Nova Organic Burials
According to research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control, the average person in the US has 212 toxic chemicals in their body. These include tobacco residues, dry cleaning chemicals, pesticides, fungicides, flame retardants, heavy metals, and preservatives, among others that get emitted into the atmosphere upon cremation or leached into the soil with a burial. This is one of many unforeseen factors that make these rituals so devastating for our environment. Nova strives to evolve the social constructs surrounding death and the environmental impact of traditional burials and cremations. Upon death, we leverage infinity mushroom technology that remedies these toxins while decomposing the corpse. By recognizing that the future of our species depends on a healthy planet Nova offers an alternative end of life ritual that acknowledges our toxic history and organic nature.
Timeline
10 Weeks
My Role
Branding
Web Design
Development
Visual Design
Tools
Atom
Photoshop
InDesign
Illustrator
Collaborators
Lindsey Jensen
Project Problem
The funeral industry has long given us two options when planning for end of life, burial or cremation. As we are realizing how detrimental these processes can be to the environment and begin looking at green alternatives, we must also consider how to brand an alternative end-of-life service that works to change the social constructs around death and decay.
Human Exceptionalism
Burial rituals prioritize protection, sanitation, and beautification of the corps in a process that involves toxic embalming fluids, makeup, and wasted resources.
Materials & Land allocation
Conventional burials in the U.S. use 30 million pounds of hardwood, 2,700 tons of copper and bronze, 104,272 tons of steel, and 1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete for burial vaults and caskets. 41.66 square miles of habitable land is now solely devoted to graveyards every year.
Environmental Detriment
The average person in the US has 212 toxic chemicals in their body and are then pumped with toxic embalming fluids, when buried in the ground they don’t just disappear, they gradually work their way into the soil and underground waterways.
Project Goals
Personal & Unique
Craft a design that feels personal and unique to the life that is being celebrated
Life As A Cycle
Content structure and design celebrates life as a cycle
Transparent Process
Copywriting highlights all aspects of the process to relieve uncertainty
Minimize Impact
Solution addresses the existing problems of the industry and minimizes environmental impact
Ideation
Nova Organic Burials caters to environmentally conscious and alternative lifestyle consumers. Nova provides users with a better understanding of the environmental impact of traditional end of life practices and offers an environmentally friendly alternative that promotes beauty in the cycle of life.
Strengths
- Transparent in process
- Forward-thinking
- Knowledgeable staff
- Backed by research/science
- Realistic alternative
- Partnership w/ Cons. Burials
- Sustainable Solution
Weaknesses
- Lack of awareness
- Proximity to Cons. Burials
- Novel Service
- Unconventional
- Idea of decomposition
- Not the social norm
- Casket production/storage
- No Grave Marker
Opportunities
- Few competitors
- Emerging need for Eco solution
- Reevaluate death construct
- Increase Awareness
- Industry thought leader
- Redefine green burial stand
Threats
- Recompose/compost
- Capsule Burial
- Mushroom Suit
- Water Cremation
- Regulation
- Changing customer attitude about death
User Personas
Nova Organic Burials caters to environmentally conscious and alternative lifestyle consumers. Nova provides users with a better understanding of the environmental impact of traditional end of life practices and offers an environmentally friendly alternative that promotes beauty in the cycle of life.
Customer Journey
The Solution
Make the unappealing process of decay result in something beautiful while highlighting all of the wonderful benefits. Nova is a carbon-neutral solution for how we handle the remains of our deceased loved ones. Nova provides a solution for an exorbitant use of resources, leaching toxins, and begins to normalize that decay is part of the cycle of life and death.
Design Direction
Advertising
Advertising for Nova was designed to exist in natural and unobtrusive environments around the Seattle area. The goal of this campaign was to insight interest with a simple, but memorable tagline while keeping the branding minimal so that it felt like it was apart of the environment.
Physical Marketing
As a key takeaway component, the physical marketing materials were designed to feel approachable as well as environmentally sustainable. The content was kept minimal but addressed some of the key pain point areas that were mentioned in our user interviews.
Website
The website for Nova was designed to serve as a hub for information as well as a point of purchase. The flow of the homepage is meant to guide users through each step of the process while providing them with visual reminders of what sets Nova apart.