Type
- Brand strategy
Role
- Creative direction
- Art direction
- Visual identity
- Motion design
Timeframe
- 12 Weeks
- Jun – Ago 2021
Company
- Frog Design
Made of air
By recycling bio-waste from forests and farms around Berlin, Made of Air — a small Berlin-based startup — has developed a new carbon-negative thermoplastic. The material stores more carbon than it emits, making it an ideal replacement for fossil-based plastics across industries and significantly reducing the carbon footprint of the products that use it.
00 · Summary
Challenge
In preparation for their next stage of growth, Made of Air needed a new brand strategy to help them align internally and establish a consistent, recognizable, and memorable presence across all verbal, visual, and material expressions of the brand.
Outcome
At the end of a 10-week project, we delivered a comprehensive foundational brand and communication strategy, along with a new brand identity and visual language. We also revisited the storytelling on Made of Air’s existing website and redesigned it to reflect the rebrand.
Impact
430%
Traffic increse since the rebrand and website relaunch.
280%
Within a year, Made of Air’s team has more than doubled in size.
Credits
Ricardo Osório Santos
Creative direction, visual and motion design
Camille Chouard, René Mambembe
3D modeling and visual design
Seshmitha Vedachalam, Zuzana Peskova, Nieves Padilla
Strategy and service design
Mattia Tarizzo
Project management
01 · Approach
Remote and collaborative
In the midst of a global pandemic, I led a fully remote European team of designers and strategists through a collaborative, fast-paced 10-week project. Our approach unfolded across four main stages: immersion, brand foundation, brand identity, and brand expression.
02 · Process
Building a sharing understanding
During the first few weeks, the team absorbed everything there was to learn about carbon, particle emissions, thermoplastic end-of-life cycles, competitor practices, adoption criteria for manufacturers, and what partners and clients look for when engaging with climate start-ups. An intensive process of desk research, stakeholder interviews, client workshops, and internal alignment established the knowledge foundation for a successful program.
Crafting a brand foundation together
Made of Air’s value goes far beyond simply replacing thermoplastics. It fundamentally reduces the carbon footprint of any product it enters, actively contributing to reversing climate change. Our main challenge was to communicate this value as an ingredient brand to major companies, while remaining crystal clear and fully transparent with end consumers.
03 · Development
Brand identity
Before the project began, I didn’t expect to redesign Made of Air’s logo—stakeholder interviews suggested no one had issues with the current version. However, as we developed mood boards to explore potential visual directions based on the brand foundation, the need for a new logo became clear.
Moodboards and visual research
From the very beginning, Made of Air made it clear they did not want to become a commodity or a lifestyle brand. We went through several rounds of moodboards with the team until we finally arrived at the right visual tonality.
Product visualization in 3D
To help Made of Air better communicate the versatility of their material next to clients and partners, we’ve created an archive of dozens of 3D renders showcasing the material in applications across different industries: automotive, architecture, furniture and consumer goods.
04 · Outcome
Bringing it all together
The last phase of our collaboration focused on unifying the work from earlier stages. We've explored tone of voice, colour, typography and imagery to express the brand visually, creating enough assets that help Made of air communicate clearly what they do and why they exist.
05 · Client feedback
Reexamining all that we did, it’s pretty mind blowing (…). We’ve already gotten a speechless reaction from a few of our board members.
