Marissa Buttigieg

Product Design Engineering

Hi! My name is Marissa Buttigieg, and I am a Product Design Engineering student at Swinburne University of Technology.

My passion for science and the arts led me to choosing this degree, and throughout my studies, I have developed skills across the entire design process. I love creating innovative solutions to real-world problems, which are supported by theoretical engineering principles. I enjoy working on dynamic problems across various industries and thrive during the design of user-centred, functional, and commercially viable products. In addition to my university studies, I enjoy exploring graphic design and 3D printing small gadgets for around the home. I also enjoy keeping up with the latest tech and anything automotive related.

My Final Year Project, Odyssee, is a discreet wearable navigation device designed to provide independence and confidence to the blind and low vision community. Complimenting existing assistive mobility aids, the implementation of distinct haptic vibrations help guide the user to their destination. The charging station features tactile controls, ensuring accessibility and intuitiveness. This innovative and commercially viable product is an empowering solution that builds confidence and supports greater social inclusion for vision impaired individuals.

More information can be found via the links, or feel free to get in contact directly.

Odyssee: A wearable navigation device for blind & low vision individuals

Marlee: A multi-purpose VR headset stand/foot stool for the United Nations’ Innovation Cell Team

Contra: A fully functioning mixer tap with a modern-retro aesthetic

Odyssee: Functionality & user-interaction

Odyssee: Exploded view

Acknowledgement of Country

The School of Design and Architecture respectfully acknowledges the Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners and knowledge-keepers of the lands, waters and sky that surround us, where we work, learn, create, communicate and make place. We recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded and this always was and will always be Wurundjeri Country. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who continue to make a better world through design.

We extend our acknowledgement to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, students, alumni, real-life clients, and knowledge keepers, who have contributed to our own education diversity and growth. We will continue to ensure that staff and students respectfully honour ancestral connection to Country and Place in everything that they do.

We are dedicated to the notion of design to make a better world and we acknowledge that making tools, shaping place, sharing stories, making meaning, wayfinding and collaborating have long been and continue to be both central and integral to First Peoples' cultures. We recognize that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ cultural contributions have continued relevance to design practice and commit to: reconciling ancestries of design and contemporary practice as well as pursuing culturally and professionally appropriate ways to engage with a diverse population of colleagues, industries and clients. In a time of treaty-making and voice we understand that there are overlaps between caring for Country and the sustainable production of goods, services, experiences, products and buildings.

Guided by the principles of respect, reconciliation, and reciprocity we undertake to indigenising and decolonising design practice by dismantling colonial structures and challenging biases that have marginalised Indigenous voices and design.

As students of SoDA you will be given opportunities to both engage with and educate yourself in Indigenous creative practices and cultural protocols through a lens of inclusivity, diversity, respect, mutual understanding, inter-cultural dialogue in all aspects of design practice. Indigenous people have been telling stories, making tools, and connecting to Country through visual media, placemaking and place marking for more than 60,000 years and these practices are part of an ongoing, evolving and live tradition.