Meet Juliana, from Costa Rica, who joined us from Galapagos to Rapanui (Easter Island) on our Round the World Voyage. Currently in the UK, she works as a creative consultant, focusing on graphic design and science communication.
We caught up with Juliana to discuss her passion for the ocean and the importance of creativity in making science more accessible to help drive behaviour change.
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Tell us about yourself!
I was born and raised in Costa Rica. I am a passionate, enthusiastic and empathetic person. I love the ocean and always look for experiences or adventures that bring me closer to it.
Picture Credit: Cary Somers
I moved to the Philippines about 10 years ago – which is where I started my path in uniting creativity with ocean conservation. I was based there for 4 years working with The Reef-World Foundation, as the communications manager. It gave me a lot of exposure to creating educational materials and translating science to the diving industry. I now live in England working as a Creative Consultant mostly focused on climate-ocean impacts; braving the cold seas and truly enjoying it!
Picture Description: Juliana working as a Green Fins assessor in Malapascua Island, Philippines in 2016.
Picture Credit: The Reef-World Foundation.
What is your role now?
I am a creative consultant, which means my work overlaps between graphic design, science communication and basically anything creative that will bring people closer to the ocean!
What is your superpower?
My creativity is my superpower, as well as trust in my own intuition. Even after graduation, I knew that there was more to graphic design than just logos!
I love working in multidisciplinary and multicultural environments, because it gives you a greater perspective and understanding of other people’s experience in this world. I enjoy being in a collaborative working environment, it’s great for enriching your knowledge especially as a communicator, where you have to meet your audience where they are.
Picture Credit: Juliana Corrales
For me, eXXpedition was the perfect example of that – you go on a boat with a bunch of women that come from different places and backgrounds and you have this amazing opportunity to learn from everyone and their experiences.
Why did you choose to join an eXXpedition voyage?
I first heard about it before I left for the Philippines. Then in 2019, when I was back visiting family in the UK, it felt almost serendipitous because I ended up at an eXXpedition meetup. They mentioned RTW – and I knew I was ready for my next adventure! After working in marine conservation, it felt like the right time so I applied, even though I’d never been on a sailboat.
“Even on the most perfect days out at sea, in the middle of nowhere when we began sampling there was so much plastic.”
What surprised you the most during the voyage?
Everything for me started with plastic. Being on the boat was so eye-opening (and overwhelming!) to see the magnitude of the issue – especially in the gyre where people rarely sail through. Even on the most perfect days out at sea, in the middle of nowhere we found microplastics in our samples.
Picture Credit: Cary Somers
When we arrived at Easter Island, I still remember the amount of plastic in the sand – it almost appeared to be a different colour because of how many pieces of microplastic there were.
It was painful to go to these remote places, with communities so connected to and respectful of the sea, yet they have to deal with all this plastic from everyone else washing up on their shores. When I saw X Trillion, many years later, it brought all those feelings back to the surface.
“We can see it in our seas, in the air we breathe, in the changes in our climates.”
The pandemic started as soon as I came back home from the voyage. It startled me as a powerful analogy to our experience on the boat. We were all stuck in one space and our worlds shrunk dramatically. We have become desensitised to the world around us and the impact that our actions have on it. We have forgotten what is essential and we take for granted all the natural processes that happen day by day for us to be able to be here, now.
Our planet is our boat, and although it feels so big, it also has its limits. We can see it in our seas, in the air we breathe, in the changes in our climates. We are reaching a crucial point where nature is forcing us to stop and start observing the world around us. Earth is ‘making the unseen seen’ and it’s doing it in a very explicit way. In the same way that we could not have reached our destination alone, the global community wouldn’t have been able to get out of a pandemic without helping each other.
Picture Description: Juliana working for The Reef-World Foundation, implementing the Green Fins initiative in Costa Rica in 2021.
Picture Credit: The Reef-World Foundation.
What does it mean to be a creative consultant in the field of marine conservation?
I call it Creative Consultancy because I provide creative direction (including graphic design, science communication, creative thinking, etc.) to marine initiatives and NGOs to elevate their “public face” in a way that truly represents the value and scale of their work. I am an advocate for the importance of having a good brand and for comms – in the world of conservation – to be a priority and not a second thought.
Science can’t just stay with the scientists because the general public needs access to this information to make informed choices. I like to think of myself as a ‘filter’, translating the information but also using creative ways to engage the audience on an emotional level. Emotional engagement is essential for effective ocean literacy that leads to behavioural change.
Are some approaches more impactful than others?
The biggest issue we have is that it can sometimes feel like you’re talking into a funnel.
We all work with different and very specific audiences, so how do we engage the general public rather than just a few?
Picture Description: Juliana presenting at the International Marine Science Communication Conference, CommOCEAN 2024.
Picture Credit: OA Alliance.
“…to instigate a new behaviour, knowledge is not enough. We urgently need to think outside the box, collaborate and instigate action!”
The way we interact with the ocean also varies so there is not one recipe for the best approach to spreading awareness. You have to take a closer look at what brings us together, what do our audiences have in common: to me it is our emotions.
My work with the OA Alliance is a great example of this. We work hand in hand with policy makers and scientists to take urgent climate-ocean action. Our new approach in our communications strategy is to complement our science/ policy centred messages with messages that will make the “unseen” impacts of climate-ocean change, such as ocean acidification, seen and emotionally felt through creative narrative building & storytelling.
To take it up that extra notch we’ve given our communications strategy “a lift up”, building from the fact that to instigate a new behaviour, knowledge is not enough. We urgently need to think outside the box, collaborate and instigate action!
Can you tell us about any upcoming or exciting projects you’re working on?
As I mentioned before, with the Ocean Acidification Alliance, we’ve been working on a new creative communications strategy. I am super excited to be experimenting with poetry, storytelling, films and art; to build that bridge between ocean literacy and active ocean protection. We’re implementing 2 big projects this year, stay tuned!
Picture Credit The Reef-World Foundation
Earlier this year I had the opportunity to create visuals for a campaign released in the UK – Drops in the Ocean. It showcased the beauty and diversity of coral reefs and the strong connection each person has to these vital ecosystems.
You also volunteer with the Wave Project – tell us more about this!
It’s really special to be involved with the Wave Project. They are a charity that focuses on improving young people’s mental health and wellbeing through Surf Therapy.
Image Credit: Protect Blue
We take young people who struggle with mental/ physical health challenges to help them build confidence and overcome barriers by being in the ocean.
It’s amazing to see the impact the ocean has on them in just one session. They are transformed; and to be involved in that process is truly an honour.
What keeps you hopeful about the ocean?
Humans are capable of many things, some of which have even changed history – including the invention of plastics! We are born with an inherent connection to the world around us; we just lost it somewhere along the way. If we tap back into our potential of creating things to help our planet rather than destroy it then perhaps we can connect back and restore the world around us.
We just need to reflect and find that ‘shift’. It’s a big task, but we have the potential.
“If we tap back into our potential of creating things to help our planet rather than destroy it then perhaps we can connect back and restore the world around us.”
Picture Credit: Winne Courtene Jones
If you could give one message to the world, what would it be?
I come back to the boat analogy I mentioned earlier. If we think of our world as being on a boat, we need to take greater care of others around us and the influence our actions have.
Stop, take a breath. Think of all the living things that influence you being who and where you are. Be grateful and give something back. We all have a job in taking care of this “boat” that we’re sailing in.
