Elizabeth Cummins

Throughout my journey at Loughborough Design School, I have developed a deep passion for creating impactful environments that inspire and engage people. My experiences have equipped me with a multidisciplinary perspective, allowing me to approach design challenges with creativity and versatility.

As I look ahead to my professional future, I’m excited to continue exploring the possibilities within the spatial design industry. If you’d like to learn more about my work or discuss potential collaborations, feel free to reach out via email.

Environments Design Major Project – Odd Spot

Public Space That Feels Personal

 “It’s 2030. 

Teenagers now have vibrant, youth-led third spaces to call their own. No longer pushed aside, they gather to connect, create, and belong. Designed for teens, by teens, these modular spaces build confidence, bridge generations, and spark a new wave of civic pride. 

See it for yourself at Odd Spot.”

Odd Spot is a modular public pavilion system designed for young people, by young people. Placed in the heart of UK towns and villages, in local parks and green spaces. Each Odd Spot is unique, adapting to its surroundings through flexible layouts and community input.

With face-to-face interaction among teens in decline, Odd Spot offers a much-needed third space: a safe, creative, and informal environment for 11–15-year-olds to connect away from screens and adult-managed settings. Its modular design allows it to suit different locations and budgets, blending playful functionality with biophilic, sustainable materials.

By working with local schools, Odd Spot invites teens to shape their own space using scaled-down design kits. They choose features like seating, art boards, book swaps, and even outdoor DJ decks – encouraging creative expression and genuine ownership of public space.

Odd Spot isn’t just a park shelter, it’s a movement toward reclaiming public space for a generation that’s been left without one. 

Let’s build the future of community from the ground up, one triangle at a time!

Sustainable Retail Flagship Store

Creating a Flagship Store for a Sustainable Online Beauty Brand

This project proposes the design of a sustainable flagship retail store for a UK-based eco-conscious online skincare brand. The aim is to translate the brand’s circular values and ethical production practices into a physical space that engages customers, reduces environmental impact, and sets a new standard for sustainable retail design.

The store is conceived not only as a point of sale but as an immersive educational and experiential environment, showcasing how sustainability can be embedded in every aspect of retail — from materials and layout to customer interaction and operations.

Key Features of the Design:

Central Multi-use Table:
A folding table constructed from salvaged wood features laser-engraved sustainability messaging. It serves dual functions: product display and a space for community events, workshops, and educational programming. Fold-out seating made from recycled cardboard can be stored within the table base to minimise clutter.

Refill Station:
Customers can refill skincare products using an intuitive system that includes weighing scales, hygienic dispensers, and a self-sanitising sink area. A wall-mounted ingredient transparency display highlights salvaged food waste sources used in each product and quantifies their environmental benefit.

Coffee Corner:
A small coffee station reinforces the brand’s use of waste coffee grounds in product formulations. Materials such as recycled coffee composites, salvaged crates, and upcycled textiles support the aesthetic and sustainability goals. The space is intentionally understated, serving as a value-added feature that subtly draws customers to stay longer and engage more deeply with the store environment.

Educational Touch-points:
Throughout the space, embedded educational graphics, tactile materials, and QR-coded storytelling communicate the environmental impact of both the brand and the customer’s choices. These features are designed to support conscious consumer behaviour without overwhelming the shopping experience.

Design For Impact Group Project – PICK UP.

In collaboration with Oliver Peace, Jaime Van Rooyen & Toby Hirst.

Involving University Students in Beach Clean-ups

This group project was developed in response to a brief focused on protecting and maintaining sensitive coastal environments. Our team chose to address the pressing issue of beach pollution—particularly prevalent around coastal university towns, where student activity often contributes to the accumulation of litter on shorelines.

Through collaboration with behavioural psychologists and beach clean-up charities, we explored the behavioural and systemic barriers that prevent students from engaging with existing clean-up efforts. Our goal was to create a solution that not only made participation easier but also fostered a sense of ownership and pride in maintaining local beach spaces.

The result is PICKUP—a modular clean-up hub designed within a converted shipping container. This hub equips students with everything they need for autonomous and accessible beach cleans, supported by a user-friendly app that guides them through the process and tracks their impact. To encourage continued involvement, PICKUP integrates an incentive-driven system: students earn points for each clean-up, contributing to a national leaderboard where coastal universities compete for prizes and community amenities.

To add an element of fun and celebration, each hub features a built-in photo booth, allowing students to document and share their contributions. By combining practical tools, behavioural nudges, and gamification, PICKUP transforms environmental action into a rewarding and community-driven experience.

Prototyping Stages:

Siiluna – Park Lighting with Wildlife in Mind.

Investigating the effects of artificial light at night on hedgehogs in urban green spaces.

Siiluna is an adaptive lighting system designed for urban parks and green spaces, integrating motion sensors to balance public safety with nocturnal wildlife protection. Shielded fixtures minimise light spill, reducing disruption to species such as hedgehogs while maintaining adequate illumination for visitors. Key features include <2200K LED lighting, photocells, and motion sensors calibrated to detect only humans and larger animals, ensuring minimal impact on wildlife.

Key Features: 

Motion Sensor Light Shield 

• The addition of the hinged flap at the front of the pillar is to direct the lighting downwards and shield from light spill when no members of the public are near. 

• The motion sensor is places at the top of the pillar which will detect when a person is near but not foraging nocturnal animals. This triggers the flap to move back allowing more light for public safety. 

Amber LEDs (<2200 k) & Red Metal Exterior 

• The colour of the lighting being emitted is important to control to reduce the impact on wildlife. A warm light below 2200 k is recommended. 

• By combining a brushed red steel for the body, it allows for low reflection to reduce light spill whilst the red aids the light source to give a warm glow which us best for wildlife. 

Solar Panel 

• As this design requires more energy to power the hinge and motion sensor, it has a solar panel located at the top of the pillar. This helps to be energy saving and resourceful of its outdoors location. 

Photocells 

• Daylight sensors that activate the warm LEDs when the ambient light level falls below the threshold. The natural state of the lighting is to have the shields closed, only opening to allow more light when public activity is detected. 

Explorative prototyping with cardboard & domestic lighting: