L'air de Algues
a sustainable beauty line that harnesses CO2 and byproduct algae residue
product design | spring 2023
timeline
24 hours
design sprint
team
belle duffner
my role
ux/ui design
scientific research
brand strategy
tools
figma
rhino 3d
skills
secondary research
competitor analysis
product design
willem ballard
.00
overview
the problem
It’s no brainer that CO2 is a current concern for our earth’s condition. Examining it closely, CO2 intensifies the greenhouse effect, causing global warming, and ocean acidification that endangers marine ecosystems and biodiversity.
However, instead of dwelling on the negatives, there lies potential in CO2. if Ethically harnessed, it can be filtered into valuable resources.
our solution
Introducing L'air de Algues: a sustainable beauty line that transforms the industry by harnessing CO2 and byproduct algae residue for product longevity and skin enhancement.
this project centers around a 24-hour design sprint with the goal of designing a product that ‘closes the loop in circularity’. with this is mind, my team and i spent hours ideating different problem spaces within this topic, and i stumbled upon our idea —
our process
discover
define
design
deliver
research the problem space and competitors
how will this process actually work?
render a 3d model of our product
compile all the data and visuals assests
.01
research goals
our goal in the research stage was to gain a better understanding of the inner workings of algae cultivation and co2 harvesting. we also wanted to explore the benefits of algae for the skin and its affect on fragrance longevity.
brainstorm session
hour 6
during this research phase, we wanted to explore how we can stand out in the fragrance red ocean, and find ways to create our own blue ocean.
.02
the science
with this in mind, we found that The benefits of algae cultivation is tremendous compared to alternative CO2 harvesting processes.
One amazing aspect of CO2 is its relationship to algae. In fact, CO2 is cruicial to keep algae alive by absorption through its photosynthesis process. And during this process, algae absorb up to 100 Gigatonnes of CO2 into biomass annually.
the algae cultivation and carbon sequestration process, in short, looks a bit like this:
Through scalable photobioreactors, our algae undergoes a multi-step process. extracting CO2 while repurposing leftover lipids and residue for innovative beauty applications.
.03
beauty + fragrence research
as a product, we wanted to repurpose carbon in the beauty industry to demonstrate cost-effectiveness and authenticity in sustainable products, not simply greenwashing yet another beauty product.
having the research insights in the back of my mind, i wanted to further distinguish our product within our new found blue ocean. my team and i planned to do this by formulating a sustainable, gender-neutral fragrance by eliminating VOCs (Volatile Organic Chemicals), avoiding tertiary packaging, and using recycled glass for the bottle
in order to make a gender-neutral scent, i decided on Lemongrass, Jasmine/Grass, and Vetiver as keynotes.
algae type study
as the lead beauty researcher, i wanted to understand which type of algae would work best with our product and which type would have the best benefits for our users
cyanophyceae
(Sigh-No-Fi-See-Eye)
after examining different algae types, i landed on cyanophyceae (blue-green algae). blue green algae offers numerous benefits for beauty and fragrance, boasting 5 key skin-enhancing ingredients: magnesium, potassium, sodium, calcium, and bromide.
We chose micro algae over macro algae for cultivation in a controlled environment to avoid exposure to environmental toxins.
.04
closing the loop
going back to the prompt of the design sprint, we were tasked with creating a product that closes the loop in circularity.
Our service begins by cultivating the algae in low-cost facilities that rely solely on natural sunlight and water for photosynthesis. The absorbed carbon is extracted for use in our products. They are then bottled and packaged using recycled materials, promoting waste reduction and cost savings.
Upon purchase and use of our products, customers have the option to order refillable capsules with a provided shipping label. These capsules can be refilled by customers, and when returned to us, we renew and refill them for continued use.
.05
final product
with our product strategy laid out, our industrial designer spent the rest of the night 3d modeling our physical product. we rendered containers for our fragrance, facial mist, and our refills.
Commercially compostable soy
Recycled glass bottle
.06
reflection
this design sprint allowed me to embrace all of my passions in one project: science, beauty, and UX. having previous knowledge of the topics I researched gave me a lot of confidence when it came to designing and ideating.
i think it's important as a designer to have fun every now and then and do a project that you are passionate about. something that I’ve learned is that some of your best work comes from the projects that you are passionate about.
so even though this project was just for a 24-hour challenge, i feel as though my team and i were able to accomplish a tremendous feat and we placed in the top 3 in the design sprint!