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Humainprojects.
Humainprojects is a Vienna-based design project with an inclusive approach exploring the intersections of sociology, design, and critical research. We use design as a tool to investigate and respond to the complexities of contemporary life through a process that is deeply research-driven, collaborative, and socially engaged.
Our work moves across mediums and disciplines, often blending speculative design, field research, and sociological inquiry. We are not driven by aesthetics alone, but by questions: Who is included? What systems are we reproducing? How can design open new ways of thinking, relating, and acting?
Humain.
An inclusive coffee cup system for people with rheumatoid arthritis. Designed to restore dignity, preserve ritual, and support ageing in place. Shaped through dialogue in a retirement home and hospitals, Humain is the result of transdisciplinary collaboration across design, occupational therapy, ceramics, metal techniques and photography.
In response, this project explores the design of ergonomic and aesthetically considered coffee cups with a modular system of handles tailored to different gripping abilities. The shapes and functions of the components were developed step-by-step through a combination of expert interviews and observational studies. This research-led process ensured that real-world usability and context-specific feedback informed the design, without relying on assumptions or abstractions.
Beyond the practical function, the project also values the sensory and ritual dimension of drinking coffee. The aim was to develop an object that feels pleasant and natural in the hand, retains the familiar coffee experience and blends into social or domestic environments without stigma.
Project Team
Natalia Bakula – Design Research, Design and Concept Natalia Laskovaya – Technical Support Renderings Vera Grillmaier – Ceramic Artist
Derian Unterweger – Metal Technician
Marie Luise Baumschlager – Photography
In exchange with occupational therapist Solveig Hörath from „Theramobil“, her team and the hospitals „Göttlicher Heiland“ and „Barmherzige Schwestern“
Special thanks to
Design Investigations, Anab Jain, Stefan Zinell, Nikolas Heep, Die Angewandte, Gerald Pfaffl, Julia Geissler, Haus Wieden, Schott AG and Jakub Fülöp
As for the shooting support
Johanna Stadler and Wiltrud Breuss - for their outstanding work as models
Jana Wieland - for the beautiful clothing
Wienerglanz and Musselsandmuscles - for the stunning jewelry
Flowergirlmakeup - for the stunning hair & makeup
Hotel am Brillantengrund - for the amazing location
Zweigstelle Floralekonzepte - for the charming flower support
Humainprojects x Offsite at DDW25 with something.events
„Offsite has a deep appreciation for the work of Humainprojects. Their practice, grounded in care, presence and observation, closely aligns with Offsite’s own values. As an expression of that connection, the design and construction of the display were offered as a gift, born from shared purpose and creative solidarity.“
In response, this project explores the design of ergonomic and aesthetically considered coffee cups with a modular system of handles tailored to different gripping abilities. The shapes and functions of the components were developed step-by-step through a combination of expert interviews and observational studies. This research-led process ensured that real-world usability and context-specific feedback informed the design, without relying on assumptions or abstractions.
Beyond the practical function, the project also values the sensory and ritual dimension of drinking coffee. The aim was to develop an object that feels pleasant and natural in the hand, retains the familiar coffee experience and blends into social or domestic environments without stigma.
Project Team
Natalia Bakula – Design Research, Design and Concept Natalia Laskovaya – Technical Support Renderings Vera Grillmaier – Ceramic Artist
Derian Unterweger – Metal Technician
Marie Luise Baumschlager – Photography
In exchange with occupational therapist Solveig Hörath from „Theramobil“, her team and the hospitals „Göttlicher Heiland“ and „Barmherzige Schwestern“
Special thanks to
Design Investigations, Anab Jain, Stefan Zinell, Nikolas Heep, Die Angewandte, Gerald Pfaffl, Julia Geissler, Haus Wieden, Schott AG and Jakub Fülöp
As for the shooting support
Johanna Stadler and Wiltrud Breuss - for their outstanding work as models
Jana Wieland - for the beautiful clothing
Wienerglanz and Musselsandmuscles - for the stunning jewelry
Flowergirlmakeup - for the stunning hair & makeup
Hotel am Brillantengrund - for the amazing location
Zweigstelle Floralekonzepte - for the charming flower support
Humainprojects x Offsite at DDW25 with something.events
„Offsite has a deep appreciation for the work of Humainprojects. Their practice, grounded in care, presence and observation, closely aligns with Offsite’s own values. As an expression of that connection, the design and construction of the display were offered as a gift, born from shared purpose and creative solidarity.“
Other realities.
The cardboard game focuses on everyday situations in which players are forced to enter into the reality of other people and understand emotions and view their behaviour from different perspectives, including their own.
Players are therefore challenged to better understand and interpret themselves and others. Referring to the three different types of empathy, the game uses different forms of educational tools to stimulate and promote empathic awareness. The game is designed for adults, young and old. The context of everyday situations connects the players to their own experiences and also lets them have new experiences. It can be played in an evening with friends, creating mindful discussion and debate material about cultural conflicts.
