Thomas Grundnigg is a designer, educator and researcher working at the intersection of communication design, visual literacy, design thinking, innovation and digital culture.

Grounded in visual communication, visual rhetoric and design theory, his work brings together design practice, theoretical reflection and applied research. He develops interdisciplinary collaborations across higher education, culture, business and society, connecting creative practice with questions of design education and its wider societal impact.

He has extensive experience in teaching, academic leadership, curriculum development and the creation of project-based, digital and hybrid learning formats. He was a Program Lead for the Academic Design Thinking Program at the HPI d–school in Potsdam from 2021 to 2025. Previously, he was a professor and head of department at FH Salzburg and held teaching appointments at Mozarteum University Salzburg and the University of the Arts Linz.

As scientific director and chair of the Gesellschaft für Designpolitik, he works on visual literacy, design rhetoric and the societal implications of visual communication. He is a member of TRACE, an interdisciplinary research group concerned with cultural transmission, and previously served on the board of designaustria. He brought the University Innovation Fellows program from Stanford's d.school to FH Salzburg and served as Primary Faculty Champion from 2018 to 2021.