Interior Designer at Some Studio

Remie Collins is an award-winning interior designer with experience across hospitality, residential and retail design. As an Interior Designer at Some Studio, she contributes to a diverse range of projects, combining creative thinking with a strong understanding of client-focused design solutions. A graduate of Sydney Design School, Remie's work has been recognised through some of Australia's leading graduate and vocational design awards. Her accolades include the 2025 DIA Australian Graduate of the Year (PLACE Category – Vocational), NSW/ACT Graduate of the Year Across All Design Categories, and NSW/ACT Graduate of the Year (PLACE Category – Vocational).

Interior designer and researcher carolinecumberbatch.com
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Dr Caroline Cumberbatch is an interior designer and researcher based in lutruwita/Tasmania. After thirty years in practice — including projects ranging from luxury residential to the living quarters at Davis Station in Antarctica — she completed a practice-based PhD reframing interior design as a discipline capable of building social and cultural value rather than depleting it. Her research has been featured in The Conversation, ABC Radio National, ABC Sydney and RNZ. She consults nationally on interior design, material reuse, and waste in the built environment.

Principal Interior Designer at
Hunt & Design
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Maryann Schmidt is the founder and Principal Interior Designer of Hunt & Design, a residential interior design studio based in Sydney. With over thirteen years leading her own practice, Maryann has dedicated her career to creating interiors that are authentic, layered and that truly elevate the experience of home. Her work has been published across leading Australian design publications and recognised through an award-winning project portfolio. She is also the host of Dream Homes Revealed Australia on Channel 9/9Life.

Principal Interior Designer at studiospillane
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Angela Spillane is a Brisbane-based interior designer with more than 25 years of professional experience across hospitality, aviation, retail and public-facing commercial environments. As Principal of studiospillane, she leads a practice focused on creating thoughtful, people-centred interiors that balance experience, operational performance and environmental responsibility. Angela taught interior design at Queensland University of Technology for 20 years, mentoring emerging designers through the transition from university to professional practice. Angela is a Fellow of the DIA, a member of the DIA National Interior Design Working Group and Chair of artisan, Queensland's centre for craft and design.

Creative Director + Interior Designer at Little Road Interior Design
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Marcus Syvertsen is the Creative Director and Principal Interior Designer of Little Road, a South Australian interior design studio specialising in hospitality, commercial and residential projects. With 12 years of industry experience, Marcus works closely with his small team of diverse and talented designers to deliver projects across South Australia and Victoria. Passionate about creating thoughtful, functional and authentic spaces, Marcus brings a strong understanding of design excellence, materiality, functionality and user experience.

Industrial Design and Product Engineering Specialist at
Blackmagic Design

Luca Abate is an industrial designer with experience across in-house design, consulting and design education. He is currently a Lead Product Design Engineer at Blackmagic Design and has been part of the acclaimed design team since 2013, developing innovative products for the creative video industry. He began his career as a designer at the Ford Motor Company and later with consultancy Charlwood Design, delivering products for a diverse range of clients including medical, consumer and electronic sectors. Luca's experience extends beyond industrial design and manufacturing to business development, digital/web design, marketing and project management.

Fashion curator, writer, speaker and founder of Bradshaw House Publishing

Paola Di Trocchio is a fashion curator, writer, speaker and founder of Bradshaw House Publishing. In her 20-year career at the National Gallery of Victoria, she curated and co-curated 22 fashion and textiles exhibitions and publications. From 2022 to 2023 she was Program Manager, PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival. In 2025, she completed her doctoral thesis and was nominated for the Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award. 

Chair at Good Design Australia
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Brandon is an Industrial Designer, educator and global design advocate. For more than 30 years, he has championed design as a powerful tool for solving problems and creating a better future for people and planet. He is the Founder and Chair of Good Design Australia, Chair of the Australian Good Design Awards, Executive Director of the Australian Design Council, and was the first Australian to be elected as the President of the World Design Organization, the global body for Industrial Design. Prior to establishing Good Design Australia, Brandon was the Executive Director of Design Strategy at Standards Australia, recognised by the Australian Government as the nation's peak standards body.

Design Director at Katapult Design
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Greta Saggus is an award-winning Sydney-based industrial designer and educator, currently Design Director at Katapult Design. She is passionate about design's power to improve lives, guiding cross-functional teams from ambitious ideas to market-ready solutions across medical, scientific and start-up innovations, creating impact where technology meets genuine human and environmental need.

