Massimo Aiello

I’m Massimo Aiello, a communication designer based in Melbourne. My practice focuses on clarity, structure, and the details that make design feel intentional. I’m drawn to the principles of modernist design, where the goal is to strip away what isn’t needed and find purpose through simplicity. For me, good design should communicate without forcing attention; it should guide, not shout.

During my time studying a Bachelor of Design (Communication Design) at Swinburne University of Technology, I developed a strong appreciation for systems thinking, typography, and how form and function shape the way people experience information. I’ve recently become more interested in motion design and UX/UI, exploring how movement and interaction can bring clarity and emotion to static visuals.

Outside of design, I spend a lot of time watching NBA games or playing guitar. Both keep me grounded and remind me how rhythm, flow, and timing are essential in creative work, whether it’s a song, a play, or a layout.

I’m interested in creating work that feels clear, refined, and meaningful, design that communicates with honesty and has the ability to balance both aesthetics and meaning.

Seven Caged Tigers

Based off of the paintings from the dark ages, Seven Caged Tigers is a fictional game based off the premise of spiralling mystery. The goal here was to tell some of this story through the art on the cover.

Pocket Catch, Fish Model.

These three packages contain the miniature model of some popular hobby fish being, neon tetra, clown fish and the angelfish. My goal was to let the fish be the main subject using the rest of the package to compliment but to also be the 'environment' of the fish.

No Genre No Gods.

Designing a publication for the article 'Nazi punks folk off: leisure, nationalism, cultural identity and the consumption of metal and folk music' I wanted to create something that matched this punk theme, while also conveying the authors distaste for what his happening between metal and folk music.

Big City Festival

Designing for the Big City festival in Glasgow I wanted to use a modernist approach to represent the city of Glasgow. Using the Macintosh's rose motif found throughout things like glass panes. It's something very tied to Glasgow and I felt it was the best way to represent the city without being too on the nose

Reach out and Rise

Reach out and Rise is a campaign towards anxiety and encouraging people to reach out when they are feeling anxious. Using the gradient of blue and orange I wanted to simulate the more energetic and anxious orange mixing with the more calm darker blue.

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.