From an idea to a clickable prototype in 48 hours? We went to a Garage48 hackathon

In January 27-29, the Garage48 hackathon or 48-hour hacking marathon took place in Tartu.

Fortunately (!) there was a shortage of brand, design and web developers, so we were invited to participate. With the concept being exciting “from idea to prototype in 48 hours”, we were obviously intrigued and excited to go.

The topic of the event was also interesting and important – different innovative, sustainable solutions in food. Either real food or food-related software was created.ra.

Team formation

Vegan fish, microalgae, mycelia, various vegetable and non-vegetable protein sources…the topics were all fascinating and difficult to choose from. But we didn’t want to choose. Since it was actually exciting for us to test ourselves, we had ourselves put together with teams that needed our skills the most.

Kaari went to team Kese. Five young enthusiastic food technology students who have created Estonia’s first salty protein bar – Kesebar. They had developed it in the last two months as part of the Garage48 event and had to give it to the jury to taste.

Kese team: Egert, Sander, Stiven, Martin, Jürgen and Kaari

Kese team definitely needed:

• A simple brand book
• Packaging design
• A clickable prototype

Martin went to Team Supercharger®. Three knowledgeable experts in their field, their focus is microalgae. The team presented the jury with a pesto with microalgae.

Supercharger® team: Sascha, Kristin, Martin, Liina, Koit

Supercharger® team definitely needed:

• A simple brand book
• Packaging design
• A clickable prototype

Neither team had designs.

Working

Friday, January 27

20:30-23:00 First meeting, understanding the product, talking with the team, making an initial plan

We didn’t have a particularly restful sleep that night, with our imaginations running wild, and the Sunday deadline on the back of our minds. After all, we had to finish a task that usually took dozens of times longer, alone and in two days. Somewhere around 6 in the morning we were already up and sharing our thoughts with each other.

Saturday, January 28

6:00-8:50 We discussed ideas, researched competitors, got inspiration and also had breakfast

9:00-21:30 We worked in the hackathon. Kaari focused mainly on design, Martin on strategy and marketing with the team and design.

By Saturday evening, the Kese team had all the designs, so there was just enough of time on Sunday that it would be possible to develop not only a clickable prototype, but a fully functional website. The Supercharger® team had a marketing plan in place, designs almost completed, and Sunday left to finalize the designs, create a presentation, and a clickable prototype.

Sunday, January 29

9:00-17:30 Working in the hackathon.

17:30-21:00 Finals, judging, awards

Total working time is approximately 26.5 hours plus “thinking work outside working hours”.

Results

Kese team presentation

Considering how short the time was from zero to the final result, we are pleasantly surprised with the result. Since there was very little time, there was not much time to overthink and rather we did what immediately felt right. In addition, the process was made easier by the fact that we could work head-to-head with the team for a common goal, we received immediate feedback in case of questions, and the general atmosphere in the event was motivating.

For Kese team Kaari delivered:

• A “quick” market and competitors research
• Brand guide (logo, colors, typography, icons)
• Packaging design
• Sotsial media feed design examples
• Web design
• Presentation design
• Web development

Check out Kese brand case study and results here!

For Supercharger® team Martin delivered:

• Create a marketing plan with the team, perform product analysis and market research
• Brand guide (logo, colors, typography)
• Web design
• Packaging design (2tk)
• A clickable prototype
• Presentation design

Check out Supercharger® brand case study and results here!

To sum it up

We probably slept almost one good night’s sleep over the weekend, but we couldn’t have asked for a better, more busy, motivating and exciting weekend! It is good to see and realize that there are so many active and talented people in Estonia who research, work and constantly strive for smarter and more sustainable solutions.

Thanks to all the participants, our nice teammates and especially to Garage48, who organises such awesome events!