As a designer, I play with colour, modular systems, and materials; as a researcher, I investigate how colour, when applied with knowledge, can generate ceramic surfaces that are both more comfortable and safer. My work moves between order and improvisation, between visual expression and function. My research focuses on smart materials that transform in response to environmental conditions such as temperature or water. When activated by a stimulus, these materials allow traditionally stable surfaces to acquire new functions and behaviours. The aim is to apply these principles to the ceramic industry, enhancing thermal performance, safety, and aesthetics. A central question in my work is how to introduce flexibility, spontaneity, and interaction into surfaces that are typically rigid and permanent, without compromising durability or strength. 

In this workshop, we will explore a playful interpretation of that idea, using a grid and small coloured units that bond when exposed to water. Each participant will then create modular arrangements. The elements have a surface coating that, upon contact with water, activates a binder, allowing them to bond with one another and stabilise the composition. This hands-on exercise will offer a pause from screens and theory — a chance to play, experiment, and create with simple materials. The technique will allow for rapid explorations that echo the logic of tilework and ornamental patterns, offering insights that can later be translated into larger-scale design projects.

I’m Marlene, a Portuguese designer with a multidisciplinary background and an insatiable curiosity. Over the years, I’ve worked across a wide range of design areas — including brand identity, promotion, packaging, editorial, illustration, and fashion — helping clients communicate clearly while expressing their brand’s unique personality.

I thrive on good ideas, big challenges, and ambitious clients. Passionate and committed, I embrace every project with energy and dedication, while also seeking new perspectives that reflect my playful spirit, strategic mindset, pixel obsession, eye for detail, passion for vintage, love of travel, willingness to take risks — and the joy of being a bunny mom.

I’m a creator, maker, doer — and above all, a dreamer. I usually think in colour, but I know how to speak in black and white. This led me to launch my own brand: MAIS.COM.PT — inspired by Portuguese traditions, icons, and raw materials. My work finds a balance between tradition and innovation, where craft and design go hand in hand.

Alongside my design practice, I’m a PhD candidate in Design at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Lisbon. My research — Ceramic Design & Industry: A new aesthetic, technical and environmental approach to ceramic tiles and flooring — investigates how repetition, colour, material and texture influence both the aesthetic and thermal performance of architectural surfaces. 

This project merges design, sustainability, and innovation — reflecting my ongoing fascination with grids, pixels, and the power of the smallest unit: the point. I collaborate with interdisciplinary research centres exploring the relationship between design, architecture and technological innovation. I’ve written about my work in academic journals and books, registered two patents, and received a few awards along the way.

My academic path includes a BA in Communication Design from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Porto (Portugal), an Erasmus term at the University of Vigo (Spain), and advanced studies in Design (FAUL) and Management (Porto Business School).

In my free time, I enjoy hunting for antiques, flea markets and auctions. I love thoughtful design, but I’m especially drawn to timeworn treasures — objects with soul and history. I believe in second chances, which is exactly what I gave a former police station in Porto: I restored it and now manage it as a local guesthouse — 14ª ESQUADRA, Cais das Pedras Guesthouse.

I currently live in Porto, Portugal. Sometimes I just like to take my mind for a walk — I love to travel, collect places and meet interesting people.
Let’s connect, share experiences and make something meaningful together.