Waste Not

An end-to-end concept project spanning research, strategy, brand identity, and UI, designed to make zero-waste living accessible and approachable.

Project Breakdown

The Ask

The Idea

The Sketching

The Brand

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The Ask

The brief was intentionally open: design something educational for San Francisco. No product, no audience, no problem statement. The direction had to come from research.

The Research

Exploring San Francisco's cultural identity surfaced three characteristics that shaped the project direction:

A strong health-conscious ethos
A deep connection to technology and digital culture
Significant ethnic and demographic diversity

Many topic areas already had effective solutions in place. The gap that stood out was environmental change, specifically waste reduction. San Francisco had set an ambitious goal to achieve zero waste by 2020, but deeper research revealed a critical barrier: widespread public misconception about what zero waste actually means. Most people believed it meant throwing nothing away at all, an impossible standard that made the goal feel unachievable before they even started.

The real definition is simpler: minimize landfill use by maximizing recycling and composting. That gap between perception and reality became the foundation of the project. The design problem wasn't just education, it was reframing a concept that people had already written off. This insight led directly to the concept of a trash sorter feature in the app, alongside an online educational platform and a zero-waste delivery service to make the transition more manageable.

The Idea

The central barrier to zero-waste living isn't awareness, it's convenience. The concept addressed this directly with a subscription service delivering zero-waste starter kits to users' doors, covering cleaning supplies, kitchen essentials, toiletries, cosmetics, and travel items, all packaged in zero-waste materials. Monthly refills removed the friction of frequent shopping and encouraged consistent use of sustainable products.

A companion app supported the behavioral side of the transition. Users could input any item they wanted to dispose of and receive clear instructions on which bin to use, along with context about what happens after disposal and what similar items can be sorted the same way. Together the service and app addressed both the practical and educational barriers to adopting a zero-waste lifestyle without making either feel overwhelming.

The Strategy

With the concept defined, a SWOT analysis was conducted to assess strengths, weaknesses, and target audience, which informed the brand's core ideals, language, and visual direction.

The central challenge was making zero-waste living feel attainable rather than overwhelming. Research into how other environmental organizations communicate revealed a common pattern: most rely heavily on guilt and negative imagery to drive action. Photographs of landfills and ocean plastic communicate scale but rarely change behavior.

Waste Not took a different approach. Rather than avoiding the negative entirely, difficult realities are illustrated and presented alongside positive outcomes, showing the contrast without letting the negative dominate. Research into the environmental design space pointed toward a flat, minimal illustration style as both distinctive and appropriate, paired with a bright optimistic color palette to signal positivity and forward momentum.

The brand keywords that emerged were clean, attainable, simple, considerate, personable, and helpful.

The Sketching

Logo development started by identifying symbols that could represent both knowledge and zero-waste principles. Circles emerged as a strong foundation, universally recognized as symbols of continuity and completeness. An arrow was introduced early to signify positive change and forward movement, aligning with the brand's mission to make sustainable living actionable rather than abstract.

Ligatures were also explored during this phase, experimenting with letterform combinations to create something distinctive that reflected the brand's values. The sketching process was iterative, working through multiple directions before arriving at a concept worth developing further.

The Logo

Early explorations used a circle with an upward arrow to represent knowledge and positive change, but the result was too abstract to carry the concept clearly. The direction was revised to incorporate iconography more directly tied to environmental values.

The final mark abstracts the W and N of Waste Not into a continuous organic form that reads as both waves and terrain, referencing natural environments without being literal. The shape has an inherent symmetry that gives it stability while keeping it fluid and approachable. A playful bold logotype complements the mark, maintaining the brand's warm and accessible tone.

The Illustrations

A custom icon set was developed to represent each zero-waste kit category, giving users a clear visual shorthand for navigating the product offering. The icons maintain consistency with the flat illustration style established across the brand.

Two scenario illustrations were created showing the environmental impact of user choices, presented side by side on the website. One depicts current habits, the other shows the positive outcome of making sustainable changes. Illustration was chosen over photography deliberately, both to distance the brand from the guilt-driven visual language common in environmental campaigns and to keep the tone optimistic and actionable. The contrast between the two scenarios communicates the need for change without making it feel insurmountable.

The Brand

Waste Not is a complete solution for individuals looking to adopt a zero-waste lifestyle, combining a subscription kit service, a convenient delivery system, and an online guide designed for everyday use.

The primary goals are to educate both prospective and current users, make zero-waste living feel normal and achievable, and provide a smooth on-ramp to sustainable habits.

At its core, Waste Not exists to redefine recycling and make zero waste an accessible part of daily life, not a dramatic lifestyle overhaul.

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Let's work together.

UX · UI · Design Systems · Accessibility · Figma · Framer · Webflow

If you think my skills would be a valuable addition to your team or project, I'd love to connect.

Designed and built with care and curiosity by Rachel Kear ♡

Resume

Let's work together.

UX · UI · Design Systems · Accessibility · Figma · Framer · Webflow

If you think my skills would be a valuable addition to your team or project, I'd love to connect.

Designed and built with care and curiosity by Rachel Kear ♡

Resume

Let's work together.

UX · UI · Design Systems · Accessibility · Figma · Framer · Webflow

If you think my skills would be a valuable addition to your team or project, I'd love to connect.

Designed and built with care and curiosity by Rachel Kear ♡

Resume