Category: Sustainable Futures

Capri’s Carrier Bag and Start Kit

Hey, this is Capri, a suitcase girl who is dreamed of exploring the world and trying everything new.

Look! On the top left, an adorable polar bear and she are crawling with their bellies low to the ground. On the Africa continent, she walks abreast with a massive bull elephant holding her notebook that records exciting stories that happened between her and this region. Going up to the top right, you will see the suitcase girl is climbing. She excitingly shouts, “I’m on the top of the mountain!” On the bottom, that girl is swimming with a whale in the vast and endless ocean.

The girl is also me. I regard myself as an open suitcase, an inclusive container because I hope that I can always be on the way open-mindedly to practice in different fields, absorb the diverse culture and understand the unique social contexts that build up multiple opinions.

Of course, some essential tools in my “suitcase body” support me to start exploration at any time:

# A pair of shoes and that is quite comfortable can take me anyway.

# Eyes. My treasure is to observe the world.

# A notebook. The tool of record and self-reflection.

# One bottle. Help me stay energetic.

Luna’s carrier bag and start kit

Hi, I’m Wang Zitong. You can call me Luna.

This is my bag. It’s closer to a toolkit that allows me to implement all kinds of ideas.

『Learning』

Pens, sketchbooks, folders, and computers record my thoughts and research.

『Sustainable』

I like to reduce waste and live a sustainable lifestyle. “Milk tea” is a popular drink in China. I like this drink, too. But every time you buy a cup of milk tea, you get a lot of plastic packaging. I reuse the packaging as much as possible. But most of the time, I choose to make my own milk tea with milk and black tea.

『Fashion Styling』

Fashion style gives me the freedom to realize many ideas about the story, colour and collocation. I like these brushes made of animal hair soft and durable. They are as necessary as my brushes.

『Peripheral products』

This black and white cat is my adopted cat. It’s like family with me. I will make and collect peripheral products that match its image. Such as bags, cards, ring holders and so on. I designed this canvas bag. When I go out, this bag is like my cat by my side.

『Plant』

Growing and matching succulents is my joy. I have a lot of gardening tools to help me with this, including these shovels and tweezers. In college, I enjoyed embossing and making dried flowers. This makes the flowers last longer and looks beautiful as well.

Natalya’s Connection Bag

Hello, I’m Natalya Reutova, from Moscow, Russia.

A bag as a form of a container could have different forms and materials. For me, it’s mostly who I am, my thoughts, experiences, dreams and hopes. What represents me as a human being and what I’m ready to share with the world around me.

I believe, to be happy we all should be connected. Connected to nature, to humanity/people and the source of life – to God.

I used to live in Dubai for around 4 years, a city surrounded by desert. I have never thought about it, but I cannot live without greenery. Desert is all beautiful and powerful, but too overwhelming to me. I feel alive in the forest. Running in the forest becomes a powerful tool of meditation and healing for my anxieties.
My female cat Lada had a huge part in my life. I was deeply connected to her, even if I was a hundred miles away from her. She is not with us anymore, but I feel that connection is still there.

To be connected to the source of life, to God, is important to me. My faith plays a huge role in my life and through reading Bible, studying Gods word, praying, I’m feeling connected to him.

iPad here is a metaphor for connecting to people, those close to us and those far away. Since the pandemic, this device also helped to communicate with those located in different cities and countries. Also, it helps to get connected through works that I was able to do digitally. Sadly, such a powerful invention could serve as a form of isolation and cause feelings of loneliness. Sometimes I could feel that too.

Colours help to get connected to artwork, to the feelings artist want to share. I love to use bright colours, a minimalistic flat graphic style that my illustrations shine happiness and create warm feelings. Playing children represent interactive experiences that we were building for our festivals.

I wish to share my experiences in the interactive event master planning field on the course. My ‘Star’, a dream, is to create more connecting interactions of any sort that will help to increase citizens’ happiness levels.

Steven’s Carrier Bags and Starter Kit


Hello, I’m Yibao Liang, and you can also call me Steven or Po. I’m from Canton, China. Let me show you some of my starter kits.

Monster — I think I am very energetic, and I can accept diversified values or novelties. I created this very cute and colourful phoenix, and dragon combined little monster and let her give it a feminine quality because I don’t think I’m entirely a male. I think it can represent my personality very well.

