Giulia Cilotti Bueno

I find solace in creation and the beauty of design. It is a privilege to channel creativity into something meaningful. I see design as a form of care, a process that allows us to respond to human needs with empathy, mindfulness, and purpose.

My work is socially driven, and I am motivated by exploring how design can support vulnerable or underrepresented communities. I want my creations to connect with people on a personal level, because I believe that beauty and compassion can coexist within design, and that every product we create has the potential to make life a little easier, better or more dignified for someone else.

I am especially passionate about inclusive and assistive projects, where I can connect, learn about and empathize with the user to create something impactful. I strongly believe we should not simply design for someone, but always with them.

Industrial design allows me to combine the mindfulness of creation, the excitement of making and the satisfaction of contributing to a better world.

Mira Living- Capstone Project

Mira Living is a line of products designed to support people living with dementia and their caregivers to co-manage and maintain routine. By combining digital and tactile tools, Mira Living promotes cognitive engagement, helps build independence, and eases caregiver burden, creating a more engaging and dignified environment for life with dementia.

Study Buddy (Montessori Educational Furniture)

Inspired by the Montessori method, this furniture design project was a ludic approach to children’s educational furniture.
The Study Buddy adapts from a desk/crafts table to an artboard, using a classic drafts board mechanism. This feature allows both parallel and integrated play between students, promoting social interaction between kids and facilitating the educators’ job when tutoring multiple kids at once.
The Study Buddy aims to enhance play and learning time for kids while optimizing space and assisting teachers, parents and carers in educating them.

Margot Ergonomic Feeder (Industry Project)

Margot is a serving bowl set with adjustable height that doubles as a meal preparation and storage unit. In collaboration with Country Road Home, this brief required the development of a new feeding or hydration product for the brand’s expanding pet range.
My approach to this brief was to bring emphasis on health and wellness for dogs,
incorporating ergonomic principles and promoting balanced feeding habits.

Artiflow

Artiflow is a specialised shower system designed for hand mobility issues. The easilymovable shower head and ergonomic handle form aim to facilitate a daily task, minimising hand grip and strength for people that suffer from Arthritis, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, low dexterity and other movement-limiting conditions.
This project covers a gap in the market for accessibility in bathroom products that
offer both functional and good-looking design.
-project in collaboration with Gayathri Krishna

Asta Lighting Pendant (Industry Project)

The aim of this industry-linked project, in partnership with About Space lighting, was to come up with creative solutions for acoustic lighting, using the sound
dampening quality of felt. The approach to my project was to create a multi-material design to break the “corporate” look that most acoustic light fixtures have. The addition of glass and the use of felt in a 3D way rather than flat made it more suitable for homes, which many times need sound dampening fixtures, bringing warmth to the ambient.
Asta offers different flat patterns of 3mm felt that can be stacked over the glass shade body of the fixture, according to the customer’s preference and their ambient’s necessities.

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.