About
Dr Hao-Ming (Guo-Bin) Xia is an Asst. Prof. in Product Design in the School of Engineering at the University of Liverpool, where he leads the Design4Life Research Group (or Design4Life Liverpool Page). His research explores how design can enable technologies to better understand human experience by integrating design research with immersive technologies, physiological sensing, and artificial intelligence. He develops methods that translate human experiences into actionable design knowledge for creating more intelligent, inclusive, and responsible technologies.
His research spans digital health, human–AI interaction, digital heritage, and more-than-human design, united by a common goal of understanding how people experience, interact with, and are supported by emerging technologies. Working across academia, healthcare, industry, museums, and the public sector, he develops evidence-based approaches that connect fundamental design research with real-world impact. Dr Xia is recognised for pioneering research on colour–cognitive performance in extended reality (XR), establishing a new interdisciplinary area linking colour science, cognition, immersive technologies, and experience design. This work has informed his broader research programme on human-centred and data-informed design.
Alongside his research, Dr Xia has held a range of academic leadership roles, including Programme Leader, Course Leader, Admissions Lead, and PGR Lead, contributing to curriculum development, undergraduate and postgraduate education, academic quality enhancement, and research supervision. He also received UKCGE Recognised Research Supervisor status in 2026.
Dr Xia has published extensively in leading AHCI-, SCI-, and SSCI-indexed journals and has secured competitive research funding across immersive technologies, digital health, digital heritage, colour science, and design research. Beyond his own research, he serves as Chief Editor of Designing Neurodivergent Futures, Review Editor for Frontiers in Imaging (Imaging Applications), and reviews research proposals for the AHRC, EPSRC, and the InterAct Peer Review College. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) and the Higher Education Academy (HEA).
Prizes or Honours
- UKCGE Recognised Research Supervisor (UK Council for Graduate Education, 2026)
- Pioneer in Education (PIE) Teaching Excellence Award (Shortlist) (Heriot-Watt University, 2023)