Background picture — The background picture was taken by me, and I think it also reflects my character and ability.

Dual-screen Laptop — This laptop has two screens and excellent performance. It has helped me a lot in my creation and work. It will continue to accompany and assist me in my growth in the ma course.

Camera & Tripod — These two things can represent my ability in the video field, and I have used them in my undergraduate term for creating.

Pink Earbud — Pink is my favourite colour, I like to take my earbuds out and stay calm when I’m listening to music or isolated when I’m working so I can concentrate more.

Ipad — Ipad is a new tool I bought. It is very convenient for me to draw things or read files, and it can also be an extra screen for me when necessary.

Multi-purpose pan — This pan can make multiple dishes at the same time. I think it represents a kind of multi-tasking ability and handling any kind of situation.

Rolling ball mouse — This mouse is an ergonomic mouse, it makes me really comfortable when I used it to handle long hours of work and it also expresses my willingness to use some fresh technology to make life better.

Pillow — I often wish I could lie down and rest anywhere, so I bring a pillow. It helps me to realize this wish.

Others — Just some useful tools, haha.

Chenyu He(Mabel)’s Carrier Bag and Start Kit ~

Hello, world!

Hi, guys. My name is Chenyu He, you can call me Mabel if you want~

So this is my carrier bag, I have coffee, tea, sugar, studs, coloured highlighters, lipstick, many stationeries and many interesting emojis. Hopefully, these emojis will bring more fun and storytelling to my carrier bag.

I have to say that these things also make up my life. The cup of coffee I wake up with every morning, the coffee my friends share by hand, the coffee I buy on the street side of the road. We record, photograph, study, draw and share. We see the world and experience the warmth of people, the changes in the weather, the rising and setting of the sun. We feel the pain that comes from the pursuit of the unknown and the search for understanding. Feel our presence in the various systems.

I also created this photo with the leftover materials. Coffee and tea are more like the soil that nourishes ideas, my thoughts are my seeds and they grow as they are irrigated by knowledge and experience. Feel the power that the earth and nature give us to find the way for humanity to survive in the future. Respect and honour all living beings and move forward for the sake of human civilisation.

I will eventually grow into a mountain and compare myself to the stars.

Karla’s bag and survival kit

Hello, this is Karla from Mexico.

I have always liked the idea of transformation and I wanted to represent it in my carrier bag. It looks like a cocoon and behaves likewise.

Inside my bag, all the things that I will learn, observe, smell, touch, and taste will transform into beautiful knowledge and experiences.

I think my bag has harmoniously grown among plants, mushrooms and insects, and when I die it will return to the soil without harm.

While my survival kit has all the things that I consider my treasures.

  1. My favourite book. Acridofagia y otros insectos. I admire the author, Julieta Ramos Elorduy, because she made me fall in love with the world of edible insects. Also, she is the only female researcher specialised in the topic from Mexico.
  2. Chocolate. Probably I can survive eating chocolate my entire life. The darker the better.
  3. My glasses. They help me to avoid my clumsiness.
  4. Pictures with my little brother and my friend. I brought two pictures that reflect the love that I have for my family and friends and when I see them I feel close to them.
  5. Remedios Varo’s postcard. She is one of my favourite painters. What I really like is that she portays misticism, magic and the worl of the unconscious mind. I get lost inside her paintings surrounded by her strokes. This postcard was a gift from my little sister and when I see it I remember the words that she told me: I admire you because you are a dreamer.
  6. Hand sanitizer. I use it a lot, specially when I travel by bus or metro.
  7. Hair comb. It reminds me a fly market next to my house in Mexico. It was a gift from the seller and I love how shiny it is and due to it is a vintage piece, I am convinced that is it full of memories.
  8. Lip balm. My lips are always dry so I have an obsession with lip balms. I have try thousands but Vaseline is such a good option.
  9. Fragance. I love citric fragances for spaces. They relax me and create an optimal atmosphere to chill and concentrate when I am stressed out.
  10. Headphones. When I am using my headphones, music transports me into different worlds and it makes me feel energetic and happy.
  11. Surgical mask. I use it all the time in public spaces as a respect gesture.
  12. My beautiful scarf. Probably my most precious accesory. My mother gave it to me during the first months of the worldwide pandemic. I always wear it to remember my mother and the few months that we spent together.
  13. My converse. They are comfortable, compact and resistant and have helped me to explore weird and chaotic places.

