All Water Thesis

All Water Filtration

Kait Kostelnik Senior Digital Design Thesis 2022 University of Colorado - Denver

Thank you I want to say thank you to Brian Delevie for pushing me to explore deeper ideas and constantly ask questions. Stephen Schaf for being the reason I fell in love with design. My mom for supporting me through every stage of this process and helping fund this project. Jessica Kostelnik for advising me through my academics. Noah Koury for assisting in construction and rendering of my final product. Michelle Carpenter and Travis Vermilye for encouraging passion driven projects. Everyone in the Outdoor Adventure Program for being my family and favorite place throughout my entire time at CU Denver.

Robert Bilott for being the inspiration for this project.

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Table of Contents The Problem...5 The solution...8 Reasearch...9 Personas...15 Brand...17 Product...19 Audit...23 The Process...25 Citations...27

The average consumer interacts with over 100 chemiclas before leaving the house in the morning.

In the US there are over 80,000 chemicals circulating the market and only 96 of them are regulated.

Every one of these unknown chemcials are in your drinking water.

The most dangerous is PFOS/PFOA. These chemicals were made by big corporations to be indestructible, and when they enter your bloodstream they continue to accumulate. No matter where you live you cannot escape these chemicals. Once they enter any body of water, the water cycle carries it across the entire globe.

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The Problem

Water is the foundation for all life and vital to our existence. As consumerism takes over our, the health of our water is at risk, and it is vital we make an effort to preserve its health. Most areas in the United States are lucky to have around-the-clock access to safe drinking water directly from the tap. Currently, all water is contaminated with indestructible chemicals (PFOS), pharmaceutical medications, bleach, metals, and much more. Due to the lack of education on chemicals and deficient appreciation for clean water, the severity of the water crisis is becoming life-threatening. In recent years, the increase in droughts and toxic spills into our water have made it clear that we must fight for change. Our water will not get clean unless we reduce our chemical use and our reliance on fast production and heavy industrialization.

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Thesis Question How can utilizing branding and product design increase millennials' engagement in water advocacy and encourage chemical-free living?

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The Solution Millennials make up the largest portion of the population and have the most buying power.

Their consumer habits have a direct impact on the market. Targeting millennials and educating them on the water crisis is the best approach to making change happen. A product that will cultivate a community of advocates for chemical-free living will have a ripple effect for change. This water filter encourages drinking clean and will remind users of the importance of water. Building a product that is affordable and appealing will boost millennials' investment to the current crisis. We can leverage millennials consumer preferences to shift in how corporations and the government address chemical use and contamination of our water. All Water filterers are affordable, space-conscious, decorative, and customizable, all the key elements millennials value when buying household necessities.

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Research

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The Water Crisis Water Filters & Millennials

The water crisis can’t be boiled down to one issue. There is a multitude of crises intertwined in a complex system. Drought and access to clean water have been the focus of water advocacy as they have immediate ramifications that can be seen firsthand. These water issues are important aspects of water health, but they are not the only concern we need to focus on. A top issue affecting our water health that is not often discussed are the hazardous contaminants in our drinking water. The contaminants that have the greatest impact on human health are man-made and unregulated by the EPA and often appear in products we use on a daily basis. Currently, there are over 80,000 chemicals used by industry and only 96 of them are regulated (Gammon, 2022). They enter our water systems through household pipes and industrial pollution.

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A recent of the impact of industrial pollution was brought to light after a lawsuit revealed DuPont chemical disposed of thousands of gallons of chemical waste into a North Virginia river which led to one of the worse health violations in history. Not only did they create these toxins knowing the severe health hazards, but they also continue to make them for their own financial gain. They make so much profit in the use of these chemicals in household goods, that they have paid millions to hide the true nature of their actions, but exposure continues to happen despite their best attempts.

The problem goes well beyond the actions of one company. Various municipal, commercial, and industrial facilities have stored over 470,000 tanks of toxic waste in underground storage, and since 2008 there have been over 100,000 leaks that have yet to be cleaned (Enander, 2012). The most dangerous chemical we interact with are called PFOS/PFOA, these are man-maid and indestructible.

