society of Legal Scholars Research Activities Fund.
• Design in legal education with Emily Allbon.

Earlier projects include

• Making hate crime visible in Europe in designerly ways with Joanna Perry, in partnership with CEJI. Influencing public and society society actors across Europe.
• Doing socio-legal research in design mode, supported by Leverhulme Research Fellowship RF-2019-045.
• The pop-up museum of legal objects with Lisa Dickson and Sophie Vigneron. Supported by Kent Law School.
• Design and island wide economic life in Cyprus, supported by SLSA Research Grant.
• What can graphic design reveal about law? Social media show of 14 original designs #apklawdesigns.
• Economic Sociology of Law, with Diamond Ashiagbor and Prabha Kotiswaran, supported by the Journal of Law and Society.
• Economic approaches to law and development: Principles, effects and defects, supported by British Academy Research Development Award 49019.
• Law and investor-state-civil society relations, supported by Leverhulme Research Fellowship LARB7.
• Legal systems as a determinant of foreign direct investment in South Asia, supported by SLSA Research Grant.

Whenever possible her work is made freely available via SSRN and Vimeo.