Cobalt Design

Cobalt Design Cobalt is an Australian based, globally focused creative product development group.

Operating locally and in Asia, Europe and North America, our industrial designers and mechanical engineers strategically develop products from 'idea' to production parts for organisations aspiring to the world’s best in product innovation.

"Prototypes don't ship.”It’s a massive leap to develop a new medical device.It’s another challenge entirely to manufactu...
04/06/2026

"Prototypes don't ship.”
It’s a massive leap to develop a new medical device.
It’s another challenge entirely to manufacture it at scale and deliver it to market…

That gap is exactly what Steve Martinuzzo unpacked in his presentation at the recent Innovate Medtech Masterclass in Perth.

Presenting to a room full of medtech innovators, startups and researchers, Steve discussed the realities of taking medtech products from early concepts to market-ready products destined to reach and improve outcomes for patients and healthcare professionals.

The session covered critical considerations throughout the development process to ensure the end product will be compliant, efficient to manufacture, and intuitive to use.

It’s clear that WA has a wealth of innovative and entrepreneurial people in this space. So thank you Innovate Medtech for inviting us to be a part of the program. It was inspiring to hear the insights, challenges and triumphs from the other presenters and participants across the medtech industry.

Turning early-stage MedTech ideas into real, manufacturable products is rarely straightforward.That’s exactly what we’ll...
21/04/2026

Turning early-stage MedTech ideas into real, manufacturable products is rarely straightforward.
That’s exactly what we’ll be unpacking at the Innovate Medtech Masterclasses in Perth next month.

Our Managing Partner, Steve Martinuzzo, will be speaking at the conference, sharing practical insights from years on the front lines of MedTech product development.

The session will focus on the practical elements of translating early-stage MedTech ideas into viable products – including user-centred design, turning clinical needs into product requirements, prototyping, design for manufacture (DfM) and managing technical risk.

📍 One Two Five by Hub, 125 St Georges Terrace, Perth
📅 Friday 22nd May 2026
🎟️ Limited tickets available: Link in our bio.

We’ve been sitting on this for a while… It’s finally time to rip-off the wraps.The brief: a new addition to the Australi...
31/03/2026

We’ve been sitting on this for a while…
It’s finally time to rip-off the wraps.

The brief: a new addition to the Australian Rules awards trophy shelf - something to sit alongside the Brownlow, but from a completely different angle.

Instead of umpires awarding votes to players, this flips the model, recognising the umpire, as voted by our most elite players, for being the ‘Fairest & Best’ across the season.
Naturally, we said yes before asking too many questions.

Given yesterday’s news about Kylie, the AFL are holding off officially announcing this award's name. But as a hint, our in-house project name was “The Dermott”. We'll let you join the dots.

Design-wise, we landed on a moment everyone in footy knows - the split second of a holding-the-ball call. Equal parts confidence, chaos, and inevitable debate! Just the way we love our designs to land.

An unnamed Umpire’s Association spokesperson told us: “Mate, we’re stoked. After copping a season of 90-decibel calls for ‘BALL!’, to receive this awesome trophy on footy’s night of nights, one of our members will finally feel like they’ve got one right.”

Whether this concept makes it to the Brownlow stage… we’ll let you be the umpire of that. In the meantime, happy 1st of April.

12/02/2026

Some ideas are so clever, they feel obvious in hindsight.
YieldX's Omni-yield is one of those examples.

It started with a simple insight: greenhouse space is expensive, but young plants don’t need much of it.

This new hydroponic farming system uses accordion-like channels that start compacted while seedlings establish for maximum density, then expand as the plants grow. It’s a simple concept that unlocks dramatically more output from the same greenhouse footprint.

We’re proud to be involved and to see this system now operating full scale at the pilot site at Butler Market Gardens, growing huge volumes of basil for Woolworths.

Watch YieldX’s video to learn exactly how it works: https://youtu.be/Pz_3QjuHAg4?si=Gp3G4XjzL0cYtt2i

Sometimes, it’s nice to take a breath, look back, and appreciate the people around us who make a difference.For at least...
05/02/2026

Sometimes, it’s nice to take a breath, look back, and appreciate the people around us who make a difference.

