Nathan Crilly is Professor of Design in the Engineering Department at the University of Cambridge. He specialises in understanding human behaviour in the context of innovation. Specifically, his research focuses on how people think and act during creative activities (e.g. designers and inventors) and how others respond to the outcomes of those activities (e.g. users and consumers). Nathan advises companies on design thinking and innovation, and he conducts user insight studies that inform product development. Through the Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy, Nathan offers research-based perspectives on the role of design and innovation in government and public-sector transformation. Since 2026, he has served on the Møller Institute’s Education Standards Committee, focusing on issues related to innovation.
Professional experience
Nathan employs a diverse range of methodologies in this research, combining experimental and qualitative approaches with conceptual scholarship. His work is fundamentally interdisciplinary, drawing on ideas, methods, and findings from multiple fields. To support this approach, he collaborates with researchers across engineering, design, psychology, computer science, complexity science, education, anthropology, and philosophy. Nathan brings a research-led perspective to training, emphasising the visualisation of ideas and the development of engaging activities that promote social learning. Since 2022, Nathan has acted as academic lead for ‘Creativity, Problem Solving and Design Thinking’, a professional course delivered through Cambridge Advance Online. Through this forum, he has trained hundreds of professionals from sectors including management consultancy, healthcare, legal services, education, and innovation. Since 2025, Nathan has directed and delivered leadership programmes run through the Møller Institute, primarily engaging with MBA and executive cohorts.
Awards and honours
- Gold Award, Learning Technologies, 2025 (for the Cambridge Advance Online course on ‘Creativity, Problem Solving and Design Thinking’).
- Pilkington Prize for teaching excellence, University of Cambridge, 2023.
- Distinguished Paper Award, International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, 2021.
Publications
- Crilly, N. (2026). Critical thinking, creative thinking, systems thinking and many more: A comparative bibliometric analysis of prevalence and distribution. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 59, 102014.
- Crilly, N. (2025). Wicked Problems: Flexible Characterizations and Visual Representations She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation. 11(1) 31-60.
- Crilly, N. (2024). Design thinking and other approaches: how different disciplines see, think and act. Cambridge University Press.
- Neroni, M. A. & Crilly, N. (2021). How to guard against fixation? Demonstrating individual vulnerability is more effective than warning of general risk. The Journal of Creative Behavior. 55(2) 447-463.
- Crilly, N., & Moroşanu Firth, R. (2019). Creativity and fixation in the real world: Three case studies of invention, design and innovation. Design Studies. 64, 169–212.
- Neroni, M.A., & Crilly, N. (2019). Whose ideas are most fixating, your own or other people’s? The effect of idea agency on subsequent design behaviour. Design Studies, 60, 180-212.
- Crilly, N. (2018). ‘Fixation’ and ‘the pivot’: balancing persistence with flexibility in design and entrepreneurship. International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation. 6(1-2) 52-65.
- Chen, C.-C., & Crilly, N. (2016) From modularity to emergence: a primer on the design and science of complex systems. ISSN 0963-5432.
- Crilly, N. (2015) Fixation and creativity in concept development: the attitudes and practices of expert designers, Design Studies, 38, 54-91.
- Crilly, N. (2010) The structure of design revolutions: Kuhnian paradigm shifts in creative problem solving, Design Issues, 26(1), 54-66.