Milkmade:

A collaborative look into Designing for the Future of Food.

In collaboration with Graphic and Industrial Design students, my team and I developed an end-to-end project tackling a sustainability problem within the food industry. That problem is milk. The world is well aware of damages resulting from dairy farming, but there are plenty of issues within the plant milk market. We wanted to disrupt and improve it.

Creative Director & Brand Designer

Sukhi Kannikeswaran (Graphics & Animation) // Victoria Wells (Graphics & Photography) // Ella Krutz (Industrial Design, Research) // Hannah Junglas (Industrial Design)

Full Process Here

DEFINING THE PROBLEM

The Dairy Industry has long been an issue for the environment. With water consumption reaching reaching 1.5 billion liters a day, ground water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change, dairy cannot be a part of a sustainable future.

Where Milk has been…

While it is a better alternative, plant milk still has its consequences. Like any crops in modern day farming, monoculture is dominating the industry. This method degrades soil, over-consumes water & pesticides, & contributes biodiversity loss.

… the rise of plant milk

Creative direction by Libby Birkley // Animation Execution by Suhki Kannikeswaran

Concept: Milkman of the future

We want consumers to welcome all types of plant milk into their homes.

Our solution to improve plant milk’s impact on the environment is by creating a more varied demand for plant milks. No more almond or oat milk cult-following. The hope is to open up demand for polyculture farming and crop rotation practices which would improve biodiversity.

In addition, we want to create a delivery service that was easiest for the consumer and doesn’t produce emissions simply by transporting tons of liquids. That brought us to powdered plant milk.

Creative direction by Libby Birkley // Animation Execution by Suhki Kannikeswaran

Brand Identity

Alternative milks are trending so we wanted to create a perspective that speaks to the primarily Millennial and Gen-Z market, but pull in cues that whisper of some classic milkman nostalgia. All this goes into making plant more approachable. It isn’t a cheapened version or real milk. It is vibrant and delicious in its own right, and it is kinder to the planet.

Identity & logo by Libby Birkley // Plant illustrations by Suhki Kannikeswaran

Deciding on 3D Forms

It was important for me to keep my team grounded in our audiences needs. In writing personas, we were able to extract a breadth of sizes and frequency of delivery that would best suite typical users. We also considered desires for a sampling or starter kit when first trying this powdered plant milk service.

Classic milk bottle with modern design considerations for ease of use. (Intended for one-time purchase & long-time use)

Renders by Hannah Junglas

Simple but easy-to-use form that is a sturdy but light weight vessel for powder. (Aluminum is one one very few materials that is infinitely recyclable. Container can be repurposed or recycled)

Renders by Ella Krutz