Find Tess Brading on
Tess graduated from QUT in 2016 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama. In the few years post-graduation, they worked extensively as a youth arts facilitator, including in rural and remote communities. They also continued their creative practice through independent film and theatre. In 2019 they got involved in a film called Sorella’s Story, an immersive 360° film about the holocaust in Latvia. This was Tess’ introduction to working with immersive tech, undertaking training as part of the process and becoming a core part of the crew and an Associate Producer. The film has gone on to premiere at Venice Film Festival in 2022.
From there, Tess fell in love with immersive storytelling and design. They were fascinated by the way this medium could be used for social good. This interest led them to their MPhil at QUT School of Design.
Thesis title: What’s Your Happy Place? Co-Design of Personalized Immersive Environments for Paediatric Pain Management
The Happy Place project is practice-led research exploring the co-design of personalized immersive environments for paediatric persistent pain management. Working in consultation with a Brisbane based paediatric pain clinic to develop a clinically informed co-design kit, this research looks at the process of developing bespoke VR environments for persistent pain self-management. The take-home kits use artistic activities to facilitate creative self-expression of young participants, the results of which then inform the design of their very own ‘Happy Place’, aka their own personalized immersive environment.
Principal supervisor: Dr Jen Seevinck
Associate supervisor: Dr Susan Cake
Estimated completion date: August, 2022