Value-based design and changing career paths along the way with Sonja Antosalo
Welcome to a new episode of Maker Stories.
In this episode, we dive into value-based design and what it takes to pivot your career when your perspective on sustainability shifts. Jo speaks with Sonja, a Finland-based designer with a footwear background who now runs a “creative sustainability” practice, helping companies build more responsible brands, services, and products.
Sonja shares how studying in Brazil made her more critical of consumerism, inequality, and the ethical gaps in fashion, and how that became the catalyst for her transition from product designer to consultant and educator. We also unpack her value-mapping process, combining co-design and participatory ethnographic methods (interviews, artifact analysis, word clouds, collages, and participant tasks like photography and material exploration) to translate human values into strategy.
If you’re curious about sustainability that’s both practical and people-centered, this episode offers a grounded look at how values can guide real design decisions. Let’s get started.
More about the designer:
I´m Sonja Antosalo a designer, strategist and future thinker from Finland. I focus on exploring the possibilities of SUSTAINABILITY & DESIGN as a social influencer.
Design Thinker | Sonja Antosalo Design Portfolio
De designers en ik zouden het geweldig vinden als je deze podcast steunt door de podcast te delen en de like op het platform waarop je luistert.
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CREDITS:
Host: Yophi Ignacia
Platform: Design Platform Rotterdam
Productie + montage (intro/outro): Kisha Canwood
Artwork: A.J. Mets
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Do you want to hear more maker stories or find out what Design Platform Rotterdam has to offer? Then take a look at the Design Platform Rotterdam website.
CREDITS:
Host: Yophi Ignacia
Platform: Design Platform Rotterdam
Productie + montage (intro/outro): Kisha Canwood
Artwork: A.J. Mets
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