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hive phone mockup II.jpg

The Hive: A Cleaner Greener Home

Instructor: Abby Guido

The Hive is a concept I created for my thesis project. It is a mobile shop service and app that sells sustainable goods to college students on campus. When brainstorming my thesis concept I considered several different options but eventually decided upon tackling the challenge of making daily necessities more accessible to college students yet also more sustainable. As a college student myself I knew the frustration of having a nonstop day, finally getting home at eleven at night to take a shower, and realizing I have no shampoo. The Hive not only gives students a reliable place to buy what they need, but it allows them to stay on track of what they need, and when they’ll need to refill or repurchase; all while reducing their carbon footprints.

Beginning Process:

First I had to collect some data about where students shop for everything from hygiene products to cleaning products. I also wanted to hear students' opinions on sustainability and whether it’s a priority for them. So I conducted a survey and sent it out to a variety of college students. I sent the survey to about fifty people and got twenty-eight responses. 

Survey Results:
Project Content:

  • Survey

  • User Personas

  • Logo Variations

  • Style Tile

  • Final Logo

  • Mobile Shop

  • Product Packaging

  • App Prototype

In my survey, I asked general demographic questions like age and grade. I also assumed that students being able to easily shop for their goods depended on their living situation, access to transportation, and location so I asked questions accordingly. In order to understand what products college students actually use I also asked what was purchased on a weekly basis and broke it down into four categories: hygiene, shower, cleaning, and skincare. I also wanted to know students' general opinions on sustainability and whether they recycled or not.

Findings:

From the survey, I was able to solidify my product list, find out what packaging would make the most sense for my target audience, and gain a greater understanding of how students shop. 

User Personas:

Once I had all of the information I needed I started to develop user personas. I chose to make three, one being Jenna, a 19 year old right brained, studious, and introverted person. The second being Charlie, a 23 year old creative, music production major who goes with the flow. Finally, Spencer, a 21 year old STEM major who is super extraverted and always on the go.

Branding:

Once I had a good understanding of who my client was I was able to move on to my branding. I came up with the name The Hive which came from the saying busy bee. I wanted to have a fun name that related to the environment but wasn’t too on the nose and I also wanted to portray how busy students are. When it came to the logo and feel of the brand I wanted to steer away from the traditional green and leafy sustainable logos you typically see on the market. I feel that a brand should be able to be sustainable without making it the main part of its branding and I also thought something more bright and colorful would cater more to my target audience.

Sketches & Brainstorming:

Originally this brand was just called Busy Bee and was highly bee-themed and quickly found out I didn't want to continue in that direction. The color pallet was limited to just black and yellow and it read more as a food-related company. My original logo sketches also felt like they were supposed to be targeting a younger audience. So I pivoted my branding to something more colorful while still keeping some of the bee imagery. 

Logo Variations:
Style Tile:
the hive style tile
Final Logo:
Deliverables:

The deliverables for my brand would first and foremost be the actual products themselves. Then there would of course be the design of the actual mobile shop. I also designed the Hive application and user flow. 

Mobile Shop:

For the design of the Hive truck, I wanted it to match the energetic feel of the rest of the brand. I mixed and matched some of the patterns I created along with the characters I designed for my style tile and incorporated them into the wrap on the truck. The truck would be an electrically powered vehicle and I included solar panels on the top to power all of the utilities on the inside while the truck is stationary. 

Products:

After some back and forth of making mockups of my sustainable products, I decided to change direction and illustrate all of the packaging and products myself. I had a very specific view of what I wanted the packaging to look like. I wanted it to be, of course, sustainable, as waste-free as possible, and finally consistent with one another. For those reasons, I came up with the products seen below. For products that didn't need packaging, I went with a simple belly band. For products that needed more packaging, I used mostly either compostable cardboard or recyclable tin containers.