ALUMNI

STORIES
 AKYOL
RÜYA

Master in Product Design

Country: Turkey

Role: Founder, Rüya Akyol Studio

Rüya Akyol gained her Master

in Degree in Product Design at
Domus Academy in 2016 after a
Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial
and Product Design from
Istanbul Technical University.

Domus Academy is not only a school but a whole

experience that directs you towards becoming the
designer you wish to be. The education prepares
you for the real design world by creative projects
and the network of the school connects you to the
people and places that shape your career.
 She worked many years as designer and studio director with
Claudio Bellini in Milan and Philippe Starck in Paris, before
eventually established her own studio in Milan.

Rüya Akyol Studio, a Milan and

Istanbul-based design and consultancy
firm, provides product, furniture, and
spatial design, as well as brand identity
and art direction services.

The designer’s style is a synthesis of

contemporary Italian and minimalist
Scandinavian.

The holistic design

approach that the
studio embraces, creates
homogeneous and clear
brand identities.
TORRES

Master in Product Design

Country: Colombia

Role: Founder, Design by Rodrigo Torres

He graduated in Industrial Design

from Bogota’s Jorge Tadeo
University in 1998 and gained his
Master in Product Design from
Domus Academy in 1999.
Everything started from there. Domus
Academy opened my eyes to the world
of design and all its possibilities, and it
gave me incredible friends and teachers
who have been extremely important to my
professional success.

Following his studies, he worked for five years at

Stefano Giovannoni’s product and furniture design
studio in Milan.

In 2004, he founded his own Milan studio, Design by Rodrigo

Torres. His clients include major international companies such
as Alessi (Italy), Poliform (Italy), Oras (Finland), Cassina IXC
(Japan), Landscapeforms (USA), Nike (USA), Microsoft (USA /
with MNML), Domodinamica (Italy), Potocco (Italy), Challenger
(Colombia), and Zientte (Colombia), among others.
At Domus Academy, I learned to think
differently and to witness the key
cultural, environmental, and economic
role of design in the development and
improvement of our world.

Rodrigo is three-times winner of the Lapiz

de Acero Design Award, two-times winner
of the Red Dot Award, and four-times
winner of the Good Design Award.
 He served as a visiting professor and project
leader in both the Master in Product Design and
Master in Interaction Design courses at Domus
Academy. He is also a visiting professor at the
Istituto Europeo di Design in Turin.

He held workshops at universities and

companies in Italy, Mexico, the United States,
and Colombia.

His work has been highlighted in some of the most important

design publications and exhibitions in Europe, Asia, and America.
KITTIMA

Master in Fashion Management

Country: Thailand

Role: Founder, KITTIMA

Born in Bangkok, Kittima Kwangnok graduated in 2007

from Khon Kaen University in northeastern Thailand with
a Master in Business Management.

She enrolled in the Master in Fashion Management

programme at Domus Academy in 2012.
In 2015, Kittima launched her brand KITTIMA and
came out with her first collection, which was selected
by Vogue Talents in its New Talents section and was
showcased during Milan Fashion Week at Palazzo
Morando in February 2015.

Studying at Domus Academy, I had many

opportunities to work with several prime brands such
as Versace, Valentino, and Mont-Blanc. The outcomes
and experiences working with these brands in the
fashion and business fields are what has developed
my true passion—which is not only my brand but what
my brand stands for, too: a chic and sophisticated
style with a positive and quirky edge to it.
In 2016, Kittima was selected by the Triennale di Milano and
Camera Della Moda Italiana to show her work in the exhibition
The New Vocabulary of Italian Fashion.

Kittima began consulting with the government of

Thailand, helping them with trade issues relating
to design and fashion. She helped orchestrate the
Department of International Trade Promotion
(DITP)’s Pop-Up Store Project to promote Thai
designs in Milan.

In 2017, she presented her Spring/Summer

2018 collection at TRANOÏ show, during Paris
Fashion Week.

The Philosophy of KITTIMA focuses on “Made in Italy” materials

and craftsmanship, and timeless, high-quality pieces. The brand
itself is all about diversity and multiculturalism. Kittima’s Thai
background is the crux of her brand.
SABAJI

Master in Fashion Design

Country: Lebanon

Role: Founder, Jean-Louis Sabaji

Jean-Louis Sabaji is a Lebanese Fashion

designer based in Jounieh, Lebanon.
He was introduced to the fashion world
at his father’s atelier, where he was used
to spend time from his infancy.
 His passion for Fashion brought
him to Milan, gaining a Master
in Fashion Design at Domus
Academy in 2011, where he learned
a unique way of thinking and
design.

Domus Academy was a major transition in my life,

during my year there I learned to look at things in
a different perspective and I was taught to analyse
concepts in a whole new way.
[Jean - Louis Sabaji

Later, he founded his own brand gaining lot

of success and visibility starting from his SS18
collection which attracted many celebrities
like Toni Garrn, Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé and
Allison Williams who wear his dresses on red
carpets around the world.
His Fall-Winter 2020 collection has been
inspired by the mythological goddess Lilith,
reinterpreting her story to celebrate women and
their potency.
SABRINA

Master in Business Design

Country: Brazil

Role: Graphic Designer at Salesforce

Sabrina Theumann Diaz is a Brasilian graphic and

business designer. She grew up in Brazil, then studied
in Germany and worked in Switzerland, Germany and
Italy. This mixed background makes her able to build a
good understanding of working in different countries
and with different cultures.