For at least the last decade, we’ve done this every year - just before Christmas - under the banner of Cobalt Things of the Year, or “CTOTYAs” (cah-tot-yahs), around the office.

It’s a perfect end-of-year way to share some laughs as well as recognise individuals, project teams and their contributions to Cobalt.

Swipe through the images below to learn more about 2025’s stars: Justin Yuan, Lin Chen and the project team behind Artist Engineering Hardware, led by Warwick Brown.

🚀 Alchemist: Recognising individuals or a team who truly work their magic to create something special.

🤝 Co27: Recognising individuals who embody Cobalt’s team spirit - and then some.

🏆 Project of the Year: Recognising the team’s top-voted project of 2025.

2025:55 projects46 amazing clients5 awards for the trophy cabinetBefore we switch off for the year, we want to recognise...
19/12/2025

2025:
55 projects
46 amazing clients
5 awards for the trophy cabinet

Before we switch off for the year, we want to recognise the people and partnerships that have made it all possible.

To our clients, suppliers, and our own team – thank you for another year of exciting projects, meaningful work and game-changing outcomes.

Cobalt will be taking a break over the holiday period starting from Wednesday the 24th, returning on the 7th of January 2026.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 🎄
Bring on 2026 💪

Melbourne’s medtech capability is world-class.This map makes it clear… and we’re proud to be featured.Melbourne’s medtec...
04/12/2025

Melbourne’s medtech capability is world-class.
This map makes it clear… and we’re proud to be featured.

Melbourne’s medtech landscape remains one of the most connected and competitive in the world – a picture made clearer through BioMelbourne Network’s Biotech Ecosystem Map.

Cobalt is proud to sit within this ecosystem and contribute design and engineering that support medical and health innovation that improves (or even saves) lives globally. Thank you BioMelbourne Network for making it easier than ever for organisations to connect and collaborate. 🙌

Explore the map: https://wilam.com/home/ecosystemmap

24/11/2025

Three life-support technologies.
Powered by one console.

magAssist's platform demonstrates modular design at its best – a single console platform with multiple configurations and treatment pathways as clinical needs evolve.

This approach expands clinical capabilities for better patient outcomes, all while:
🔨 Minimising development and regulatory effort.
🩺 Streamlining clinician training.
⚙️ Reducing manufacturing costs.
🧑 Delivering a more consistent user experience.

AE HardwareBest in Category - Product DesignArtist Engineering Hardware has been crowned Best in Category (Product Desig...
17/11/2025

AE Hardware
Best in Category - Product Design

Artist Engineering Hardware has been crowned Best in Category (Product Design) at the 2025 Victorian Premier’s Design Awards ceremony 👏

Created by and developed with Artist Engineering, AE Hardware is an art-handling ecosystem that sets a new industry benchmark – eliminating direct contact with artworks altogether. Ultra-low-profile brackets, removable clips and specialised grips streamline the handling workflow while minimising risk at every stage.

Thank you Artist Engineering for trusting us with your ingenious idea – and to everyone who helped bring AE Hardware to life.

We’re excited to see AE Hardware continue to roll out, heading into the hands of art technicians around the world 🙌

In-depth look at AE Hardware: https://cobaltdesign.co/work/artist-engineering-hardware/

Creative Victoria

05/11/2025

“Every detail and every touchpoint feels exquisite and neat… The second you pick this product up, you can tell it has been professionally designed.“
– Good Design Awards Jury.

Handling is cited as one of the leading causes of damage or destruction to works of art.

Designed and developed in collaboration with Artist Engineering, AE Hardware is a fully non-contact art-handling ecosystem that directly addresses these handling risks and redefines industry best practice across all stages of packing, transport, and installation.

Following its Gold Good Design Award, this world-first solution has now been announced as a Victorian Premier’s Design Award Finalist.

From concept to industry benchmark – take a closer look at the story behind it: https://cobaltdesign.co/work/artist-engineering-hardware/

Good Design Australia
Creative Victoria

Address

17 Little Dryburgh Street N
North Melbourne, VIC
3051

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

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