Sara Rosello Paredes

I came to Australia on my own almost four years ago, having never heard of product design as a career. Now, as I reach the end of my degree, I can say I have learned invaluable lessons in patience, curiosity, collaboration, and consistency.

Design does not exist in isolation, and I’ve been fortunate to work alongside talented, generous people whose creativity has shaped my own. I believe that as a society, we already have enough things — so the real challenge lies in creating with intention, empathy, and purpose. While not every project I’ve worked on fully reflects this ideal, I always aim to approach each one with curiosity and a consideration for its broader impact.

With a background that combines mechanical engineering and industrial design, my practice bridges human-centred thinking with practical considerations for manufacturing, functionality, and sustainability. I focus on translating ideas into tangible outcomes through thoughtful detailing and technical considerations relevant to all stages of development.

I particularly enjoy physical prototyping as a fast and engaging way to visualise and validate concepts — a process that allows creativity to meet precision. My goal is to design products that not only work well but also hold meaning for the people who use them.

ALUNA - Menstrual Education Tool

Designed for low income contexts in Honduras, with local voices in mind. A visual communication tool that can be used by parents, teachers, and medical professionals to educate pre pubescent children on the menstrual cycle and proper hygiene practices.

FLOWSTATE - Modular Vacuum

Flow State is a vacuum concept designed with my friend Clare, shortlisted from over 7,000 entries in the iF Design Competition. Centred on circular design and right-to-repair principles, it reduces environmental impact by enabling users to maintain, repair, and reuse components rather than replace the product. The design features a drop-resistant anodised aluminium frame, a magnetic torque transfer system that protects internal electronics, and fully recyclable or reusable parts. Ergonomic surfaces, a detachable shoulder strap, and accessible internals—serviceable with a standard Allen key—enhance comfort and usability. Supported by durable repair guides and online manuals, Flow State achieves an 8.2/10 on the French Repairability Index and meets EU repairability standards.

LOOM - Chair Concept

Loom is an exploratory furniture project developed with my friend Michelle, investigating form, material expression, and user comfort. Constructed primarily from repurposed materials, it integrates a cantilevered steel-tube frame with a layered mesh cushion secured by a tensioned rope detail. Designed for disassembly and long-term adaptability, the piece highlights craftsmanship and thoughtful material use. The project also allowed me to refine practical skills in metal tube bending and industrial sewing, grounding the concept in hands-on making.

BON APPETIT - End-effector for KUKA

Developed for the KUKA LBR iiwa14, this icing end-effector applies frosting to donuts with accuracy and consistency using only two IOs and a single TCP. Its syringe quick-change CAM system, silicone rollers, and robust, accessible design support efficient operation, reliable performance, and smooth integration into robotic workflows.

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.