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Heartless – illustration from Design for the Ocean

Design Research & Development

Design for the ocean

Creative methods and visual communication tools for marine science education.

About me
About graphic

I'm a designer and researcher exploring visual communication tools and methods in the environmental domain.

Over the past years, I have been working on multidisciplinary research projects alongside scientists at University of Porto, Loughborough University, and University of Leeds.

My current research aims to investigate more effective communication tools that can convey the impacts of anthropogenic climate change on marine systems in a way that encourages pro-environmental actions. In collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research at the University of Porto, I am investigating the psychological aspects of AR technology, integrating game design theory.

Rui Leitão signature

Ghost nets

Marine pollution Ghost fishing Emotional connections

Lost fishing nets that keep trapping marine life,
explored through sailors’ knots as a metaphor
for how emotions tangle and hold.

Visual explorations

Communication design Creative methods

Sketches, illustrations and creative methods
where I play with scientific concepts,
some real, most imagined.