Co-Founders at Mixed Goods Studios
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Andrew Carvolth and Dean Toepfer are the co-founders of Mixed Goods Studios, a multidisciplinary shared studio based on Kaurna Yerta (Adelaide). As designers and makers, their practices span furniture, lighting, objects, and commissioned works, united by a deep engagement with materiality and craftsmanship. Carvolth's work draws on traditional and contemporary making processes, focusing on timber and cast metals, while Toepfer's practice investigates the relationship between material, utility, and human connection. Established in 2020, Mixed Goods Studios brings together designers, artists, and craftspeople working across a range of disciplines.

Design Director - Environments at Latitude
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Daniel Dalla Riva FDIA is one of Australia's most respected voices in experiential and commercial design. With over 30 years of practice, he has delivered award winning hospitality, retail and brand environments, while contributing to the advancement of the design profession through industry leadership, mentoring, advocacy and design excellence.

Dean, School of Art and Design at Adelaide University
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Associate Professor Veronika Kelly has extensive experience in higher education, with a strong focus on academic leadership, strategic initiatives, and the integration of design education, research, and practice. Veronika's research is in design culture, rhetoric and the ethics in, of, and through design practice, and in design education, and her work is published internationally. Veronika's current research explores the experiences and career trajectories of women in design practice living and working in diverse global contexts. Veronika's long-standing passion and commitment to student success underpins her work, for which she has received national and international recognition and awards in design education.

Product & Service Design Lead at
EY Studio+
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Darcy Mangan is a design leader and Manager in Digital Engineering at EY, specialising in digital product and service design. Working at the intersection of design, technology and business, he leads multidisciplinary teams to deliver human-centred solutions powered by emerging technologies, including AI. With over a decade of experience across consulting, publishing and digital transformation, Darcy has led major design programs for government agencies, ASX 100 organisations and global brands. His work focuses on improving access to essential services and delivering meaningful, measurable outcomes at scale.

Head of Course Digital Media at CQUniversity
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Jim Picton is the Head of Course for Digital Media at CQUniversity. With a background in learning design, animation, illustration, game design & development, he enjoys helping students build both the technical and professional skills needed for creative careers. He teaches across a range of units, supervises capstone projects, and supports students undertaking Work Integrated Learning placements. Outside the classroom, Jim's PhD research explores the creative potential of Virtual Reality as a storytelling medium. He was also an inaugural member of the Immerse High – Immersive Storytelling in Schools Competition, launched on the Sunshine Coast in 2017.

Powerhouse Museum

Founder of studio Trampoline

Sean Hogan is a Melbourne-based graphic designer, typographer and artist with over three decades of practice. Founder of studio Trampoline since 1995, he has worked with Apple Music, The New York Times and Wired, alongside local clients including RMIT University. His systems-based visual art practice, rooted in geometry, colour and formal aesthetics, has been exhibited and collected by the National Gallery of Victoria, and presented at design weeks in San Francisco and Shanghai. A graduate of Swinburne University (1994), Hogan's early collaboration with John Warwicker on Federation Square, Melbourne, proved formative. His work has circulated internationally and in 2026, he designed the wordmark for GOTYA, the Design Institute of Australia's graduate recognition award. Sean Hogan is a DIA Accredited Designer.

Vice Chancellor's Research Fellow at RMIT
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Dr Tonya Meyrick is a designer, researcher and academic working at the intersection of regenerative design, colour and ethical practice. At RMIT she is establishing the Chroma Waste Lab and founding the new design research field of ethical colour, building on Perpetual Pigments — a practice-led project transforming textile waste into bio-derived, non-extractive pigments. The project has attracted over $1 million in competitive funding, was co-developed with First Nations collaborators, and has been exhibited internationally at Saint-Étienne Design Biennale. Tonya is a Chief Investigator on an ARC Linkage project with Deakin's Institute for Frontier Materials, a former curator of Geelong Design Week, and a recipient of awards from Good Design Australia, the International Anthem Awards and the Victorian Premier's Design Awards.

Director at haoweitu.info
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Hao Wei Tu is a communication designer and researcher, a PhD candidate in Design at Swinburne University of Technology, working in collaboration with Design Factory Melbourne and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), and a Design Director (Contract) at Melbourne studio D&D Creative, where he has led major rebrand projects across the CBD, including Midcity Centre and Downtown Grocer. Hao Wei made history as the first designer from Taiwan and East Asia to receive The One Club's Young Ones Portfolio Award in New York. His work has earned six Red Dot Design Awards, been featured five times in Communication Arts Magazine, and has been exhibited internationally in Taiwan, Macau, Germany, Japan, and Poland.

Creative Director at MECCA
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Sam Ziino is a Melbourne-based Creative Director and Head of Creative Direction at MECCA, where she leads a multidisciplinary team defining the brand across campaigns, retail, digital and brand experience. Drawing on experience transforming traditional consumer brands into cohesive brand worlds, she champions creative direction that builds connection, community and brand love.