Showcase 2025 Student Spotlight: Gagandeep Heer
Student Spotlight featuring BA (Hons) Product Design student Gagandeep Heer and his project 'Grounded'.
By Jon Duckworth | Published on 9 April 2025
Categories: Student Showcase; School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment;
The Project
Grounded is a homeware collection made using spent coffee grounds and natural binders, in order to create a material which is fully biodegradable.
Given the emergence of biomaterials within the crafts sector, this project was driven by material exploration and development, before testing the materials' properties and ability to hold complex forms. For Gagandeep, the overall aim of this project was to establish an alternative to clay which is able to mimic the malleability of clay and its ability to hold form while having a lessened impact on the environment.
The material itself possesses many promising qualities, namely the ability to hold texture, withstand being cut and drilled, and act as a self-adhesive,
Gangandeep was inspired to use biomaterials as a more sustainable way of producing artisanal goods.
The inspiration behind the project
Gagandeep was inspired by the growing trend of craftspeople such as Sophie Ferrier who incorporate biomaterials in their work in place of virgin materials such as clay and wood to create artisanal pieces.
He explains: "The ability to turn biological waste and food scraps into functional pieces and art resonated with me, as this signals a shift towards a more sustainable approach to creating artisanal goods."
The idea to use spent coffee grounds as a base for this material was influenced by the amount of coffee grounds discarded per year.
"The UK produces 500,000 tonnes of waste coffee grounds per year," says Gagandeep, "which produces 1.8 million tonnes of carbon emissions. As a result, waste coffee grounds are an ideal base for my material as they are easily accessible and easy to process, and re-purposing them prevents them from ending up in landfill and producing harmful carbon emissions."
The idea to use spent coffee grounds as a base for this material was influenced by the amount of coffee grounds discarded per year.
The project experience
Gagandeep says the project has been extremely challenging due to the extensive work involved in material development which involves testing multiple samples based on informed decisions from previous iterations, testing properties of the refined material recipe, as well as testing the material's application to find the most appropriate manufacturing technique. "With that being said, it’s incredibly rewarding to see the material outcome, and I’d like to thank the technicians in alternate materials, material testing and biomaterials for their time and effort in helping refine the material's application. Their knowledge and expertise in materials has been crucial to the progression of this project," says Gagandeep.
Being part of NTU
Gagandeep says: "Overall, my time at NTU has been fantastic, as I’ve been able to test the application of different materials and processes, whilst being able to explore areas in design which I feel passionate about."
"My final year has been particularly notable in terms of skills development, as I have been able to work alongside technicians from different schools (School of Art and Design) where they have been able to offer different perspectives on my work as well as informing me and teaching me about alternative manufacturing techniques which would not normally be taught on my course, such as slip casting."
"My most memorable moments have been from this project, as materials is something that I am really passionate about, and this project has given me the opportunity to reach out to people in industry and gain valuable insights, whilst also enabling me to develop my own material recipe, which is something I am extremely proud of!"
Gagandeep Heer - BA (Hons) Product Design
Closing remarks
Gagandeep encourages prospective Product Design students to explore what they are passionate about. He says: "This course is great for exploring new ideas and pushing boundaries, so make the most of every opportunity presented to you, as you never know what project, thought, or conversation could mould your identity as a designer as well as your future ambitions!"