Studying mechanical drafting at Melbourne Technical College (now RMIT University) in the late 1930s, Joyce Coffey was a pioneer of industrial design in Australia. She was the first woman to achieve recognition as an industrial designer in a major Australian manufacturing business, Kempthorne Lighting. Working as a team with her husband James Selwyn Kempthorne Coffey, they designed and developed an extensive range of domestic light fittings for Kempthorne Lighting. By 1946 Joyce Coffey was named chief designer and today, the company is recognised for inspiring the widespread adoption of modern style lamps in Australian homes.