Aakash Johry

Aakash Johry is a design educator, researcher and practitioner, focusing on how to craft products, experiences and systems that are playful and immersive. His work attempts to leverage emerging technology like extended reality (XR), tangible interaction and wearables in the context of play, using it for novel knowledge production and creating societal impact in domains like education, health & well-being, and accessibility. 

Admin Roles

PhD programme coordinator, 2024-2026
Departmental Research Committee convenor 2024-2026
Member of various departmental committees

Academic Background

PhD in Design (focus on designing for play)
M.Des
B.Tech (Mechanical Engineering)

Work Experience

Assistant Professor, Department of Design, IIT Delhi India, 2022- Ongoing
Post-doctoral fellow, Department of Industrial Design, Eindhoven University of Technology The Netherlands, 2020-2022
Associate faculty and Discipline Co-lead, Dept. of Toy and Game Design, National Institute of Design Gandhinagar India , 2018-2020 

Thematic Focus

Healthcare, Education and Inclusion

List of courses taught 

Recent courses:
DDP7012 Game Design Fundamentals
DDL7007 Research Methods for Design
DDP2009 Design Futures
DDD892  Industry/Research Design Project
DDL 810  Special Topics in Design

List of Research Projects

Recent/ongoing funded projects: 
Viksit Bharat Digital Matrix 2026 Hackathon (Funded by: Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India)
Multimedia Resource Kit for Disaster Preparation among Children (Funded by: Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India)
Nalanda Museum Upgradation & Immersive Show (Funded by: Archeological Survey of India)
Embodied Learning Tools for Middle School STEM Curriculum (Funded by: Seed fund, IIT Delhi)

List of Major Publications/ Patents

1. Bekker, T., Skovbjerg, H. M., Petersen, M. L., & Johry, A. (2025). Theory as design material: How design researchers use design skills to explore the malleability of theory. International Journal of Design, 19(2), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.57698/v19i2.01
2. Wallner, G., Johry, A., van Wijland, M., Bernhaupt, R., & Kriglstein, S. (2025). Play, watch, analyze, repeat: How do players develop competitive gaming skills?. Entertainment Computing, 52, 100908. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.entcom.2024.100908
3. Singh, R., Anand, S., Johry, A. & Kar, G. (2026). Impact of Physical Environment of Pediatric Inpatient Wards on Children: A Systematic International Literature Review. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal. https://doi.org/10.1177/19375867261451751 

 

Labs developed/ associated with

GAMES (Gaming, Augmented & Mixed-Reality Experiences and Simulations) Lab

Link: https://www.iitd-gameslab.com/

PhD Students (Present & Former)

Ms. Renuka Singh
Mr. Harsh Mohan Shrivastava
Mr. Krishnadas M
Mr. Juben Basumatary

Masters and Bachelors Projects

A total of 23 M.Des and 16 B.Des projects guided at IIT Delhi (updated till August, 2026) focusing on serious games and immersive media, focusing on learning, health and accessibility (different disability populations).

Outreach Activities

Organized workshops at premium HCI venues including CHI, CHI Play and chaired paper tracks at multiple editions of India HCI conference. Also, involved with industry outreach through game jam and hackathon events.