Australia's leading product development group.

1996 Cobalt founded

1200+ Unique Projects

30+ Employees

50+ Awards

25+ Years of Experience

Industrial designers, engineers & problem solvers

We work together with clients from all over the world to bring ideas to life as beautiful, functional and user-centred products. Formed in 1996, our growing team of designers, engineers and experts are led by Principals Steve Martinuzzo, Jack Magree and Warwick Brown.

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Our Vision

Less By Design

Precision & Discipline

Design is a Teamsport

Empathy

Responsible Design is about less waste, fewer resources, and less hardship. We believe that designers have a social responsibility to improve the world that we live in. At its heart socially responsible design is about less waste, less resources and less hardship.

As well as creativity, good industrial & product design requires teamwork, discipline, precision and attention to detail.

Each of our people make Cobalt what it is- from our interns to our experienced project leaders; from our design specialists to our switched-on admin crew. We work for each other as much as we work for our clients’ projects.

At Cobalt we focus on clear design thinking; the imagination to ask ‘what if?’ and the ability to listen and passionately advocate the position of our clients.

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Our Story Our longterm relationships are built on listening and accountability

1996

2000's

2010's

2020's

Before Cobalt, Steve Martinuzzo and Jack Magree had earlier studied industrial design together at RMIT in the mid-1980s. They formed a strong personal and working connection which eventually lead them to form their own group in 1996. Within the decade, we’d completed our first two projects for Agilent (formerly Varian) and our team had expanded to 8 designers and engineers.

In 2001 another RMIT classmate Warwick Brown joined the group. Warwick previously designed seating systems found in stadiums across the world, bolstering our manufacturing knowhow. At this time Cobalt acquired Niche Design Group; becoming CobaltNiche and doubling in staff numbers overnight. There followed consolidations of our structure and approach leading to several design and industry Awards by the end of the decade.

Having by now established our foundations, during the 2010’s we entrenched our position within the top tier of Australian product design firms, and expanded globally. Increasingly we undertook larger-scale projects with offshore divisions of multinationals such as Agilent, Heartsine and Alstom. By the end of our third decade, we’d added pre-design to our capabilities, helping clients understand what to design before designing it.

Despite the global pandemic, Cobalt’s next 5yr plan is back on-track, and the future holds even more promises. We’ve moved to integrate electronic development within our service offering and will continue to build medical device development and QS processes. Most importantly we will use our experience to bring on a new generation of Cobalt leaders to main and deepen our passion and expertise to developing the world’s best medical devices and scientific instrumentation.

Our Team Good design happens when experts work together as a team

Steve Martinuzzo

Managing Principal, Co-Founder (Industrial Designer)
BA-ID Dist RMIT 1985

Steve has a wide and strategic product development experience including numerous analytical instruments and medical devices for companies including Agilent, Leica and Rauland.

Alongside his leadership at Cobalt, Steve has served as a Director and Victorian President of the Design Institute of Australia, and being a Board member of numerous state and federal government committees, as well as an awards judge and expert witness. More recently Steve has been an Auditor in a government-led Design-to-Business programme, bringing strategic and user-centred design thinking into broader client engagements.

Outside work, Steve’s kids keep him on his toes.

[email protected]

+61 3 9320 2230

Jack Magree

Principal, Co-Founder (Industrial Designer)
BA-ID RMIT 1985

Jack’s hands-on approach has lead Cobalt’s design direction since he co-founded the group in 1996.

Specific product experience includes over 20 years of defibrillator development for Heartsine, and more recently he has spearheaded our instrumentation design work with Bio-Rad. Another highlight has been the Cylite HP-OCT which has been recognised for both its design and engineering.

Fittingly as a passionate Melbourne Demons fan, Jack has shaped the very look of Melbourne through various major transport projects like Melbourne iconic trams and trains as well as the award-winning Victoria Police Booze Bus.

[email protected]

+61 3 9320 2230

Warwick Brown

Principal (Industrial Designer)
BA-ID RMIT 1987

Warwick’s career was forged as an in-house designer with Camatic Seating, a company with significant in-house manufacturing. Before reaching a position as Head of Design, he joined former university classmates Steve and Jack in their recently formed design group, CobaltNiche.

