On January 27-29, a Garage48 hackathon took place in Tartu - a 48-hour hacking marathon.

Fortunately (!), there was a shortage of branding, design, and web developers, so we were invited to participate. Since the concept is exciting - "from idea to prototype in 48 hours" - we were obviously intrigued and eager to go.

The event theme was also interesting and important - various innovative, sustainable food solutions. Participants created either actual food products or food-related software.

Forming the teams

Vegan fish, microalgae, mycelium, various plant-based and non-plant-based protein sources... the topics were all exciting and choosing was difficult. But we didn't want to choose. Since we were genuinely excited to put ourselves to the test, we let ourselves be paired with teams that had the greatest need for our skills.

Kaari joined team Kese. Five young, enthusiastic food technology students who had created Estonia's first savory protein bar - the Kesebar. They had been developing it over the past two months as part of the Garage48 event and were set to present it for the jury to taste.

The Kese team definitely needed:

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

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

Kese team members working together at the Garage48 hackathon

Martin joined team Supercharger. Three knowledgeable experts in their field, focused on microalgae. The team gave the jury microalgae pesto to taste.

The Supercharger team definitely needed:

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

Neither team had any existing design work.

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

Supercharger team members posing at the Garage48 hackathon

How the work progressed

Friday, January 27

20:30-23:00 First meeting, introductions, and mapping out needs

There wasn't much peaceful sleep that night - our imagination was working at full capacity and Sunday's deadline was looming. We had to accomplish in two days what would normally take many times longer. Around 6 in the morning we were already up, sharing our ideas with each other.

Saturday, January 28

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

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

By Saturday evening, all the design work was complete for the Kese team, so there was just barely enough time to develop not just a clickable prototype on Sunday, but an actual functional website. For the Supercharger team, the marketing plan had been reviewed, the design was nearly finished, and Sunday was left for completing the design, preparing the presentation, and creating a clickable prototype.

Sunday, January 29

9:00-17:30 Work at the hackathon

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

Total working time roughly 26.5 hours, give or take, plus "off-the-clock" thinking.

Kese brand design process - logos and colors Kese brand typography and visual identity Kese packaging design initial concept Kese protein bar packaging design final version Kese web design landing page concept Kese social media post examples Kese landing page final version

Results

Considering how short the time was from zero to the final result, we were pleasantly surprised by the outcome. Since time was extremely limited, there wasn't much room for overthinking, and we mostly went with what felt right immediately. The process was also made easier by working together with the team side by side toward a common goal - the momentum carried the whole team, we got instant feedback on questions, and the overall atmosphere was motivating.

For the Kese team, Kaari managed to complete:

  • A "quick" competitor analysis and market research
  • A brand book (logos, colors, typography, icons)
  • Packaging design
  • Social media post (feed) examples
  • Web design (landing page design)
  • Presentation design
  • Landing page development
Supercharger brand design and visual identity

For the Supercharger team, Martin managed to complete:

  • Co-creating a marketing plan with the team, conducting product analysis and market research
  • A brand book (logo, colors, typography)
  • Web design
  • Packaging design (2 pieces)
  • A clickable prototype
  • Presentation design
Supercharger packaging design for microalgae products Supercharger web design landing page Supercharger presentation design for hackathon finals

In summary

Over the weekend, we probably slept a combined total of barely one proper night's rest, but we couldn't have wished for a better, more productive, more motivating, and more exciting weekend! It's great to see and acknowledge that Estonia has such industrious and talented people who constantly research, work on, and strive toward smarter and more sustainable solutions.

Thank you to all participants, our wonderful teammates, and especially to Garage48 for organizing such awesome events!