idUNSW

We’re proud to share the culmination of a meaningful industry collaboration between UNSW Industrial Design and Resmed in our IDES4111 Advanced Studio within the Bachelor of Industrial Design (Honours) program, which was convened by Associate Lecturer Ed Ko. Resmed is a global leader in sleep and respiratory health, and partnering with their team gave our students a rare opportunity to tackle a real‑world healthcare challenge: reimagining the user experience of CPAP therapy through research‑led, human‑centred design. A big thank you to Shannon Day, Tyran Lechner, Dorcas Chu and Oliver Williams for your generosity, insight, and engagement with our students throughout the course. Industry partnerships like this are essential in bridging industrial design education and professional practice. We’re incredibly proud of our students and grateful to ResMed for helping bring this studio to life. [photo courtesy of Daniel Parker]

Thank you to everyone who joined us last Saturday for the panel discussion at BE GradEx, where we celebrated the innovations emerging from the UNSW Industrial Design program that have been recognised by Good Design Australia.

A sincere thank you to our panellists Alfred Boyadgis, Tom Loefler, Liam Lo Cascio, Maoxin Yuan, and Renee Aquilina for sharing your insights and the stories behind your capstone projects. We are especially proud of Alfred and Tom, whose student projects evolved into commercially available products with real-world impact, while the award-winning concepts developed by Liam, Maoxin, and Renee highlight the depth of emerging design excellence within our program.

Our thanks also to Dr Brandon Gien for moderating the discussion and guiding such a thoughtful and engaging conversation.

Finally, thank you to all attendees for your energy, engagement and questions. Your participation helped make this a dynamic and inspiring session on how design, innovation and entrepreneurship shape a better future.

And thank you to Jie Meng for capturing the event.

Join us at the UNSW Built Environment Graduation Exhibition for a fascinating industry panel discussion on Designing the Future: Industrial Designers and the Power of Good Design.

In the UNSW Bachelor of Industrial Design (Honours) program, ambitious ideas are developed into prototypes that often evolve into successful products recognised by the Australian Good Design Awards.

From Hullbot’s autonomous marine-cleaning robot tackling biofouling and sustainability, to Forcite’s smart helmet redefining motorcycle safety, SOOZE’s modular device empowering keratoconus patients, and HALO’s inclusive kitchen system enhancing independence for people with disabilities. Each exemplifies how UNSW Industrial Design transforms student projects into real-world impact.

Hosted by Dr Brandon Gien, this session explores how design education, innovation, and entrepreneurship intersect to shape the future of the built environment, from sustainable technologies and assistive devices to intelligent products that improve life on Earth.

Moderator: Dr Brandon Gien, Chair, Good Design Australia, Adjunct Professor of Industrial Design, UNSW

Panellists:

Tom Loefler, 2025 Australian Good Design Award of the Year and Commercial & Industrial Products Best in Class for 'Hullbot'

Alfred Boyadgis, 2022 Good Design Award Automotive and Transport Products Best in Class for 'Forcite'

Liam Lo Cascio, 2024 Good Design Award Next Gen Best in Class for 'Halo'

Maoxin Yuan, 2025 Good Design Award Next Gen Best in Class for 'Sooze'

Renee Aquilina, 2018 Good Design Award Next Gen Gold Winner for 'Ori'

WHEN: Saturday, November 29 from 3:30pm to 5pm

WHERE: White Bay Power Station, Rozelle

Reserve your spot here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/designing-the-future-industrial-designers-and-the-power-of-good-design-tickets-1963691369748?aff=oddtdtcreator&mc_eid=b1bc3a5459&mc_cid=c1785cb3f5

UNSW is hiring for a new academic position in Industrial Design. Apply now to join our dynamic team shaping the future of industrial design education: https://external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au/cw/en/job/535203/associate-lecturerlecturersenior-lecturer-industrial-design

https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2025/10/unsw-spinout-awarded-national-design-award-beating-global-giants

UNSW spinout awarded national design award, beating global giants From UNSW student prototype to global decarbonisation leader, Hullbot takes the top honour at the internationally recognised Australian Good Design Awards.

UNSW Industrial Design is proud to have received the Gold Winner accolade in the Design Research category at the Australian Good Design Awards for Benchmark for NSW, a collaboration between UNSW, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism and the Transport for NSW Safer Cities Program.

Benchmark for NSW integrates movable smart benches and civic data to enhance perceptions of safety in public spaces, supporting inclusive and evidence-based urban design that advances gender equity and accessibility. The project was first piloted at UNSW’s Village Green in 2024 and subsequently deployed at The Goods Line in Sydney’s Haymarket, extending the research into a dynamic city-scale environment. Both phases have now concluded, providing valuable insights into how inclusive, data-informed design can foster safer and more welcoming urban spaces.

