I research the untapped potential of materials regarded as waste
I research the untapped potential of materials regarded as waste
My PhD research will explore the untapped potential of sea-derived waste materials and capture the narratives of people and places behind their origin, for transmedia outputs.
Developing ways of storytelling key messages about the environment and sustainability have become a constant goal in my career.
A curiosity about the paradoxical ephemerality of packaging in contrast to its enduring environmental footprint inspired in me a journey towards circularity.
Manila Bay Waterless Toilet Pilot (Loowatt). I worked in the delivery of this sanitation pilot from 2017 to 2020.
Notpla at the MAAT exhibition 'Plastic:Remaking our world'. I have supported Notpla since 2019 on the development of flexible films packaging and printing.
Metabin - A Home Bio-digester. MA Project, CSM, 2012.
A Sample of biodegradable polymer film, after weeks in an anaerobic digester. This was a common test to gauge a material´s true degradability.
Since September 2023, I am Ph.D. student in Digital Media at Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, namely in the doctoral program of the Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI), and the coordinators the Bauhaus of the Seas Sails Lighthouse project and consortium. The purpose of this EU funded initiative is among others to generate ‘ideas that lead to cleaning marine and fresh waters, restores degraded ecosystems and habitats, and decarbonises the blue economy.’
In my project, I aim to explore the untapped potential of cast ashore seaweed and marine litter; by utilising these resources as raw materials for ‘making’, I aim to uncover the stories of people connected to past seaweed harvesting practices, and places affected by seaweed ‘invasions’, usually coupled with unwanted plastic litter, with a goal to generate wider consumer and citizen engagement regarding the environmental impacts we face today.
I aim to connect these ‘Sea-derived’ Products to the digital part of the project, by the exploration of IoT technologies, to promote an interactive dialog, telling tales of origin and process and the people behind them, making this experience accessible to a wider audience.
As a Packaging Designer, I firstly worked in the food industry where I helped develop packaging systems in which packaging and machinery were developed alongside and developed an expertise in procuring novel packaging materials, of biobased and biodegradable origins, and designing for circular packaging systems.
Upon my Masters graduation, I joined the team of an award-winning tech start-up, Loowatt, which has developed a novel waterless toilet technology. Over the ten years I worked at Loowatt I was responsible for packaging design and materials procurement, media and communications, project design delivery and team management, in which role I interacted with HCI in practical terms. My last project with Loowatt was the implementation of a toilet pilot in Manila, with the goal of cleaning the waters of Manila Bay, a project that was funded by the Gates Foundation and the Manila Municipality. Loowatt was incubated in the Royal College of Art, an environment that promoted and inspired design innovation exchange, and where I had the privilege of encountering another distinguished technology startup, Notpla. This firm’s groundbreaking innovation focuses on the utilisation of seaweed and plants in the development of disruptive packaging solutions.
As a structural Packaging designer, I participated in the ‘Can you Fold it’? Tetrapak design challenge held in Sweden in 2014, where a cohort of 10 experts selected globally formed a team, aimed at solving design issues of the ‘Tetra Evero’ pack. This was the first external collaboration ever made by the company and resulted in successful solutions and IP generation.
The profession of industrial design has changed massively since I graduated in 2002 and the advances in digital media are shaping the meaning of what designers do, and how they do it; I have been consciously committed to acquiring digital media skills that compliment my design career.
Mentoring
I was a volunteer mentor for Masters' students within CSM´s programme between 2017 and 2019 and was invited to deliver a key presentation in CSM´s prestigious open lecture series "Design Transforms," in 2021. I have also supported research bioplastics projects with SWU and UCL universities in the UK.
I am originally from Brazil, and obtained a bachelor's degree in Industrial Design in 2002 from the Pontificia Universidade Católica of Rio de janeiro (PUC-RJ); In my first years in the design profession, I moved to the United Kingdom and for over fifteen years I built a professional career in London in product and packaging design, as well as pursuing a Masters of Arts (MA) at Central Saint Martins School of Arts and Design (UAL), from which I graduated in 2012. In the interim I obtained British citizenship.
The focus of my MA research investigated generating value from waste through critical lenses, a theme that led me to delve deeper into novel and disruptive non-oil derived materials, and to new narratives around the perception of value.
I moved to Lisbon from London in 2019, Portugal’s welcoming and dynamic cultural environment attracts national and foreign like-minded curious people yearning to create. I am eagerly anticipating the outcomes of this cross-cultural interaction and the collaborative endeavours that may emerge from our collective efforts.
Copyright © 2023 Fernanda Costa - All Rights Reserved.
Powered by GoDaddy
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.