Design, Illustration, sustainability
About Me
education, research, communications
I help people design our collective future, where regeneration is paramount, and awareness is coupled with action.
With two decades of experience designing and producing local and international manufactured consumer goods, I bring a wealth of experience to my work in design, sustainability and systems change.
the intersection of design & sustainability are my focus AS I desigN, writE, teach & speak globally on theSE TOPICS.
I have always been deeply involved in every aspect of the design process, from creative + art direction, brand, product and concept development, design through to production and marketing, strategy, sales, forecasting, illustration, packaging, editorial, textile, retail, product and photoshoot production, mentoring, consulting, high level budget, contract negotiation and team management.
My experience spans industries - from metals to fabric to beer to digital - informed by decades spent travelling to factories and with manufacturers, and creating workshops and products for a broad spectrum of for, and not for profit, organizations.
My background is international, working and travelling in a number of cultural contexts and countries in North America, Europe, China, India and broader South East Asia.
With a stack of design & illustration awards, my work has been in Harrods, Nordstrom, Barneys, Fred Segal, Galleries Lafayette, movies, TV, magazines, stadiums, on celebrities, been featured by the Smithsonian and appears in academic textbooks. I’ve created multi-million dollar programs for retail giants, worked on global social media activation campaigns, and educational systems around the world for both corporate and large NGOs such as the United Nations and Oxfam.
With a Master’s degree in sustainable design and as a PhD candidate exploring the cross-section impact of corporate and government sustainable product policy within design departments, my on the ground experience is supplemented by science based research capacity.
Let’s work together.
core SERVICES
CREATIVE DIRECTION
MENTORING & CONSULTING
DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION
FROM THE FACTORY FLOOR
I have been to +35 cities in China. From top to bottom, and side to side of India. Around Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Europe, all looking to more deeply understand how the decisions designers make affect our planet and people. I’ve worked in beautiful factories cleaner than my kitchen, and walked out of unsafe and horrifying spaces where top brands were being made in rooms not tall enough to stand up in.
Our supply chains are murky and shielded with secrecy. As a designer, it is our responsibility to understand how, where and who is producing the results of our creative efforts. And to do that, we need to understand and reflect on what we consider acceptable in our personal and professional practice. How do you know if you’ve crossed a line, if you don’t know where the line is?
What I’ve found to be universal through all these experiences is the amount of diversity, creativity and opportunity we have for making the products and services we use everyday better, starting from the design and cascading down through the entire life cycle.
@EMMASEGAL
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
IDSA: WOMEN+DESIGN SUMMIT
GREEN BIZ: CIRCULARITY CONFERENCE
DESIGN COUNCIL UK: DESIGN FOR PLANET FESTIVAL
ELLEN MACARTHUR: DISRUPTIVE INNOVATIVE FESTIVAL
GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK: THE CONSCIOUS FESTIVAL
THRIVE TALKS
MOUNTAIN LIFE PODCAST
TALKS FOR VARIOUS UNIVERSITIES & SCHOOLS
I need design work
I need change support
CLIENTS + COLLABORATORS