Aura Murillo is a Mexican experience designer and curator whose work centres on the intersection between design, art and science, focusing on social issues, human behaviour and emotions.
She obtained a BA in industrial design from Centro de Investigaciones de Diseño Industrial National (CIDI) at the Autonomous University of Mexico, an MA from the Royal College of Art and MSc from Imperial College London. Her design and curatorial project have been exhibited in Mexico, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Italy, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, London and Singapore.
Aura began developing design projects that explore death following the passing of a loved one, which led to the development of her current startup Resting Reef, founded together with Louise Skajem. As a memorial service, Resting Reef makes a future for the deceased’s cremated remains by transforming them into reefs that regenerate marine biodiversity. As a design project, it aims to rethink how we process grief and commemorate those who have passed.
Resting Reef was a finalist in the Terra Carta Design Lab initiative created by Sir Jony Ive and King Charles III and has been recognized in exhibitions of innovation in design, such as Dutch Design Week, the London Design Biennial, Prototypes for Humanity in Dubai, Maddy Keynote and the Netexplo Awards in Paris.