This critical approach to our society allows the game to be played in an educational context. - To connect with each other and explain „otherness“ while creating space for greater understanding.
A huge thank you to everyone who supported this project
Tutors Secil Ugur Yavuz & Francesco Alessandro Faccin and Professors Alvise Mattozzi, Elisabeth Tauber & Alastair Fuad-Luke.
Special thanks to
Rachel Wolffe, Tiberio Sorvillo, Rebeka-Ivana Bakula, Donna Riedel, Marike Muller, Pianka Bhati, Jakub Fulop, Valentin Riegler, Markus Fischnaller & Antonio Piepo - and of course, my parents & friends.
Players are therefore challenged to better understand and interpret themselves and others. Referring to the three different types of empathy, the game uses different forms of educational tools to stimulate and promote empathic awareness. The game is designed for adults, young and old. The context of everyday situations connects the players to their own experiences and also lets them have new experiences. It can be played in an evening with friends, creating mindful discussion and debate material about cultural conflicts.
This critical approach to our society allows the game to be played in an educational context. - To connect with each other and explain „otherness“ while creating space for greater understanding.
A huge thank you to everyone who supported this project
Tutors Secil Ugur Yavuz & Francesco Alessandro Faccin and Professors Alvise Mattozzi, Elisabeth Tauber & Alastair Fuad-Luke.
Special thanks to
Rachel Wolffe, Tiberio Sorvillo, Rebeka-Ivana Bakula, Donna Riedel, Marike Muller, Pianka Bhati, Jakub Fulop, Valentin Riegler, Markus Fischnaller & Antonio Piepo - and of course, my parents & friends.
Shaping memory.
An upcycled fashion collection made from discarded nylon stockings.
Designed for leisure, this collection features comfortable yet elegant fashion pieces crafted from the waste of the Anthropocene. By repurposing the inherent strength and elasticity of nylon stockings, the garments not only enhance elegance but also provide gentle support for posture, combining sustainable design with functional sophistication.
Huge thanks to all of you for an incredibly great collaboration
Models: @mariabelovamariabelova @margo_merk
Hair and make up: @alias_nana0815
Shoes: @unikatessen
Space: @studiototale
Photography and Creative Direction: @nataliaanastazia
Designed for leisure, this collection features comfortable yet elegant fashion pieces crafted from the waste of the Anthropocene. By repurposing the inherent strength and elasticity of nylon stockings, the garments not only enhance elegance but also provide gentle support for posture, combining sustainable design with functional sophistication.
Huge thanks to all of you for an incredibly great collaboration
Models: @mariabelovamariabelova @margo_merk
Hair and make up: @alias_nana0815
Shoes: @unikatessen
Space: @studiototale
Photography and Creative Direction: @nataliaanastazia
Approaching Abandonment.
Approaching Abandonment is a project by Emilia Harle and Natalia-A. Bakula that seeks to uncover the often-overlooked human dimensions of emigration. Dimensions that are frequently lost in the polarized public debates of recent years.
The project began in Slavonija, a region in eastern Croatia, where the aim was set out to understand both the historical roots of emigration in the 1990s and the present-day experiences of those who have remained.
Deliberately moving away from purely theoretical inquiry, an empirical approach was chosen. One grounded in direct engagement with people’s everyday realities. This shift allowed to test and refine earlier conceptual frameworks through real-world encounters.
At the heart of the project is a deep concern with the moral and practical implications of translating lived experience into creative expression. Rather than speaking about emigration in the abstract, Approaching Abandonment invites the viewer to consider the personal, often invisible costs of leaving and of staying behind.
Project Team
Natalia Bakula – Design Research, Design and Concept, Photography
Emilia Harle – Emigration Research, Fieldwork, and Community Studies
Advisors
Secil Ugur Yavuz
Francesco Faccin
Guidance in Croatia
The Institute of Emigration, Zagreb,
The project began in Slavonija, a region in eastern Croatia, where the aim was set out to understand both the historical roots of emigration in the 1990s and the present-day experiences of those who have remained.
Deliberately moving away from purely theoretical inquiry, an empirical approach was chosen. One grounded in direct engagement with people’s everyday realities. This shift allowed to test and refine earlier conceptual frameworks through real-world encounters.
At the heart of the project is a deep concern with the moral and practical implications of translating lived experience into creative expression. Rather than speaking about emigration in the abstract, Approaching Abandonment invites the viewer to consider the personal, often invisible costs of leaving and of staying behind.
Project Team
Natalia Bakula – Design Research, Design and Concept, Photography
Emilia Harle – Emigration Research, Fieldwork, and Community Studies
Advisors
Secil Ugur Yavuz
Francesco Faccin
Guidance in Croatia
The Institute of Emigration, Zagreb,
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