Julie Merlino is a French interdisciplinary designer based in Amsterdam, specializing in textile design and solar production. Concerned about the ecological crisis and the consumption system, she has adopted a transversal approach. Her encounter with the maker movement has been a revelation, steering her towards new technologies and innovative processes to create debate and address contemporary challenges. Interested in the concept of experience, she has developed a unique design approach combining storytelling, material and visual research with immersive and participatory experiences.
Convinced of the designer’s role as a mediator and bridge-builder, Julie has explored various creative fields, including smart textiles, solar design, architecture, scenography, and digital art. Her experience at AADN, an association focusing on digital art and new technologies, was a turning point, reaffirming her desire to delve into the digital world, exploring its possibilities and limits. This led her to enrol in the intensive Fabricademy course, a program at the intersection of textiles, digital production, and biology, where she honed her digital production skills over six months.
During her Fabricademy final project, she discovered solar design—a practice exploring new ways to apply solar energy in daily life, making it accessible and democratic. She conceptualized Helios, a modular, solar-powered construction for outdoor use, and developed Endless Suntex, a phygital project investigating the properties and wearability of organic photovoltaics.
Fascinated by the possibilities of solar design, she strengthened her skills in solar creation in the Netherlands. She supported coordinating the seminar and workshops at the Solar Biennale, exhibited her project Endless Sunset at the Solar Biennale’s The Energy Show exhibition, and began working for Pauline van Dongen’s studio as a Smart Textile Designer and Researcher. For a year, she focused particularly on solar engineering and electrical integration for the research and development of Suntex, a lightweight structural solar textile intended for architectural applications.
In late 2023, Julie established her own design studio to focus on her projects and research. Today, she is particularly involved in textile and solar design, aiming to raise awareness of the potential of solar energy from a tactile and sensory perspective. She is developing Solar Matters, a long-term research project exploring ways to transmit solar design challenges and methods. To nourish and expand this research, she is working on projects such as EcoDial and Sensory Sunshine.
Convinced of the designer’s role as a mediator and bridge-builder, Julie has explored various creative fields, including smart textiles, solar design, architecture, scenography, and digital art. Her experience at AADN, an association focusing on digital art and new technologies, was a turning point, reaffirming her desire to delve into the digital world, exploring its possibilities and limits. This led her to enrol in the intensive Fabricademy course, a program at the intersection of textiles, digital production, and biology, where she honed her digital production skills over six months.
During her Fabricademy final project, she discovered solar design—a practice exploring new ways to apply solar energy in daily life, making it accessible and democratic. She conceptualized Helios, a modular, solar-powered construction for outdoor use, and developed Endless Suntex, a phygital project investigating the properties and wearability of organic photovoltaics.
Fascinated by the possibilities of solar design, she strengthened her skills in solar creation in the Netherlands. She supported coordinating the seminar and workshops at the Solar Biennale, exhibited her project Endless Sunset at the Solar Biennale’s The Energy Show exhibition, and began working for Pauline van Dongen’s studio as a Smart Textile Designer and Researcher. For a year, she focused particularly on solar engineering and electrical integration for the research and development of Suntex, a lightweight structural solar textile intended for architectural applications.
In late 2023, Julie established her own design studio to focus on her projects and research. Today, she is particularly involved in textile and solar design, aiming to raise awareness of the potential of solar energy from a tactile and sensory perspective. She is developing Solar Matters, a long-term research project exploring ways to transmit solar design challenges and methods. To nourish and expand this research, she is working on projects such as EcoDial and Sensory Sunshine.
NEWS
Julie is currenly in residency at Design Regio Kortrijk in Belgium.
Beside, she is working on SOLAR MATTER(s) project with her design studio and as a freelancer.
EXHIBITIONS
Up-comining: 2024
Wonder Festival - Kortrijk, BE
2022-23
The Energy Show - Het Institut - Rotterdam, NL
2022
Van Pasvorm tot Polygon - Centraal Musuem - Utrecht, NL