A Guide to Grown-ups was created as part of a master’s degree in Sustainable Design. The book is based on the pressing need for behavioural change in a world struggling to keep up with sustainability goals. Birgitte not only regards children as invaluable assets in establishing and maintaining awareness of sustainable living in adults, but also believes that fostering positive mental health in early childhood makes a crucial contribution towards building a better world.
2021 Masters degree project | Guide to Grown-ups:
Download design outcome report:
Dissertation, research report, website, app, book proposal and book are available upon request.
2020 Masters degree project | Experimall:
How can shopping malls, such as The Bentalls Centre, be repurposed
in a meaningful way, to support sustainable development for society, while encouraging responsible consumer behavior, and help their visitors lead more fulfilling, purposeful lives?
Experimall is a proposal for malls to take responsibility for their role in a much needed paradigm shift in consumerism, while at the same time attracting a much needed increase in visitors. The aim of Experimall is to encourage responsible, sustainable consumption, promote human well-being and help malls survive by assuming a new role in society.
Full report, design outcome and essay available upon request.
2020 Masters degree project | Volunpeers:
The brief was to improve quality of life in London suburb Tolworth, which is one of many multicultural areas suffering from low levels of citizen well-being, and a lacking sense of belonging. The need for increased participation through creativity, adventure, generosity and curiosity has been identified, and calls for the development of further sociocultural initiatives have been made by local hub The Community Brain.
This proposal is an augmented reality smart phone app, with a uniquely branded community identity, which will help Tolworthians feel a sense of pride and belonging, encouraging them to think and act for the long term, while supporting them in realising their individual and collective ability to take part in shaping the future of their local environments.
Full research, design outcome and essay available upon request.
2020 Masters degree project | The Tolworthy app:
Our brief was to improve quality of life in London suburb Tolworth, which is one of many multicultural areas suffering from low levels of citizen well-being, and a lacking sense of belonging. The need for increased participation through creativity, adventure, generosity and curiosity has been identified, and calls for the development of further sociocultural initiatives have been made by local hub The Community Brain.
This proposal is an augmented reality smart phone app, with a uniquely branded community identity, which will help Tolworthians feel a sense of pride and belonging, encouraging them to think and act for the long term, while supporting them in realising their individual and collective ability to take part in shaping the future of their local environments.
Full research, design outcome and essay available upon request.
2019 Masters degree project | Kiss My KSS:
KISS MY KSS! is an imagined recurring campaign and competition run by also imagined Kingston School of Sustainability, aiming to motivate students, staff and visitors to live a more sustainable life, as well as become increasingly aware of their own power to change the world for the better.
The vague but thought-provoking teaser communication is positioned around the campus and online, with the aim of enticing people’s curiosity. The hashtag #kissmykss, which at first glance looks like a well known rude insult, is also the name of the campaign, which will become clear to everyone a week later when a wall arrangement will appear in reception encouraging people to take part in the campaign and competition.
Full research, design outcome and essay available upon request.
In 2008, when Birgitte couldn’t find a safe, practical way to shade her baby in the pram, she designed the SunSnoozer – and accidentally became an entrepreneur. With support from the British Library’s Business & IP Centre, her kitchen-table idea grew into a limited company; BabyBeamers. The SunSnoozer was featured in the Innovations section at the Olympia baby trade show, stocked nationwide by JoJo Maman Bébé, appeared on BBC2’s Britain’s Next Big Thing, and earned all five-star reviews from parents on Amazon – along the way teaching her more about business, resilience and the power of reality TV than she could have ever expected.
Baby Beamers | SunSnoozer:
The Pepo Project | Field trip to Kenya with Turner:
In 2006, while working as a graphic designer at Turner Broadcasting Europe, Birgitte won an internal essay competition to travel to Kenya with Turner’s president, head of CSR and a fellow colleague. Their brief was to document how the company’s annual UNICEF donations were making a difference on the ground, and to share those stories with Turner’s 850+ staff across Europe. On returning to London, Birgitte produced and narrated a short documentary, created a permanent staircase photo exhibition, designed and built a dedicated website, set up a fundraiser and hosted a joint presentation introduced by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, whose UNICEF documentary 'Where Have All the Children Gone?' had inspired the initiative.
Diary from the trip:
