Professor Cathy Barnes

Director of Research and Enterprise
University Research And Enterprise Service
0113 81 23307 C.Barnes@leedsbeckett.ac.ukAbout Professor Cathy Barnes
Cathy Barnes is Professor of Retail Innovation and is fascinated by consumer experience. She has researched and published widely on how to build products and experiences that delight consumers.
Professor Cathy Barnes is fascinated by the world of the consumer. She is constantly trying to understand how we, as people, interact with the world around us and what this means to improved products and daily experiences. Her research work has taken her on a journey from novel ideation techniques such as biomimetics (using nature to innovate) to sensory design. She is particularly interested in how we perceive the world through touch and what this means to why we buy products.
As the Professor of Retail Innovation at Leeds Beckett University, Cathy is responsible for leading the Retail Institute. She aims to build a new type of university institute where academic staff and industry work closely together to deliver new knowledge with real and immediate commercial impact.
Originally training as a draughtsperson, Cathy started her diverse career in engineering, working on nuclear submarines. After a first degree in Mechanical Engineering, she started her love affair with consumerism by six years in industry, managing factories making everything from cosmetics to crisp packets. Prior to joining Leeds Beckett University she spent 12 years at the University of Leeds researching the consumer experience and managing outreach departments working closely with industry. During this time she led on many research grants applications and has published widely in both academic journals and the trade press.
Research Interests
- Built a membership scheme for retail packaging sector including many of the leading FMCG companies
- Designed new touch experience for computer peripherals
- Developed new understanding of the consumer perception of freshness in retail environments for global food company
- Invented a new aerosol experience for global household product company
- Researched a new marketing and pricing strategy in the condom market
- Created new consumer perception tools and implemented throughout a global food company
- Supported global food company to understand consumer perception of biopolymers
- Advised on innovation strategy for new materials and design for large dairy
- Developed a novel innovation technique for a large petcare company
Selected Publications
Journal articles (34)
- Steinke N-J; Moore TA; Mansell R; Bland JAC; Barnes CHW (In press) Nonuniversal dynamic magnetization reversal in the Barkhausen-dominated and mesofrequency regimes
https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.86.184434 - Crook R; Schneble RJ; Kataoka M; Beere HE; Ritchie DA; Anderson D; Jones GAC; Smith CG; Ford CJB; Barnes CHW (In press) Scanned gate microscopy of surface-acoustic-wave-induced current through a depleted one-dimensional GaAs channel
https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.82.165337 - Priestley M; Jolly D; Pearson C; Ridell S; Barnes C; Mercer G (In press) Direct Payments and Disabled People in the UK: Supply, Demand and Devolution
https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcl063 - Crook R; Schneble RJ; Kataoka M; Beere HE; Ritchie DA; Anderson D; Jones GAC; Smith CG; Ford CJB; Barnes CHW (In press) Gated-charge force microscopy for imaging a surface-acoustic-wave-induced charge in a depleted one-dimensional channel
https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.78.125330 - Folley D; Wilkinson S; Barnes C; Scott PR; Thorton Q (2013) Discreet event simulation used within the food and drink industry
- Wilkinson S; Folley D; Barnes C; Scott PR; Thornton Q (2013) Teaching GHG reduction for the food industry to adult learners using blended learning
- Oliver M; Barnes C (2012) Back to the future: the World Report on Disability
https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2012.686781 - Barnes C (2012) Re-thinking Disability, Work and Welfare
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9020.2012.00464.x - Akay D; Chen X; Barnes C; Henson B (2012) ANFIS modeling for predicting affective responses to tactile textures
https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.20268 - Holt RJ; Barnes CJ (2011) Proactive design for Manufacture through decision analysis
https://doi.org/10.1504/IJPD.2011.037595 - Shao F; Childs THC; Barnes CJ; Henson B (2010) Finite element simulations of static and sliding contact between a human fingertip and textured surfaces
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.triboint.2010.08.003 - Barnes C; Sheldon A (2010) Disability, politics and poverty in a majority world context
https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2010.520889 - Oliver M; Barnes C (2010) Disability studies, disabled people and the struggle for inclusion
