Design Ventura 2024-25 Brief Setter: Notpla

We are excited to announce the Design Ventura 2024-25 brief, set by Rodrigo García González and Karlijn Sibbel of innovative, sustainable single-use packaging solutions company Notpla!

Notpla is an alternative to plastic made from seaweed and plants, it is completely natural and entirely biodegradable. Students are asked to be inspired by the theme: Change to design a product to improve everyday life for a specified target user group.

There journey started with the the Ooho, an edible water bubble designed by Co-Founders Rodrigo García González and Pierre Paslier at London’s Imperial College in 2013. The pair began by making each one by hand in their student kitchen, continuously testing new formulations to see if their idea had any chance of success. The name Ooho was quickly born from the unanimous reaction of people’s experience of these edible liquid balls – “Oohooo!”.

Notpla has a series of products which are solutions to single waste plastic! Some of there products offer plastic-free solutions to single use takeaway boxes and food sachets. By utilising the technology they had developed for the Ooho, they could apply this as a natural coating barrier which replaces all that plastic.

Watch the video below for some top tips when producing your design, from idea generation to final pitch:

We are thrilled to welcome Notpla to Design Ventura this year. As well as setting your brief setter, they will join us as expert judges, helping to choose this year’s winning idea at the Pitching Day in March 2025. We can’t wait to see your ideas!