November 25, 2024
ArtCenter College of Design explores the intersection of sustainability and design with discussion and screening of Seaweed Stories
Continuing its exploration of issues related to sustainable design, ArtCenter hosted Unwrapping the Future: Designing for a Sustainable Tomorrow on Monday, November 18. In the wake of the seaweed renaissance, the well-attended event featured a limited screening of the documentary Seaweed Stories, followed by a panel discussion in which participants explored the use and creation of sustainable materials by designers.
Seaweed Stories, presented by Lonely Whale, an award-winning nonprofit working to prevent plastic waste from entering the ocean, in association with conservation organization Re:wild, explores seaweed’s role as a multitasking sustainability superhero for those on a quest to replace thin-film plastics and sequester carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Executive-produced by ArtCenter Trustee and Founder of Trousdale Ventures, Phillip Sarofim and narrated by Forest Whitaker, the film takes a vibrant and global look at the wonders of the often-overlooked marine organism.
Following the screening, a panel of experts deliberated on the importance of design and storytelling in forging new pathways into a more sustainable future. The panel featured Seaweed Stories director, Jake Sumner, Julia Marsh; co-founder and CEO of Sway, a material innovation startup featured in the film, which won first place in The TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize powered by Lonely Whale; ArtCenter Associate Professor Kristine Upesleja, an expert in biomaterials and biofabrication; and Product Design and Designmatters alumna Margaux Reynolds (BS 19), senior design strategist at Designworks, a BMW Group Company.
Moderated by Jieon Choi (BS 24), a student ambassador for the College’s Engineering for One Planet grant-funded Sustainability Curriculum Project, the lively yet thought-provoking panel offered an opportunity for students to formulate new design methodologies. Students also directly engaged with industry experts in the following Q&A session.
Margaux noted that she had been interested in speculative design and biomaterials since she was a student at ArtCenter. Her current role in strategic foresight urged her to look into the future and approach sustainability from the innovation angle, a common practice at the College.
“When it comes to sustainability, it often requires us to come up with innovative approaches and the answer is often hidden in nature,” said president Karen Hofmann, adding that the event is another example of ArtCenter’s diverse programming that urges students to think creatively. “The College is dedicated to nurturing interdisciplinary talent at the intersection of design and technology with a focus on making our world a better place through radical collaboration.”
As part of ArtCenter's continuing mission to provide diverse extracurricular offerings and empower emerging designers, the event facilitated discourse among future innovators to solve one of humanity’s biggest challenges.
About Seaweed Stories and Lonely Whale
Seaweed Stories is presented by award-winning nonprofit Lonely Whale in conjunction with Unwrap the Future, the organization’s program dedicated to displacing traditional thin-films made from petrochemicals, which are nearly impossible to recycle. Launched by Lonely Whale, Unwrap the Future aims to accelerate the adoption of prize-winning plastic alternatives in order to reduce demand for traditional thin-films, which make up nearly half of all new plastic waste entering the ocean each year.
Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF4bSX74cl4
More information about the panelists can be found on the event page.
About the Panelists
Julia Marsh is the CEO and co-founder of Sway, a material innovation startup scaling seaweed-based, home-compostable packaging. Julia spent over a decade designing brand and packaging systems for consumer goods companies, technology startups, and design studios around the world. Her work is driven by a deep passion for regenerative design and biological circularity.
Jake Sumner is an award-winning director of documentaries and commercials for brands including Mastercard, Google and Carhartt. His films include Ron Delsener Presents (2023), which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2023 as a Spotlight documentary and screened at Hamptons International Film Festival; NYTimes Op Docs’ Bob of the Park (2019), which won the Jury prize at DOC NYC for best short documentary in 2019; Channel 4’s I Was There When House Took Over The World (2017); and Fantastic Man: Who is William Onyeabor? (VICE, 2014). Other projects include The Plastic Age with Pharrell Williams for Parley for the Oceans, Nike’s Everything is Practice with Spike Lee, and frequent collaborations with the artist KAWS.
