Early years…
Sarra was born in the midlands to her father an engineer and musician, and her mother, a writer, where she lived in a small, lively home on the edge of a small hosiery town. Spending her time weaving, sewing and crafting with paper while immersed in nature, drawing frogs and planting trees.
In the early 1980’s, her father returned home with a ZX Spectrum tucked underneath his arm, and together with her brother, Sarra spent many days copying basic code from the pages of the spectrum magazine (only to watch a border flash and a ball bounce across a TV screen). She read Steven Jackson’s game books, and while mastering the five finger page shuffle, she learned how to handle a multi linear story.
She also enjoyed playing early computer, adventure games such as The Hobbit. And so, borrowing Tolkien’s book from the local library, Sarra proceeded to draw maps and compile lists of action words to solve this epic adventure…but that is another story.
2009 Illustration Degree and D&AD Award
Joining Coventry University later on in life; Sarra gained a First Class BA Illustration (honours) degree and was awarded D&AD New Blood Yellow Pencil, in the category of Film Craft: Animation.
2010 - 2015 Animation Industry
She went on to set up a small studio at Mobbs Wood Studios, and work with some exceptionally talented creatives in the animation industry. She worked on projects that were awarded British Animation Award, BAFTA and other prestigious nominations, becoming known as a paper craft specialist.
2010 - 2015 Teaching and Research
Having gained a PTLLS Teaching qualification in 2009, and wanting to encourage and support young creatives in the field of animation; Sarra worked as a lecturer at a number of respected universities where she supported undergraduate students.
At Birmingham City University, Birmingham institute for art and Design, she co-created the university’s first multi-disciplinary media elective module for the BA Animation and Animation for Games Degree with Ros Sinclair. She also guided students at Coventry University, UK on BA Animation and Illustration (Honours) undergraduate degree, she advised on how to write and design an alternative thesis.
As an academic researcher, Sarra spent 4 years conducting research in immersive animation. Her practice-based research led to conducting experiments immersed in nature and producing a prototype research tool. She also delivered research papers at BIAD, Royal College of Art and University of Southern California,USA. The project stalled as it was limited to using CGI modelling tools and motion capture and it didn’t seem to fit animation studies T the time. It felt impossible to articulate, in language and within the research methodology, how the animation process is internalised in practice. The project was immersive but to externalise this, a new method was needed. This tool would be discovered and explored further when it became more readily available…
2016 - Instructional Designer with St Andrews mental health hospital.
It was at St Andrews that Sarra first encountered the Unity Game Engine, a tool that allowed for immersion in new worlds. Here she user tested a virtual mental health ward. Virtual reality was clearly very useful to learning and teaching adults (andragogy) due to its ability harness experiential learning and facilitate learner empathy. However, it seemed to have some risks attached to its use and a certain set of design limitations.
Further to this, Sarra also recognised VR as a tool that could help articulate her experience of immersion in nature and the animation process.
2019 MA Creative Application Development (Now Indie Game Development and Interaction Design).
To learn how to develop VR experiences and access research papers; Sarra undertook a Masters degree in Creative Application Development, where she was subsequently awarded a Distinction. It was here that she had access to Unity and Unreal game engines and learned how to manage digital application development.
During in her time here, she furthered her immersive research, identifying that she was most interested in environment modelling and level design. Through conducting research in video games theory, she came to focus on developing immersive worlds that were designed to protect vulnerable users.
2021 - Date | NHS
Sarra joined NHS at the beginning of the global pandemic as an instructional designer, producing healthcare training including eLearning, animation, illustration, video and design projects as part of the technology enhanced learning team.
As a member of NHS England research in simulated training and immersive research, AI research and the Paramedic Ambulance Service research group; her primary interest is in designing safe experiences for vulnerable users, in potentially traumatic virtual training environments.
In addition to this, she is responsible for mentoring T-Level and work experience students in which she mentors young adults in digital design practice and processes.
Outside of this, she produces Cyanotype Print photograms/photography and ceramics as well as illustration and animation projects that allow for experimentation and personal work.
Today…
Sarra has designed a new research project proposal, entitled ‘Shepherd’s shield’. This project builds on her immersive practice based research as an animator, her training as an interaction designer and her experience as an indie game developer. Because of this, the project is consequentially located at the intersection between videogames theory, learning design theory and interaction design theory. It is currently in the literature search and review stage.
To discover more about Shepherd’s shield, you will need a password to unlock the research page. At this time it remains confidential and is only available to Academic researchers working within this field of enquiry, on request (Please kindly complete the contact form).