Throughout, he has applied his technical and manufacturing know-how and analytical approach to projects requiring smart mechanical and DFMA (design for manufacture and assembly) solutions.

[email protected]

+61 3 9320 2230

Libby Christmas

Associate Principal, Senior Project Leader (Industrial Designer)
BIndDes(Hons) 2005

Design leader, mentor and all-round ‘CAD Wizard’ Libby Christmas is a highly experienced Product Designer with over 15 years of consulting expertise. She has worked in various design roles across the industry, as well as lecturing and teaching at RMIT, Swinburne and Monash Universities.

Libby joined the Cobalt team in 2012 as a Senior Project Leader, and has since earnt the title of Associate Principal, leading the Engineering team. Several of Cobalt’s major projects have been led by Libby, including the One299 Australian Defence Force adjustable backpack frame, the Dermapen 4 microdermabrasion device and the eShepherd virtual herding solution. Her projects have received numerous local and international accolades, including the Australian Design Award of the Year. Libby likes well built master models, neat model trees and complex surfacing!

[email protected]

Kynan Taylor

Associate Principal, Senior Project Leader (Mechanical Engineer)
BEng (Mech) Hons, UTAS 2002

A member of the senior team at Cobalt, Kynan has over 18 years’ experience developing products across a range of industries including medical, consumer electronics, automotive and advanced manufacturing. He cut his teeth with developing advanced composites for Formula 1 and aerospace in the UK, before developing innovative cycling products for iconic Melbourne brand Knog.

Applying his strong design for manufacture and assembly skills, Kynan applies a methodical and analytical approach to all projects. He has extensive experience leading multifaceted design teams to develop innovative products from concept to mass production.

Outside work, Kynan loves being outdoors with his growing family, and going fast; from skiing to motorsports.

[email protected]

Kate Bednarz

Senior Project Leader (Industrial Designer)
B. Des Industrial Design (Masters), Swinburne, 2012

With over 10 years of industry experience, Kate obtained her Masters in Industrial Design through Swinburne’s pilot Design Factory programme with Aalto University, Finland. After starting her career as an in-house designer, Kate joined Cobalt in 2017, bringing with her a wealth of manufacturing and OEM knowledge.

As a Project Leader she manages several high profile, long-term local and international clients, and combines a high aesthetic standard with a focus on usability and quality translation into production. Kate has also earnt the title of Design Team Leader, becoming a key member of the professional development group, and supporting the design team to push their skills to the next level.

Mark Matthews-Frederick

Senior Project Leader (Industrial Designer)
Grad Dip IndDes QUT 2005

Mark hails from southern Queensland, and after studying in Brisbane, his career as an Industrial Designer began in transportation and bicycle design, before moving to Germany to gain new professional and cultural experiences. Over 4 years, Mark worked in automotive design for a variety of carmakers including Audi, BMW and Bugatti.

Now back in Australia, Mark has further broadened his design knowledge through Cobalt’s wide-ranging projects and fields – including consumer, medical and sporting products, among others. He enjoys projects with a strong aesthetic and styling aspect, as well as continuing his involvement in the automotive and transportation industry with a variety of Cobalt’s clients.

Outside of work, Mark has a big interest in music – dabbling in production and DJing. He also loves all things bike-related – particularly BMX and vintage road bikes.

[email protected]

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Nat Hunt

Project Leader, Senior Engineer (Product Design Engineer)
B Eng. Product Design Engineering (Hons), Swinburne, 2016

Joining Cobalt as an intern in 2013, Nat has established himself as a seasoned and experienced design engineer. His natural curiosity has driven him to work through every facet of product development, from the micro to the macro, and from the routine to the exceptional. .

As Cobalt’s resident technological expert, Nat feeds on challenges and ‘unsolvable’ problems. He has recently been promoted to a Project Leader, and he’s eager to extend his hands-on engineering through leading our teams in new product developments.

Outside work, Nat is raising a young family, vicariously hoping that one day his kids may see his beloved Blues achieve the ultimate success.

[email protected]