She gained her Master Degree in Business

Design at Domus Academy in 2009.
The year I spent at Domus Academy was very
useful for my career, as I was able to learn
about Design Thinking and how companies
can profit from it in various areas. I also
learned a lot from my fellow international
students, some became very good friends
until this day and they gave me more insight
on Corporate Communications.

Before joining Salesforce, where she currently works for, she

worked as a Corporate Graphic Designer for the past 15 years
in international companies in various areas (Education, Arts,
Industry, Travel, B2B, B2C, Automotive and Tech).
 JANAY

Master in Luxury Brand Management

Country: Barbados

Role: Strategist & Project Manager

Studio Five Creative

With a background in business marketing and

luxury branding, Janay Cumberbatch connects
business sensibility with a discerning eye for
design. After earning her Bachelor’s in Business
Administration with a focus on marketing &
branding, she worked as a business developer
in her native Barbados for Sea Reinas swimwear,
where she developed blogger collaborations and
expanded the brand’s social media presence.

My passion lies with drawing meaningful brand

connections that inevitably change the hearts and
minds of people, along with guiding brands to a place
of cultural relevance.
Domus Academy has truly been one of my
most enlightening experiences. Beyond
being surrounded and influenced by inspiring
mentors, leaders, and classmates, Domus
Academy provided me with the tools,
confidence, and exposure to fulfill my career
dreams.

She graduated cum laude from Domus Academy with a Master

in Luxury Brand Management in 2017. During the workshops she
collaborated with the brands Salvatore Ferragamo, YOOX NET-
A-PORTER, 10 Corso Como, and Slowear. She then interned at
Slowear as a content creator and copywriter.

My goal is to infuse intentionality into every

facet of a brand’s strategy, starting from the
building blocks of research insight, through to
conceptualization and strategic vision.

Janay worked as junior strategist at AKQA in Venice, where

she conducted detailed strategic analysis of market trends,
competitive landscapes, and customer needs for clients such as
Lamborghini, Ducati, Inter Milan, and Police Eyewear. Now
she is working as Strategist & Project Manager at Studio Five
Creative, Barbados.
 TUCCI

Master in Interaction Design

Country: Italy

Role: Design Consultant - Creative

Director Visual & Experience Landing
Products Innovation

He graduated in “Industrial design for fashion” at La Seconda

Università degli Studi di Napoli, faculty of Architecture in 2007
and then gained his Master Degree in Interaction Design in
Milano at Domus Academy in 2008.

I would not be where I’m without

Domus Academy and people at Domus
Academy.
He has been working for many
businesses during his career, from
agencies to corporates with the
goal of scaling design impact.

At Nokia & HERE, he worked as Horizontal Design Principal, part

of the design leadership team, being a key player for .com strategy
definition and implementation with a +35% NPS increase. As an
individual specialist, Gianpaolo looked horizontally after product’s
alignment, evolution and innovation for Mobility, Customer
Experiences and Design Forward innovation team

At Google, he worked towards the

revamping of the new Google account
GDPR privacy regulation on web and
web mobile platforms, influencing
material design 2 pattern definition for
web and web mobile platform.
 He was recently awarded with a Silver
Lion and a Bronze Lion at Cannes, the
international festival of creativity with
an auditory project, carried out at R/GA
London, to improve digital storytelling
for the visually impaired.

Gianpaolo founded and directed Atelier

About, a Berlin-based fashion brand that has
got massive great feedback and perception
after just one year of life. Atelier About has
been featured in Vogue Italy, Vogue Germany,
L’Officiel Italy, L’Officiel Netherlands, I-D,
FFFFFFucking Young, WWD, Actung, and
many more.
Gianpaolo, combining his passion for both art and
technology, is currently focusing on Artificial Intelligence
and Machine Learning potential as a possible game changer
when applied to design processes and creative discovery. In
particular, he is focusing on how AI can change the landscape
of typography with his project @Aesthetics_Imperfections.

Currently, he is working as Design Consultant for and with

various Corporates Brand and Agencies.
 DAMANI

Master in Interaction Design

Country: India

Role: Interaction Designer, Design

Group Italia

Born in Bangalore, India, in 1991 Megha gained her Master in

Interaction Design at Domus Academy in 2018.

Having 4 years of prior experience in UX design,

Domus Academy gave me a platform where I
could explore and apply interaction design to
a variety of fields like visual merchandising
& identity design that helped me broaden my
experience and learn from a diverse team!
With a penchant for UX Design, Research, Technology, Design
Process, and Digital Tools, she is currently working as Interaction
Designer at Design Group Italia. Her keen interest lies in research,
analysing and solving complex data and customer process
scenarios.

She worked aside mechanical engineers, developers, as well as the

C-level management to achieve the goal of the user and business-
centric experience design.

Previous to her Master at Domus Academy, she worked for 3

years at Salesforce.com in Bangalore, India, as a UX Designer and
other MNC’s like EMC2 and Emids, honing her skills in security,
analytics, CRM’s and healthcare sectors.

Megha also continues to work as an independent User Experience

Consultant for startups, technology, and digital agencies.