Joana (PhD) is a multifaceted Designer & Researcher with an entrepreneurial edge and 15+ years of experience in sustainability innovation.

Electrifying Economies — Rockefeller Foundation, SEforALL, RMI

Challenge: Policymakers and investors lacked accessible tools to understand how distributed renewables can drive equitable energy transitions.

Approach: Contributed user research and design strategy to shape an interactive platform, ensuring content was engaging and actionable for diverse stakeholders.

Impact: The platform is now used by governments, NGOs, and funders worldwide to inform renewable energy policy, shape financing strategies, and support just energy transitions.

PwC Germany — Sustainable Innovation

Challenge: Corporate clients needed to move beyond compliance and embed ESG frameworks into their innovation pipelines.

Approach: Applied design research and co-design methods to integrate ESG into PwC’s Sustainable Innovation methodology, supporting client teams in developing future-proof solutions.

Impact: Helped organizations prototype sustainable products and business models, aligning corporate innovation with planetary boundaries and investor expectations.

Sustainable Mobility Adoption — Global Automotive Mobility Program

Challenge: Sustainable mobility services (e-bikes, car-sharing, EV charging) often face adoption barriers when scaled across different cultures and cities.

Approach: Led design research into cultural values and mobility practices, facilitating co-design workshops and synthesizing actionable insights.

Impact: Findings guided strategic pilots across European cities, directly informing product redesign and communication strategies, and resulting in higher adoption rates and stronger scale-up pathways.

Resilience of Small Merchants — SumUp

Challenge: Small merchants are often highly vulnerable to economic and climate shocks, despite being vital to local economies.

Approach: Developed a series of resilience strategies for merchants, supported by UX tools co-created with product and design teams.

Impact: Findings informed SumUp’s global support programs, contributing to its mission of empowering 4+ million businesses across 30+ countries to strengthen resilience and adapt to climate and economic disruptions.

Ocean Tech Design Methods — Marine Innovation Program

Challenge: Ocean-tech ventures struggle with adoption due to complex technology, stakeholder trust barriers, and difficulty communicating impact.

Approach: Applied design thinking and strategic research to help teams translate technical innovation into human-centered services; facilitated stakeholder workshops and narrative design.

Impact: Improved pilot adoption in marine communities and enhanced trust among stakeholders. This work aligns with the Sustainable Ocean Alliance’s impact model (e.g., 84,621 metric tons CO₂e avoided, 26,892 tons of marine waste removed, 3,969 hectares of ecosystems restored) and supports global commitments made at the UN Ocean Conference.