Lily’s Carrier Bag

My bag is a backpack because they are a good choice for an adventure. It has a bottle of water so I can stay hydrated and lots of internal pockets to store all my seeds and stars.

My seeds

  • Notebook and pen

A notebook that’s already partly used, with ideas and knowledge I’ve gathered already and room for new ideas to be written down too.

  • Photos from my interior design undergraduate degree

Reminders of my previous design experience and skills I already have.

  • Souvenirs from trips abroad

Representing things I have learnt from travelling and from collaborating with a diverse range of people from all over the world.

My stars

  • A pair of glasses

Glasses to represent looking for clarity in my aims and areas of interest. I hope to explore different options and discover new things I’m passionate about.

  • Tote bag

A spare bag for new seeds I hope to collect through the course. The bag has my favourite pin that says ‘Kindness is Power’ to remind me to be kind to everyone I meet along the way.

Welcome to the Future Ocean—Jessy & JING

On April 13, 2020, a cabinet meeting of the Japanese government officially decided to discharge millions of tons of nuclear sewage stored in the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea in 2023.

A large amount of nuclear waste water has caused a large number of genetic mutations in marine organisms. Coupled with natural selection, a new self-aware species, the murloc, has finally been formed 1000 years later.

Human beings have drastically reduced their power through civil wars, natural disasters, viruses and other forms. Murlocs took the opportunity to defeat humans and become the new world hegemon.

In the world 1000 years later, social hierarchy is strictly divided. Murlocs are the first level, and humans are inferior people ruled by murlocs. Therefore, in the future vegetable market, the types of items that murlocs and humans can purchase and the purchase area are strictly divided and controlled. Murlocs and humans have different identity certificates, which can be seen by anyone at a glance. Human beings must bow to the noble murloc in any area.

The salesperson will adopt different attitudes based on the customer’s identity certificate. This leads the audience to think about the current human attitudes towards other races.

After visiting the future market, we will guide the audience into Area 2: Back to reality.

In this area, we set up a popular science exhibition about the sustainable development goals for marine protection set by the United Nations, the status quo of the marine environment, the destruction of the ocean by humans, the impact of nuclear wastewater discharge in Japan, and the prospects for future marine protection.

We hope that the audience will have some thoughts when they return to reality to see the current state of the ocean after visiting the FUTURE MARKET.

At the end of the exhibition, we set up a dummy to sit at the exit. We placed different colors of spray paint and markers beside the dummy. The audience can freely choose to use these tools to paint on the dummy at will. We want to design the final image of this dummy together with all the visitors who visit our exhibition, in order to express our reflection on the current marine environmental protection and resonance with other species.

Helen – Starter Kit

Hi, I’m Helen. 

My starter kit includes this drawing, which I think represents me well. First, its simplicity, because I live by a minimalist philosophy. The different branches that split off from one point are a symbol of complexity that surrounds my life, in which I perpetually moved to different places – being born in Germany, grown up in France and having lived in Holland, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, now adding England to the list. It also depicts the outreach of options I get from having made a particular choice and the experiences I thereby gained on the way. 

The bag is, because I pack them almost every 6 months. 

My laptop is one of the few things that accompany me everywhere, when I move away. It almost stores my entire life, keeping very little in paper-form nor carrying a lot of personal items for practicality’s sake; it’s also my professional life. 

My ipod is my favourite travel companion. I listen to Audio-books and podcast whilst being on a journey or on the way, keeping me informed and updated about the world and the things I’m passionate about. 

Plants: They keep my room fresh, remind me of my green home-town and prop my desire to protect our nature and our planet. 

Cheese: If there is one thing that I bring along, that would be cheese. Sounding like a stereotypical French, I truly cannot live without a good strong cheese. It has become a tradition to have ‘Raclette’ with my friends, which I bring from France, and they are the best memories. 

Graphics: At last, the start of a series of graphics, in which I try to depict current societal or environmental issues as a manner of bringing awareness, and which sparked me to start this course.