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ABOUT

Designer, architect, and above all, a visual storyteller. I believe that every space, object, and image tells a story about how we live, what we value, and who we become.

Currently pursuing a Master's in Design Studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, I explore how design can create meaning in new forms of domesticity and public life. My research moves between the tangible and the emotional, investigating how environments shape belonging, behavior, and collective identity.

Before Harvard, I worked across diverse contexts - from leading communication and design at a national NGO, to designing for a sustainable beauty startup, or researching market and design trends for Brazil’s largest furniture company. This journey taught me to merge creativity and strategy with a results-driven mindset, but always grounded in purpose.

My work seeks to design stories with intention, connecting aesthetics, ethics, and emotion.

EDUCATION

Harvard University
Graduate School of Design

Master in Design Studies Candidate (2025-2027)

Awarded the Dean’s Merit Scholarship, the Graduate School of Design Merit Grant, and the Claudio Haddad Family Fellowship.

California Institute of Arts
Graphic Design Program

Graphic Design Specialization (2022-2023)

University of São Paulo
School of Architecture and Urban Planning

Bachelor's Degree in Architecture and Urban Planning (2017 - 2022)

Fellow of the Unified Scholarship Program USP - Culture and Extension Department,
Director of Women's Field Tennis Team,
Volunteer at FAU's Social Impact Group
GPA: 8.9/10
Graduation Thesis: Mobiliar: Recycled furniture lab for social housing, Grade: 10/10 with distinction

EXPERIENCES

Harvard Brazilian Association
Head of Communications (2025-2026)
Cambridge, MA

Brazil Conference @ Harvard & MIT
Social Impact Vice-President (2025-2026)
Cambridge, MA

CARE Natural Beauty | Marketing Department
Senior Designer (2024-2025)
Designer (2023-2024)
São Paulo, Brazil

Tok&Stok | Design, Content, and Trends Department
Junior Trends Researcher (2022-2023)
Product Design Intern (2021-2022)
São Paulo, Brazil 

Votorantim Institute | Marketing
Summer Intern (2021)
São Paulo, Brazil

Liter of Light Brazil 
Marketing Coordinator (2021-2022)
NGO Volunteer (2019-2020)

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

Harvard Graduate School of Design
Student Work Nomination
Publics Proseminar Final Essay
2025


MIT Brazil Program
1st Place
Design in Social Contexts
2020


Global Entrepreneurship Week Brazil
Speaker
2018


11th São Paulo Architecture Biennale
Exhibite Work
2018

CURRENT OBSSESSIONS

Artemis II
Olivia Dean 
Emanuele Coccia 
Miso Garlic Ramen 
Yoga

MORE AT

Instagram
LinkedIn 
mariana_ferreira@gsd.harvard.edu

© 2026 by MFS

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