Benchmark NSW Good Design Award: https://good-design.org/projects/benchmark-for-nsw/

Benchmark NSW project site: https://benchmark-nsw.mit.edu/

Special thanks to the Design Futures Lab UNSW for fabrication support.

Congratulations to the whole team: Gonz . Portas, Mariano Ramirez, Nila Rezaei, Sarah Williams, Minwook Kang, Hannah Shumway, Zoe Eather, Sandy Burgoyne, Seldon Coventry, Rory Brown, Justine Simpson, Ella Dunne, Brooke Wharton and Ashlie Hunter.

Benchmark for NSW - Good Design Benchmark for NSW is a design research initiative that integrates smart street furniture and civic data to enhance perceptions of safety in public spaces. Developed in partnership with UNSW, MIT, and Transport for NSW, it empowers inclusive, evidence-based urban design, addressing gender equity and....

Congratulations to Maoxin Yuan, UNSW Industrial Design 2023 First Class Honours Graduate, University Medallist, and current Industrial Design Casual Academic, for receiving both Gold Winner accolade and Best in Class in the Next Gen category at the Australian Good Design Awards for his capstone project SOOZE, a modular eye-care innovation that supports people living with keratoconus through flexible, hands-free vision support and comfort.

https://good-design.org/projects/sooze-modular-eye-care-device-for-keratoconus-patients-2/

This milestone marks the fourth consecutive year that a UNSW Industrial Design graduate has won Best in Class in the Next Gen category for their Honours capstone projects. This is a remarkable reflection of our program’s continuing excellence in fostering creativity, empathy, and innovation in design education:

* 2022 Kathy Ky, Neural Tourniquet: a bleeding-control device for first responders
* 2023 Aidan Whitby, Supersend: a beehive weight-monitor for commercial beekeeping
* 2024 Liam Lo Cascio, Halo: an assistive one-hand kitchen sink for hemiparesis
* 2025 Maoxin Yuan, Sooze: modular eye-care device for keratoconus

We are immensely proud of Maoxin and all our graduates whose work continues to demonstrate how UNSW Industrial Design combines innovation, research, and social responsibility to shape a more inclusive and sustainable future.

Congratulations to UNSW Industrial Design alumnus Tom Loefler, former Casual Academic and 2015 First Class Honours Graduate, who has achieved remarkable success at the Australian Good Design Awards, receiving Gold Winner accolade, Best in Class prize for Commercial and Industrial Products, and the prestigious Australian Good Design Award of the Year for Hullbot, an AI-driven underwater robot that prevents biofouling to increase vessel fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. Originally developed as his UNSW Industrial Design Honours capstone project, supervised by Dr Miles Park and Mr Andrew.J. Fowkes, Hullbot has since evolved into a successful startup advancing sustainable marine maintenance.

Hullbot Good Design Award: https://good-design.org/projects/hullbot-autonomous-ship-hull-cleaning-system-3/

Hullbot Official Site: https://www.hullbot.com/

We were proud to feature Thomas’s inspiring journey in our UNSW Industrial Design 'Stories Behind Products' video talk series, where he shared with Prof Oya Demirbilek how Hullbot evolved from his student concept into a world-leading innovation. Several iterations later, Hullbot continues to make waves, earning multiple accolades, including the Ocean Changemakers Award, NSW Climate Spotlight Award, and Top 10 Biofouling Innovators Award.

Watch his story here: https://youtu.be/oxR4sXlWB8k

Thomas’s achievement exemplifies how UNSW Industrial Design fosters research-driven, socially impactful innovation, transforming great ideas into sustainable solutions that shape a better future.

Friday, 17 October was a proud moment for UNSW Industrial Design at the Australian Good Design Awards, where our graduates and academics were recognised for design excellence and long-term impact. UNSW Industrial Design Lecturer Gonzalo Portas, Associate Professor Mariano Ramirez, and Casual Academic Nila Rezaei, in collaboration with A/Prof Sarah Williams and Mr Min Kong from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Leventhal Centre for Advanced Urbanism, and commissioned by Transport for NSW, received the Gold Winner accolade in the Design Research category for their project Benchmark for NSW. Industrial Design graduates Maoxin Yuan and Thomas Loefler also earned Gold Winner and Best in Class honours for their capstone projects Sooze and Hullbot, in the Next Gen and Commercial and Industrial Products categories respectively, with Hullbot further receiving the prestigious Australian Good Design Award of the Year. These achievements highlight the enduring impact of UNSW Industrial Design in advancing inclusive, research-driven, and sustainable design practice. UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture UNSW

LUMINOCITY is a vibrant exhibition featuring the work of students from UNSW Built Environment, featuring work from across all years and disciplines. Launched Sep 6 during UNSW Open Day, it offers a compelling glimpse into the ideas and projects shaping the future of our built world. The exhibition is currently open at the Anita B Lawrence Gallery, UNSW Kensington, and will remain open for the next couple of weeks. Visitors are warmly invited to explore the creativity and vision of the next generation of designers.