Christopher Mann

Industrial Design

Hi, I’m Chris, an Industrial Designer.

During my time as a student, I’ve enjoyed developing my technical skills and deepening my creative processes. Initially, I was excited just to be able to put my ideas to paper; now, I’m thrilled to be able to set them up for production.

I’m proud of the projects I’ve completed throughout my degree. Each project has taught me new ways to engage with users and translate their needs into tangible products. This user-centred approach has been integral to shaping my design perspective and expanding my skill set.

Outside of my studies, my passion for design continues. I spend my personal time exploring design history, philosophy, current innovations, and understanding how disability advocacy can be integrated into design practices.

Clarus

ADHD affects 3-7% of Australians. Many people go their entire lives without diagnosis or support for their condition. For my capstone, I wanted to focus on how products could be redesigned to aid how ADHD symptoms manifest. While this backpack can’t make you get ready, its transparent lining pockets and attachable insert panel help the user Identify what has and hasn’t been packed. Its fold-out feature also makes the whole process a little easier.

Bearable

As Australia’s metropolitan areas grow, parents may increasingly need their children to use public transport and develop independence. Bearable provides emotional support during this transition, offering reassurance and safety. This device includes an LED light, a solar panel for sustainable recharging, and a 60db whistle. These features blend seamlessly to mask its primary function: to serve as a loving reminder from parents to their children that they are cared for while promoting self-reliance. Bearable is more than a tool; it is a comforting presence that helps bridge the shift from dependence to independence.

Last Vac

Inspired by stories of sons finding and repairing tools in their fathers’ sheds, the LASTVAC is designed to be an intergenerational vacuum. This is achieved by making parts easier to replace and reducing the number of components prone to failure. All electrical components are organised from most to least likely to need maintenance, with the battery – the most common part to replace – positioned closest to the exterior. This design reduces barriers to repair, making access to deeper components feel as straightforward as replacing the battery.

TAK

For the professional hobbyist, TAK is a glue gun designed with serious functionality, free from gendered design attributes. Featuring a motor-fed glue extruder, a temperature-indicating light panel, and an easy-to-use safety cover, TAK earns its place in any hobbyist's toolkit.

Oddball

Safe, not sterile. ODDBALL is a reimagined sous vide machine designed to help elderly individuals cook confidently at home without the risk of burning their food. Featuring large, tactile buttons and a simplified user interface, users can activate one of three sous vide balls and place them into any liquid for cooking. The bright colours and distinctive tea bag motif lend a retro flair to a familiar process, promoting enjoyment and autonomy in the kitchen.

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.