ourcarbon
a carbon negative concrete additive and black pigment.
About
OurCarbon is a carbon negative material brand working to replace fossil derived substances that make up the products we use every day. The material itself is, quite literally, carbon sequestered from municipal wastewater organics that would have otherwise been sent to landfill.
Similar to the way plants absorb and store carbon, the pyrolysis process that forms this charcoal-like media actively removes carbon from re-entering the atmosphere for at least 1,000 years. OurCarbon can be used in products like concrete and resins to create a carbon ‘inset,’ that is, it can reduce the overall carbon footprint of a physical object because of its negative footprint. OurCarbon is currently used as a black pigment in the fashion and consumer goods industries in inks, textile dyes, and biopolymers.
roles
This brand and all of the visuals, creative strategy and messaging for OurCarbon were developed by myself and one other (wonderful) designer with the help of a few contractors along the way. I’m responsible for the marketing and creative direction for logos, graphics, photography and video, and was also - in true startup form - more often than not actively producing these assets myself.
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The industry markets that this material was eventually used for, the customers in those industries, and the manufacturers that produce for those customers were all rigorously researched. Interviews were conducted in order to thoroughly understand the problems OurCarbon would solve for these users and strategies were developed in response to these conversations, tested, and iterated many times over.
The landscape of this project was incredibly complex and required in depth understanding into the scientific process that produces this material as well as the subtle chemical changes that allow it to function (or not) in various applications. The research for this project required patience, expert advice, and most of all, empathy.
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Climate solutions are often situated in a nebulous context nestled in with political acronyms, scientific jargon and abstracted concepts. In the era of greenwashing, we wanted to bring things down to earth with clean and simple visuals that emphasize the integrity of this climate solution.
The identity for OurCarbon is fundamentally based on transparency. In order to make the product of an engineering innovation relatable, we made everything around it clean and simple. Stripped of distractions like excessive color and pattern, the complex production story and impact of OurCarbon becomes clear: This is our waste, this is our planet, and this is OurCarbon.
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By acting as a mediator between the researchers, scientists and engineers that make this material a reality and the consumer facing brands that use it, OurCarbon’s unique message is one of action. This is a solution for tomorrow that can be implemented today.
Throughout the project, OC’s core message has been adapted and shared through installations, exhibits, prototypes, as well as conference and panel stages.
I Branding
The identity for OurCarbon is based on transparency. In order to make a novel material relatable, we made everything around it clean and simple. Stripped of distractions like excessive color and pattern, the complex production story of OurCarbon becomes clear.
The audience for OurCarbon’s messaging spanned chemists, fashion brands, manufacturers, and consumers.
In order to effectively communicate with all of these observers we developed presentations with varying degrees of technical information that cater to one (or all) of three levels of personified observers:
I the streaker
The streaker is the least engaged audience. They will read large headlines, linger for only a few moments on video content, and quickly glance at images. What the streaker takes with them as they exit is only a high level impression of what they’ve seen and read.
II the stroller
The stroller will read headline text as well as skimming the body paragraphs. They will review images and diagrams but not in great detail. Strollers will consume some but not all media available.
III The stalker
The stalker is the most engaged audience. They will read every piece of text, inspect images, diagrams and captions, and stay through the duration of and available media.
social media:
For our social media accounts, we sought to share educational messaging to give background to the general public and non-technical brands interested in using OurCarbon in their products.
motion graphics
For non-technical clients and members of the media we developed an introduction animation that gives an overview of OurCarbon’s mission and impact.
Art Direction: Elizabeth Bridges and Garrett Benisch | Animation by James Ward
Process: iterative storyboard
Brand Standards
We developed and maintained a kit of branding documents to help oC’S partners effectively communicate about this unique material in their specific market.
Application highlight: carbon negative concrete
After years of development in an innovation-adverse market, we successfully launched OurCarbon as a concrete additive in concrete. The sequestered biogenic carbon embodied in the material, in addition to the methane avoidance accrued by diverting the original feedstock from landfill, can achieve carbon negativity in structural grade concrete.
Throughout the six commercial pours completed since summer 2022 we collected imagery, video and interviews to create marketing material to be shared with potential new clients.
Application Specific presentations
II product design
Once we had identified economically viable target markets for OurCarbon’s material, we set out to develop and document prototypes that would show investors, customers and the press just how valuable waste can be.
These prototypes included exhibit installation designs, VR experiences, cast concrete forms, 3D printed PLA resin sculptures, graphic designs for screen printed merch, and more.