https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2010.500088 - (2010)Genome-wide association study of CNVs in 16,000 cases of eight common diseases and 3,000 shared controls
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08979 - Holt R; Barnes C (2010) Towards an integrated approach to "design for X": An agenda for decision-based DFX research
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00163-009-0081-6 - Shao F; Chen X-J; Barnes CJ; Henson B (2010) A novel tactile sensation measurement system for qualifying touch perception
https://doi.org/10.1243/09544119jeim658 - Chen X; Shao F; Barnes CJ; Childs T; Henson B (2009) Exploring relationships between touch perception and surface physical propertieshttp://www.ijdesign.org/index.php/IJDesign/article/view/596/261
View Repository Record - Prideaux S; Roulstone A; Harris J; Barnes C (2009) Disabled people and self‐directed support schemes: reconceptualising work and welfare in the 21st century
https://doi.org/10.1080/09687590903010909 - Chen X; Barnes CJ; Childs THC; Henson B; Shao F (2009) Materials' tactile testing and characterisation for consumer products' affective packaging design
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2009.04.021 - Barnes C; Lillford SP (2009) Decision support for the design of affective products
https://doi.org/10.1080/09544820902875041 - Barnes C; Childs T; Henson B; Lillford S (2008) Kansei engineering toolkit for the packaging industry
https://doi.org/10.1108/17542730810881357 - Oliver M; Barnes C (2008) 'Talking about us without us?'. A response to Neil Crowther
https://doi.org/10.1080/09687590802051228 - Ali Khatami Firouzabadi SM; Henson B; Barnes C (2008) A multiple stakeholders' approach to strategic selection decisions
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2007.10.015 - Barnes C (2007) disability activism and the struggle for change
https://doi.org/10.1177/1746197907081259 - DELIN J; SHAROFF S; LILLFORD S; BARNES C (2007) Linguistic support for concept selection decisions
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0890060407070187 - Barnes C (2007) Disability, higher education and the inclusive society
https://doi.org/10.1080/01425690600996832 - Henson B; Choo D; Barnes C; Childs T (2006) A semantic differential study of combined visual and tactile stimuli for package design
- Henson B; Barnes C; Livesey R; Childs T; Ewart K (2006) Affective Consumer Requirements: A Case Study of Moisturizer Packaging
https://doi.org/10.1177/1063293x06068358 - Barnes C; Mercer G (2005) Disability, work, and welfare
https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017005055669 - Barnes CJ; Childs THC; Henson B; Southee CH (2004) Surface finish and touch - A case study in a new human factors tribology
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2004.03.018 - Barnes CJ; Jared GEM; Swift KG (2004) Decision support for sequence generation in an assembly oriented design environment
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rcim.2003.10.013 - BARNES C (2003) What a Difference a Decade Makes: Reflections on doing 'emancipatory' disability research
https://doi.org/10.1080/713662197 - Li D; McKay A; de Pennington A; Barnes C (2001)
https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1012296203032 - Barnes C (2000) A working social model? Disability, work and disability politics in the 21st century
https://doi.org/10.1177/026101830002000402
Chapters (1)
- Barnes CJ (2016) Omni-Channel Retail-Challenges and Opportunities for Packaging Innovation. In: Burgess P Integrating the Packaging and Product Experience in Food and Beverages: A Road-Map to Consumer Satisfaction. : Woodhead Publishing, pp. 59-76.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780081003565000048
Conference contributions (1)
- Bevan N; Barnes CJ; Liu Z; Wei W (2016) Predicting Purchase Intent Using Pragmatic and Hedonic Kansei Engineering Scales: A Case Study of Kitchen Equipment in China Leeds, UK 31/08/2016.
View Repository Record
Conference proceedings (4)
- Sedgwick J; Henson B; Barnes C (2003) Sensual Surfaces: Engaging Consumers Through Surface Textures. In: . : , pp. 148-149.
- Barnes CJ; Jared GEM; Swift KG (2003) A pragmatic approach to interactive assembly sequence evaluation. In: . : SAGE Publications, pp. 541-550.
https://doi.org/10.1243/095440503321628206 - Barnes C; Southee C; Henson B (2003) The impact of affective design of product packaging upon consumer purchase decisions. In: the 2003 international conference 23/06/2003 00:00:00. : ACM Press, pp. .
https://doi.org/10.1145/782896.782930 - Baxter J; Henderson M; Barnes C; Bourdo T; De Pennington A; Wells V (2001) Global engineering design team (GEDT) - A business view on structuring undergraduate projects. In: American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Design Engineering Division Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA 09/09/2001 00:00:00. : , pp. 123-131.