About
Bubaki Design is a creative studio in Limerick, Ireland. We make interactive installations and experiential works for public spaces, festivals, and galleries — using electronics, sound, light, and material craft to design things worth stopping for.
Built to be played with.
The work starts from a simple question: what would make someone stop? Not because they're directed to — but because something is happening that they can't quite walk past. We design and build interactive installations around that question.
Each piece we make is a failure as a solo experience. It only works properly when there are other people around.
Founded 2021, Limerick, Ireland.
Co-founded by Jose Luis Berna Moya and Catherine Ireton. We take commissions for interactive installations, educational workshops, and collaborative research, and work with artists, institutions, festivals, and public bodies in Ireland and internationally.
Our practice combines bespoke electronics, acoustic and sonic design, spatial storytelling, and hands-on fabrication — traditional craft alongside digital tools. We are makers of things that don't exist yet.
The core team.
Portrait of Jose Luis Berna Moya — studio or workshop setting, natural light
Jose Luis Berna Moya
Electronics · digital fabrication · interactive systems
PhD in Human-Computer Interaction (University of Sussex), specialising in haptics, multisensory technologies, and interactive displays. Lecturer in Digital Fabrication and Creative Computing at Limerick School of Art & Design (TUS). Designs and builds the electronics, sensors, and embedded systems that run every installation. Research work →
Portrait of Catherine Ireton — performance or outdoor setting, expressive, natural
Catherine Ireton
Sound design · vocal performance · concept development
MA in Music and Sonic Media. Over a decade making immersive and participatory work for international venues and festivals, including the Shanghai International Arts Festival, Macau Fringe Festival, and Seoul Central Railway Station. Leads the sonic identity, spatial experience, and concept development of the studio's work. Performance archive →
Portrait of John Ireton — architectural or public-space setting, professional
John Ireton
Architecture · spatial design · material experimentation
Registered architect (RIAI). Four years at Foster + Partners; work across Germany, Bali, the UK, and Ireland. Brings structural and spatial thinking to every project — translating ideas into buildable, site-specific solutions, and leading material research and fabrication across the studio's practice.
Who we've worked with.
- Limerick City & County Council
- Future Limerick Festival
- FabLab Limerick
- Culture Night Ireland
- Milton Keynes Islamic Arts & Culture
- Attenborough Centre for Creative Arts, Brighton
- Acoustic Ecology Festival
- Sussex Entrepreneur of the Year — Winner 2021
Let's Make Something
Commissions, collaborations, residencies, and research partnerships.