Hi there!
I am Nathalie Overdevest, PhD. I am a Dutch industrial designer, design researcher and assistant lecturer based in Melbourne, Australia
I specialise in embodied interactions and design for specific users, such as people with a disability. As a designer, I believe that design should support people in living their lives how they want. To achieve this, I believe that interactive designs should empower the user – in my PhD that was: to remember in a way that suits them. In my design work, this view of empowerment is implemented through methods of co-design and the creation of open-ended interactive designs, which users can interpret and use according to their needs.
I particularly enjoy fuzzy front end of design: open design questions that require wide exploration are what I like to sink my teeth into. My strength is in creating interesting concepts and communicating these – visually, verbally, or interactively. I prefer involving the target group in the design process, as I believe that those affected by the product should be able to influence the design and their experience is valuable input for this process.
Education
Sep 2014 - Jan 2019
BSc Industrial Design
University of Twente.
Thesis: Creating Design Guidelines for Human-Autonomous Machine Interfaces.
Sep 2018- Jan 2019
Semester abroad
Linköping University.
Courses: Swedish, Digital Circuits, Wood Realisation, Nanotechnology, and Industrial Automation.
Feb 2019 - Aug 2021
MSc Industrial Design Engineering
University of Twente.
Thesis: Creating a Toolkit That Empowers Young Autistic Adults to Create Personal Products That Promote Independence.
Graduated cum laude.
June 2022 - Oct 2026
PhD Human-Centred Computing
Exertion Games Lab, Monash University; Materialising Memories, University of Technology Sydney. Supervised by: Prof. Florian ‘Floyd’ Mueller and Prof. Elise van den Hoven.
Thesis: Supporting Embodied Remembering through Interactive Designs.
Experience
Aug 2016 - June 2021
Teaching assistant & coordinator
Supporting Design Sketching courses during class and making schedules for fellow teaching assistants, for Industrial Design and Creative Technology, University of Twente.
Sep 2020 - June 2021
Occasional teacher
Teaching Design Sketching courses for Industrial Design, University of Twente.
Sep 2021 - Feb 2022
Junior researcher
Project: Design Your Life, aimed at co designing a toolkit with and for autistic young adults, empowering them to create custom personal technologies. Department of Design and Product Management, Faculty of Engineering, University of Twente.
Aug 2023 - Dec 2023
Teaching assistant
Teaching applied classes for FIT2175, FIT3175, and FIT5152 (Usability), Monash University.
Feb 2025 - Nov 2026
Assistant lecturer
Teaching applied classes for FIT2175, FIT3175, and FIT5152 (Usability), Monash University. From July 2026, I also teach IDN1002 (Drawing as part of Design Studio), also at Monash University.
Achievements
CHI 2025: SV Award
“Helping Hand Hero SV Award” for being the “Best Hybrid Team Student Volunteer” during the 2025 edition of the Computing and Human Interaction conference.
Monash Education Academy: Recognition of Teaching Excellence
In May 2026, I received this recognition based on my performance teaching applied classes for FIT3175 (Usability) at Monash University.
Activities
Creating visual notes (streamed live)
IEEE VIS 2023, Melbourne, Australia.
Co-organiser (Local Arrangements Chair) Augmented Humans 2024, Melbourne, Australia.
Student volunteer
CHI 2025, Yokohama, Japan
Co-organiser (Visual Designer)
SportsHCI 2025, Enschede, the Netherlands
Personal life
I spend my spare time bouldering and ballroom dancing, or creating sweet treats. Otherwise, you can find me at an exhibition or in a park with my sketchbook in hand. I enjoy reading and watching science fiction and fantasy, which regularly inspires my designs. Finally, travelling feeds my curiosity – this is where I will do most of my quick sketches and where I find surprising traffic signs to add to my photo collection.