graduates on UAL showcase give materials new meaning from bioplastics to nail art

UAL SHOWCASE GRADUATES reimagine materials

On UAL Showcase, University of the Arts London’s directory of new creativity, graduates are redefining how we think about materials, and now the platform makes it easier than ever for employers, collaborators and commissioners to discover and connect with them. From transforming food waste into sweets and bioplastics to creating jewelry, nail art, and water-purifying sinks from discarded materials, and hair extensions from textile remnants, their projects highlight both ingenuity and urgency. As one of the world’s leading universities for art and design, UAL provides its graduates with the visibility to share their work globally, offering audiences a glimpse into new processes that respond to today’s environmental and social challenges.

graduates on UAL Showcase are redefining how we think about materials | image © Pascal Schonlau, all images courtesy of UAL

students explore raw matter in design

University of the Arts London (UAL) has been shaping creative education since 1842. Unlike a static directory, UAL Showcase is a global, searchable platform designed for industry engagement, which gets updated year-round. With discipline filters, project mock-ups, detailed profiles, and direct contact tools, it allows businesses to quickly find the creative expertise they need, whether to hire talent, commission work, or collaborate on innovative solutions. 

Across disciplines such as architecture, interior design, jewelry, biodesign, product design and sound art, students on Showcase explore how raw matter can be reimagined. Some projects turn industrial residue into tactile objects, while others experiment with microbial growth, plant fibres or algae to create sustainable alternatives. This material-led approach not only generates visually compelling work but also proposes tangible solutions to reduce waste streams and inspire new industries – solutions that companies can explore further through the platform.

Genevieve Carr’s ‘Nailed’ project | image © Pascal Schonlau

meet the graduates behind UAL showcase

Detailed profiles document how designers test, refine and adapt unconventional materials: grinding down food scraps, cultivating living organisms, or weaving synthetic hair from recycled threads. This behind-the-scenes perspective reveals both technical skill and experimental risk-taking, helping potential collaborators understand the process behind the innovation before connecting directly through Showcase.

For example, Genevieve Carr, multidisciplinary designer and material researcher, presents ‘Nailed’ – her graduate project that turns nail salon waste into a 3D printing filament, used to create nails inspired by botanical drawings.

With a background in accessories, she’s exploring its potential for wearable design and collaboration, and through Showcase, her work is discoverable by anyone looking to commission or hire talent in this area.

As she explains about her work, ‘The great thing about this material is that I can snap the nails up and put them back in the machine and do the whole process again. It was really important to me to try to keep it as closed loop as possible and create the smallest amount of waste. So, if this project were to be scaled up, it would be important to me to keep this.’

Huda Ashari’s ‘Redefining Palm Oil’ display

Similarly, ‘Redefining Palm Oil’ by Huda Ashari, an agile architecture graduate training as a regenerative designer at the intersection of science, technology and design, redefines palm oil as a solution rather than a problem. A key innovation as part of the project is POME Bioplastic, created from Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME), a waste byproduct. Bacteria transform POME into a biodegradable material that enhances soil health and promotes plant growth, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional plastics. 

‘These bioplastic bags that I made through the short chain lengths would take about six months to decompose. In the UK especially, we’ve not really tackled an alternative for single use plastic bags. The bags that we use now, I think they call them forever bags in Tesco or Waitrose, they’re still a blend of things, and even though they’re biodegradable, I don’t think it’s as quick as six months,’ Huda mentions.

bacteria transform POME into a biodegradable material that enhances soil health and promotes plant growth, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional plastics

Jacob Tucker, product and furniture design graduate, uses Showcase to present Precrete, a water-purifying sink made from tabby concrete, an ancient process using oyster shells. Accompanied by a ‘mess’ table made from scrap wood, the project provides practical applications for industries concerned with water sustainability and ecological design.

‘It‘s a really ancient process where you collect the shells, after the organism has died of course, and then you fire them, which can be done in a number of ways. It’s very similar to how concrete works. With concrete, you’re firing limestone to 900° or above sometimes and I’m firing shells to 900°; you could do it over a bonfire. I did it in a ceramics kiln. Once you’ve fired it, it goes from calcium carbonate, which is the important component, that’s what is so prevalent in limestone as well, to calcium oxide. If you’re burning something, you’re getting rid of all the carbon and then you add water once it’s out of the kiln and it becomes calcium hydroxide, which is the material you want. It’s what’s closest to cement,’ describes Jacob.

Jacob Tucker’s ‘Precrete’ project

‘Precrete’ is a tabby concrete sink that can be used to treat and restore local biodiversity with water purified in the basin

Graduates on UAL Showcase know that every complex problem requires a creative solution — learn more about what the next generation of designers is up to and find recent creative graduates to hire, commission or collaborate with on UAL Showcase.

project info:

name: UAL Showcase

organization: UAL – University of the Arts London

designers: Genevieve Carr; Huda Ashari; Jacob Tucker

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