John Bertolaso
Multidisciplinary Designer,
Mechanical Engineer and Explorer
As a mechanical engineer and designer, I am continually exploring the convergence of emerging technologies and future design practices to build resilience in natural and societal ecosystems.
I am now CTO of hydroCotton, where we grow the world’s most sustainable, transparent and future-proof cotton to help fashion companies clean up their supply chains. I used to lead R&D and sustainability at Daye, and before that I built interactive sculptures in the contemporary arts sector.
Drop me a line if you want to connect or collaborate.
Unbound by any particular industries, my professional experience is centered around environmental and social impact through design and innovation. I’ve had the opportunity to work in agritech, fashion, contemporary arts and female healthcare amongst others. Here are the latest chapters of my career, but there’s more here and on my LinkedIn.
Beyond pragmatism, my projects aim to probe and provoke in order to make us question our reality and what could be. I’m very interested in the futures of food and agriculture, but I also think a lot about what materials, supply chains, architecture and networked urbanism might look like tomorrow.
From glacial equatorial jungles to some of the most populated cities, the adventures I go on help me discover spectrums within cultures, people and behaviours, and continually influence my process.
2019 - now | Co-founder & CDO hydroCotton, London |
2020 - now | Design Engineering and Sustainability Manager Daye, London |
2019 - 2020 | Senior Design Engineer Daye, London |
2017 - 2019 | Design Engineer Random International, London |
2017 - 2018 | Design Engineer and Advisor Studio INI, London |
2016 - 2017 | Design Engineer Tangent, London |
2013 | Summer Intern Troika, London |
2012 - 2013 | Co-Founder & Treasurer Imperial College Design Collective, London |
2012 | Design Researcher (UROP) Imperial College London, London |
2006 - 2010 | Summer Intern TR Engineering, Luxembourg |
2008 - 2009 | Group Leader Patro Desmond Tutu, Belgium |
2014 - 2016 | Global Innovation Design (MA, MSc) Royal College of Art & Imperial College London, Pratt Institute (NYC), Keio Media Design (Tokyo) |
2010 - 2014 | Mechanical Engineering (MEng) Imperial College London |
2009 - 2010 | Architecture (1st year) Institut Supérieur d’Architecture Saint-Luc, Brussels |
2014 - 2016 | Industrial Design Studentship, Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 |
Field of work |
→ Design engineering, design thinking, future probing, cross-cultural design research, human-centered design, experience design → Problem solving, prototyping, technical drawings, industrial design and DFM, project management, field implementation |
Softwares | Adobe Creative Suite, Solidworks, C4D, HTML/CSS, Javascript, Processing, Arduino, Rhinoceros, Unity (basic), InVision |
Manufacturing | Metals, polymers, woods → lathe, milling machine, drill press, band saw, table saw, power saw, belt sander, grinder → rapid prototyping, vacuum forming, design for injection moulding |
Languages | French (mother tongue, fully fluent), English (fully fluent), Spanish (conversational, good reading) |