„Up to 80% of the environmental impact of products originates in the design phase.
I design for positive environmental impact.“
Juni Sun Neyenhuys is a material experience designer based in Berlin and Helsinki. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Textile and Material Design from the School of Art and Design Berlin Weissensee in 2021, she co-founded mujō, a material innovation company that develops seaweed-based, biodegradable packaging materials.
Specializing in biopolymers and deeply fascinated by natural systems, Juni works at the intersection of biomaterial development and conceptual design. She collaborates with a diverse range of stakeholders from industry, research, and education to create sustainable, nature-inspired solutions. Juni’s work is rooted in a commitment to natural materials and the cycles of nature. She begins each project by exploring a natural resource or addressing an unclosed product lifecycle, always asking how to close these loops to foster a material culture that harmonizes with biological ecosystems.
Her expertise includes experimental material research and development, physical and digital prototyping, concept development, and visual storytelling.
Her latest venture is the Disruptive Materials Institute e.V., a nonprofit platform she co-initiated to bring together research, innovation, creativity, and interdisciplinary collaboration to promote a socially and ecologically sustainable future for materials and textiles.
Experimental Material Research
& Development
Juni engages closely with scientists from fields like biology and engineering. Her research includes studying scientific papers, conducting field research, and interviewing experts.
Conceptualization
Once problems and potential solutions are identified, Juni develops initial concepts. Her projects range from speculative to application oriented, often resulting in functional prototypes.
Prototyping
Rapid prototyping is at the heart of her work, blending lab experiments with 3D prototyping. She combines new technologies and fabrication methods with traditional crafts, alongside digital prototyping.
Feedback Integration
Her creative process includes multiple feedback loops from users and stakeholders, which are incorporated into product development. She considers the entire material lifecycle, engaging with stakeholders, ranging from producers and consumers to decomposers.
visual Storytelling
Believing in the power of storytelling and driven by a strong narrative approach, Juni crafts her projects into multisensory experiences. She employs a variety of media – from digital illustration, video, and 3D visualization to physical objects like prototypes and exhibition design.
Workshops
Juni shares her knowledge through hands-on workshops that create space for exploration, exchange, and making. Blending theory with practice, these sessions invite participants to actively engage, experiment, and develop their own materials and ideas.
Juni has focused primarily on textile and packaging design, working particularly with algae as a resource. She is more than open to exploring new horizons and welcomes collaborations and commissions from manufacturers, research institutes, brands, consultancies, and cultural institutions.
German Design Newcomer Award, 2025, German Design Council
Creative Lab #7, 2024, Winner, Kompetenzzentrum Kultur– und Kreativwirtschaft
WORTH Partnerships, 2024, Winner, AITEX
one&twenty Award, 2024, German Design Council
Make it Circular Challenge Winner, 2023, What Design Can Do
Innovationspreis Berlin Brandenburg, Top 10 Nominee, 2022, Land Brandenburg
Top 20 Circular Economy Startups, 2022, CURAZE
Top 23 Kultur– & Kreativpilot*innen, 2022, U-Institut
Make Tomorrow New Award Winner, 2021, IQOS
Materialprize for special Materials, Winner, 2020, raumprobe
Milan Design Week, 2025, Milan
Finnish Glass Biennale, 2025, Riihimäki
„Materials and Design of Tomorrow“, 2024, Grassi Museum of Applied Arts, Leipzig
Milan Design Week, one&twenty, German Design Council, 2025, Milan
„Treasures of the Future“, Futurium, 2024, Berlin
„The Circle“, Dutch Design Week, 2023, Eindhoven
„Together we change“,Green Tech Festival, 2023, Berlin
Circular Materials for future dining, Ambiente, 2023, Frankfurt
„Special Show“, Fachpack, 2021, Nürnberg
„Reality – How can it be different“, Dutch Design Week, 2020, Eindhoven
„Future Textiles – Digital Crafts“, Bauhausfestival Dessau, 2020, Dessau
„New Textile Worlds“, Wasserschloss Klaffenbach, 2019, Chemnitz
„Fast Fashion“ Museum of European Cultures, 2019, Berlin
„Materials Culture“, Orgatec, 2018, Cologne
greenlab Symposium RE:LOKAL closing cycles, "From Seaweed to the End of Life", Kunsthochschule Weissensee Berlin, 2026
European Algae Summit, "Designing with Algae", 2025, Berlin
Art Futures Symposium, HFG Offenbach, „Designing for the Biosphere“, 2025, Offenbach
TU Munich, „Designing for the Biosphere“, 2025, Munich
Hessen Design e.V., Webinar „Designing for the Biosphere“, 2025, Berlin
Global Social Business Summit, 2022, Turin
Dresden Packaging Conference, 2022, Dresden
„Let’s Together Progress“ Masterclass OMR, 2022, Hamburg
„Fast Fashion – the Dark Sides of Fashion“, Museum of European Cultures, 2019, Berlin
Ciceron Conference: „Funding the Circular Economy in Europe“, 2019, Berlin
Seaweed Yarn Spinning, European Algae Summit, 2025
Wet Biofibre Spinning, Aalto University, 2025
3D Printing Biomaterials, School of Art and Design Weissensee, 2025
Biomaterials, Berlin Textile Coop, 2025
Biomaterials, ABK Stuttgart, 2020
Screen Printing with Algae, Berlin Textile Coop, 2025
Screen Printing with Algae, Disruptive Materials Institute, 2025
"Algen als Designmaterial", DDC Podcast Nr. 218
German Design Council, Interview, 2025
„Wie wir es mit Open-Source-Hardware hin zu einer Kreislaufgesellschaft schaffen", Article on Open Source Ecology, 2025
SECRID, Interview, 2023
Berliner Morgenpost, Article, 2021
Lampoon Magazine, Interview, 2021
„Materials in Progress - Innovations for designers and architects“, 2019, Diana Drewes, Sascha Peters (Transformation of Seaweed)
„Architecture of Weaving, From Fibers to Yarns to Scaffolds and Skins“, 2022, Christiane Sauer (Hydroweave)
