Raya Azar — Industrial & Product Designer, Toronto

Portfolio — 2026

Industrial & product design
Toronto / worldwide
9 yrs · MA, RCA

Nine years
making things that make it
past prototype.

What I do

Furniture, objects, and the occasional stranger thing — from concept and material exploration through iteration, supplier coordination, and the factory floor.

What I’m open to

Freelance commissions in physical product and furniture. Full-time Industrial Design and Product Developer roles. Toronto, remote, or relocating.

Get in touch

hello@rayaadesign.com
LinkedIn
Behance

Featured in Core77
MA Design Products, RCA
Worked across 6 countries
9 years in practice
Currently based in Toronto
Featured in Core77
MA Design Products, RCA
Worked across 6 countries
9 years in practice
Currently based in Toronto

01 — Selected Work

Selected projects,
ordered by relevance.

A mix of commissioned, self‑initiated, and academic work. Full case studies on each page — the quick version is below.

Tree Coaster

Coasters cut from fallen urban timber — a study in letting the tree decide the shape.

Akwaaba door handle — sculptural brass door handle inspired by West African greeting gestures

Akwaaba

A door handle that welcomes. Form derived from a greeting gesture.

Flat Furniture — flat-pack seating system featured by Core77 in 2023

Flat Furniture

2023FurnitureCore77

A flat-pack seating system built to ship in a panel and assemble without tools. Featured by Core77.

Modular Cutlery Set — nesting utensils designed for compact storage and shared meals

Modular Cutlery Set

Cutlery that nests. One drawer, one silhouette, one gesture to separate.

Collapsible Furniture — foldable furniture system for small-space living

Collapsible Furniture

Furniture that folds down to the footprint of a book.

Bedside Timer — tactile analog timer for the nightstand

Bedside Timer

Analog, tactile, quiet. For anyone reclaiming the last ten minutes of the day.

Material Exploration — studies in industrial design materials and processes

Material Exploration

A year of pressing, casting, sanding, and failing. Process notes.

Flood Prevention through Trash — community-scale drainage system built from reclaimed plastic waste

Flood Prevention through Trash

A community-scale drainage intervention built from the very waste that was clogging it.

Plastic Gun — speculative product design study exploring material politics and manufacturing

Plastic Gun

2023Speculative

A speculative piece on material politics, and what plastic tells us about intent.