Kristine Upesleja is the founder and manager of the Innovative Textiles & Materials Department at FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising. Upesleja has more than 25 years’ experience in fashion and design, with an expertise in sustainable fashion and biomaterials. She also teaches the Wearables: Material Futures course at ArtCenter, which focuses on exploring, making and growing materials in the lab. Kristine has been featured as an expert on wearable technology, smart fabrics, sustainable fashion and biomaterials/biofabrication on several international panels in China, Taiwan, Japan, Canada, Europe and the U.S, and in such publications as French Vogue and LA Magazine. She also has been a guest teacher and judge at UEDA, College of Fashion in Osaka for the past five years.
Margaux Reynolds began her career working for an investment firm, during which she developed a unique design approach that utilized both logic and research. Reynolds later started to work with scientists at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and strategists at BMW Designworks to create new opportunities through creativity and design. Reynolds prides herself for designing like an investor, with the hope of shaping and predicting the future. She also loves using her creativity to future-cast and build worlds that don’t exist yet. Reynolds uses design to create new pathways and find untapped opportunities in new and non-traditional places.
Jieon Choi is the Student Ambassador of ArtCenter’s EOP Sustainability Curriculum Project. Jieon is a problem solver trained across academic, military, and professional settings, known for finding unique solutions to industrial design and real-world challenges. As a student ambassador, Jieon represents student perspectives in department-wide efforts to integrate sustainable design processes into the industrial design curriculum, bridging technology, culture, and environmental responsibility.
Trousdale Ventures, is a privately held investment firm led by founder and CEO Phillip Sarofim. Its portfolio of groundbreaking companies improves quality of life by fueling advances in space and mobility, deep tech, climate tech, technology and better-for-you consumer products. Trousdale Ventures seeks to overcome barriers in the fields of health, productivity, and sustainability by democratizing wellness and accelerating innovation. For more on Trousdale Ventures, LLC visit www.trousdale.vc.
Lonely Whale is an award-winning non-profit whose mission ensures plastic waste does not find its way into the ocean. Founded in 2015 by Adrian Grenier and Lucy Sumner, Lonely Whale has spearheaded impactful global movements to raise awareness and offer alternatives to problematic plastics, convened a consortium of multinational brands to create the first global network of ocean-bound plastic supply chains, and supported the global youth movement with the tools and network needed to advance their efforts. Lonely Whale is fiscally sponsored by Re:wild, an organization established by a group of renowned conservation scientists and Leonardo DiCaprio to protect and restore the wild—the most effective solution to the interconnected climate, biodiversity and human health crises.
Sway is a material innovation startup headquartered in the California Bay Area. Its patented products match the vital performance attributes of conventional plastics and are designed to plug into existing infrastructure, enabling scale and massive impact. Unlike plastic, however, their materials are made from an abundant, regenerative resource and decompose into healthy soil after use. In 2024, Sway was named a Fast Company World Changing Idea. In 2023, Sway won first place in the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize powered by Lonely Whale. In 2021, Sway also won the Beyond the Bag Challenge sponsored by Closed Loop Partners and a consortium of major retailers. Sway’s solutions have garnered recognition from Vogue, Forbes, Business Insider and Fast Company. Learn more at swaythefuture.com.
ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 and is located in Pasadena, California. A global leader in art and design education, ArtCenter offers 11 undergraduate and seven graduate degrees in a wide variety of industrial design disciplines as well as visual and applied arts. Renowned for both its ties to industry and its social impact initiatives, ArtCenter is the first design school to receive the United Nations’ Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) status. Throughout the College’s long and storied history, ArtCenter alumni have had a profound impact on popular culture, the way we live and important issues in our society.
Contact
Marketing and Communications
ArtCenter College of Design
Keith Wang, Coordinator
keith.wang@artcenter.edu
626 396-2338
Anna Macaulay, Director, Campus Communications
anna.macaulay@artcenter.edu
626 396-2205
