Sam Bird

Product Design Engineering

Hi, I’m Sam Bird.

I am a graduating Product Design Engineer student from Swinburne University of Technology.

My time at Swinburne allowed practical thinking and application experience to hone become an effective design engineer. I have a passionate belief in change and the development of the world, myself, and the projects for which I have been and hope to be involved. The experiences range from engineering remote equipment shelters for Airservices Australia to designing medical grade antimicrobial tapware for the average home. My range of experience have made me particularly proficient in 3D modelling, design for manufacture, advanced prototyping, and value engineering.

Outside of university, I enjoy the exploration of nature and the hands on fixing and building, utilising the developed creative-practical thinking.

My honours project, Rise, brought my love of photography and exploration into the need of others through Tikkun Olam Makers and Scope (Aust). Wheelchair uses often rely on others to aid community engagement and exploration. Finding market ready solutions to provide the mental benefits of creative activities within the community is near impossible. The final Rise product provides wheelchair users with the opportunity for the independent expression of mindful creativity through its modular design and ease of use.

RISE - View From Wheelchair User's Perspective

RISE - Detailed Engineering

Oasis Pure - Antimicrobial Tapware

TOM Mechanical Wheelchair Wheel Cleaner

Wheelchair Cleaner Prototype & Breakdown

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.