Anna van der Lei is a designer and lecturer whose work is driven by experimental approaches, often starting the work by exploring raw materials and their origins. She works in a highly collaborative way – be it with performers, chemists, scientists, or children. Every project she undertakes is well-documented, following a design investigative approach that places the material itself at the center. Her work is cross-disciplinary, spanning product design, filmmaking, performances, and bio-based material studies in a broader sense. This experimental and investigative approach extends to her teaching at Aalto University, where she has been a lecturer at the School of Arts since 2016. She teaches in the field of Contemporary Design at the Department of Design, Finnish Design bachelor's program and CHEMARTS, focusing on experimental design and material-based studies. She encourages students to embrace process-driven exploration. Her design philosophy is rooted in the idea that intuition and mistakes are vital parts of the creative process. This perspective was shaped during her studies at The Theatre Academy Helsinki which she joined temporary as a design student. After she wrote a thesis on integrating scores from theater into the design process at Aalto University. This method allows the process itself to become the outcome, rather than focusing solely on a predefined final result. She holds a BA degree from the Design Academy in Eindhoven. Her work has been exhibited worldwide, including at Sotheby’s London, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Dutch Design Week, and Milan Design Week. Only a small selection of her work is published on this website.