Lachlan Mackay is on a mission to reshape industrial design. The Melbourne-based industrial and product designer, and founder of Space-man Studio, believes that when it comes to design — especially industrial design —  the most important consideration is empathy and getting inside people’s heads.

Lachlan Mackay lives and breathes design. This is evident from the moment you meet him — provided he’s wearing short sleeves. On his forearm, amidst a number of other quirky and cute tattoos, is a black ink line drawing of a chair with a heart cut out of the backrest. Mackay really does wear his heart – and his craft – on his sleeve.

While it might be tempting to say that his passion and energy stem from youthful innocence, the truth is quite the opposite. As we know, the design industry requires decades of dedication, sleepless nights, and blood, sweat and tears to truly make an indelible mark.

Industrial design, and more specifically the artisanal drive to design and make with his hands, is part of Mackay’s DNA. “I’ve always drawn and made things,” he says.  “I started out sewing through school and university. During uni, I started making bags and soft goods. In my mind, it’s the perfect intersection because you can do a lot of it by hand. I didn’t need to be skilled in terms of having access to laser cutters or welders or anything like that.” 

So how does a man who grew up in Rowville, a small, semi-rural hamlet nestled in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, and who didn’t spend a lot of time in the city until moving to Melbourne’s Inner North for his design degree, come to found a design studio and collaborate with some of the most well-established names in the industry, including iconic French luxury brand Christian Dior? 

In every creative’s journey, there are defining moments. The first for Mackay was going on a six-month exchange to Newcastle Polytechnic — now Northumbria University — in the final year of his design degree. Spending a brief yet formative period at the prestigious design school, where legendary Apple designer Jony Ive studied, opened Mackay’s mind. “I developed the confidence to communicate ideas and collaborate with people from different walks of life,” Mackay says. “I made some great friends, and what was even better was that everyone was pushing the envelope and doing weird things. It was so motivating. I’m still motivated by them, even though I’m now back here [in Australia].”

Albeit brief, Mackay’s time in the United Kingdom shaped his concept of what it meant to be creative and collaborative. It also gave him the confidence to fully lean into what he subconsciously knew he was destined to be. 

After graduating from Swinburne University with an honours degree in industrial design in 2018, Mackay went on to work in the retail commercial fitout industry. This fast-paced, high-pressure, tight-budget, deadline-driven environment is perhaps the second pivotal moment along his path towards founding Space-man Studio. “Most of my career, my nine-to-five, was designing and developing retail displays and store fitouts. I worked with brands like Dior, Mecca Cosmetica, Sarah & Sebastian. I learned how to be extremely fast-paced and developed the skill to think through everything that’s happening at the same time.” 

Despite the demands of his nine-to-five — which in some cases was more of a nine-to-three-am —Mackay managed to find space for furniture design and his pursuit of an aesthetic style he refers to as soft brutalism. As with many of the most significant moments in life, it began by accident. “I randomly met one of the designers at Christopher Blank, a furniture design and manufacturing company based in Mornington,” Mackay recalls. “We got on really well, we clicked, and she asked me to start doing some freelance design for them. Over the last four years, I’ve probably worked on over 200 projects with Christopher Blank and independently.” 

The combination of retail fitout design and execution, combined with being a trusted collaborator to interior designers across all levels, has given Mackay a well-rounded tool kit. But, design is about so much more than the hard skills of sketching, CAD drawing, prototyping, engineering and manufacturing.  For Mackay, design is about engaging thoughtfully with both the problem and people in equal measure. 

When asked what motivated him to make the bold leap to go all in with Space-man Studio, Mackay pauses. Gazing wistfully into the tan and white swirl atop his latté, Mackay says, “Space-man Studio is about people; helping them see their own vision”. Becoming more animated, he adds: “For me, my process starts with understanding where my client is coming from. I want to understand what they really want. I want to get inside their minds — not in a weird way! I think being very empathetic as a designer and getting the vibe is something I’m very good at. Empathy and understanding is what I hang my hat on.” 

Space-man Studio, as a design vehicle, is less about Mackay the individual and more about Mackay as a big-picture thinker and conduit for bringing designers’ visions to life. In many respects, Mackay casts himself consciously in the role of astronaut. Levitating above it all, observing and taking it all in, and bringing everything together seamlessly when he comes back down to land.

Working with Sally Knibbs, co-founder of  Sally Caroline, one of Melbourne’s most well-respected interior designers, was the third defining moment for Mackay. In fact, collaborating with Knibbs to develop Lunetta — a suite of elegant stools and chairs that strike a perfect balance between Hollywood Regency and laid-back Australian luxe — was a catalysing moment. “Sally was very much championing me to get out and start trying to do this and pushing what I do,” Mackay says. “If it wasn’t for Sally’s encouragement and mentoring, I don’t think Space-man would have come to life quite like this. I’ve always been encouraged by colleagues and friends, but for someone from outside of my personal circle to give me an opportunity that  resulted in Lunetta being shortlisted for the IDEA awards was life-changing.”

While Space-man Studio might be in its infancy in an official context, it has been many years in the making. Like an astronaut, Mackay has been putting in the hours, honing his skills and “sharpening my tools to really understand what I like and how I want to work”. This translates into a design studio that solves problems and addresses needs of all shapes and sizes. “As long as it sits well with my values as a designer and the ethos behind Space-man, and offers a sense of intrigue, I’m going to engage. I don’t want to get boxed in.”

This empathetic, problem-solving approach, together with Mackay’s ability to visualise the potential in an idea and his drive to continually create, will inevitably continue to propel his career forward. For Mackay, nothing is impossible and the sky truly is the limit. 

This article originally appeared in issue 120 of inside magazine. Grab your copy here.