This project came to be when our class got contacted by Libe Aranguren Abadía, a PhD candidate in the environmental toxicology group at the Department of Biosciences at The University of Bergen. Libe had the desire to work with design students to help her communicate her research on the cod as a keystone species, and pollution in marine environments.

Me and two classmates decided to create Oh My Cod, a fictional company and movement with intention to raise awareness and start a debate about chemicals and their journey from us humans, to the sea and it’s creatures. The main aspect was to create something eye opening, humoristic yet provoking to make people aware and to remember this problem.

We came up with a few products to showcase this. The condom as an alternative to birth control pills, which end up in the sea and eventually making the male cod develop ovaries and produce eggs. The menstrual cup as an alternative to pads and tampons, which generate more than 200,000 tonnes of waste per year. And lastly a vibrator to further encourage safe sex.

The goal was to make the campaign as real looking as we could, and chose a colour scheme that was both bold and could be associated with the colour of the sea and the cod. To give the project a big spread we thought social media (instagram and pinterest) would be a good way to showcase and market our products.

This project was a collaboration between myself, Anny Follesøy and Subin Hwang.