They are bio-accumulative meaning they build up in the body over time and cause a multitude of illnesses most common, cancer. These “forever chemicals” have been around for roughly 100 years and have been identified as toxic within the last 50 years. In February 2019, EPA announced with great fanfare that it had “begun the process” of finally listing PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under Superfund law (Bilott, 2019, pg 369). Actions like this need to happen much faster in order to protect an already limited supply of water.

Cleaning toxins from our water is the other half of the issue. There are nearly 77 million Americans that receive water from a system that violated federal protection in 2015 (MacMillan, 2021). Some of these violations consisted of exceeding health-based standards, failing to properly test water for contaminants, and failing to report contamination to state authorities or the public (Fedinick, Wu, Olson, MacMillan, 2020). Americans rely on these facilities to filter their water for them, and they are not meeting the requirements. For people to feel safe and secure they need to filter their own water to ensure it is clean. Home water filters are the best way for people to get clean and reliable water.

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Why water filters?

Water filters are the easiest way for people to quickly access clean water.

Filters can come in a variety of products like large countertop filters, water bottles, even straws (though these are often meant for camping). Different filters can remove specific contaminants. Brita water filter is known for removing standard chemicals like chlorine and lead (Brita, 2022). High-end filters, like Berkey, filter out over 200 contaminants, including some of the harshest, like PFAS’s (Sizemore, 2021).

Berkey is the top filter on the market for its clean materials, filter capabilities, and resources. The biggest inhibiting factor for mass adoption with the Berkey product is its price point. Even their smallest filter is still $362. Making high-end filters like this more accessible will ensure more Americans have access to clean water.

Why millennials?

The buying power of millennials is estimated to be over 600 million dollars and that number is continuing to increase (Munsch, 2021). With this much authority over the market, millennials can influence the products being made. Products that require too much water or are made with unregulated chemicals can be made obsolete if they demand it. Millennials are extremely susceptible to advocacy campaigns and marketing and over the last decade, there has been an increase in environmental involvement. Millennials purchasing power has led to serious conversation around humanity’s ecological footprint. Their consumer habits have prompted companies like Starbucks to reduce their use of plastic. They removed plastic straws and encouraged the use of reusable cups by providing discounts. Big corporations will change their production systems if consumers are no longer interested in the toxic product they are trying to sell. Therefore, it is vital to educate millennials so they can fight unethical industrial approaches to sustainability.

Shedding light on the current water crisis will encourage them to fight against the people creating these problems. It is a big fight against corporate America and the government but once millennials engage, change will happen.

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Design Media Expert (DME) Haylee Jordan is a brand strategist and designer who is a CU Denver alumni.

Haylee focuses solely on freelancing for wellness and lifestyle brands. Her design style is bold, elevated, and approachable.

She works with small businesses and start-ups, almost all of which are woman owned. Her strong design skills, welcoming personality, and radiating positivity led her to success. Her strength and professional wisdom had made her an excellent mentor. She was open with her experience and gave great insight into determining a design style and career goal. I continue to work with Haylee and learn from everything she does. To see more of Haylee's work, visit her website at: https://hayleejordan.com/ 13

Subject Matter Expert (SME) Hope Bartlett was the sustainability expert at the One World One Water Center at MSU. She now works as a Water Conservation Specialist in Longmont Colorado. Her specialty in all things water made her a great resource for education. I have worked with Hope multiple times in other settings, and I am always inspired by her knowledge and ability to make anyone feel comfortable. Her background was not in water education, but she was able to turn her business degree into a resource for water advocacy. There is great value in seeing an individual take a non-science-based degree and use it for environmental change.

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Personas

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Rebecca

Demographics Age: 27 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada Job: Social Community Lead Goals: Consumer: Buy sustainable products.

Personal: Help bring social justice to minority groups.

Frustrations: Consumer: Most products come from unethtical sources.

Personal: Toxins in water and access to clean water.

Shopping Habits: Local shops, organic small businesses.

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Daniel

Demographics Age: 26 Location: Missoula Montana Job: Arborist Goals: Consumer: Buy prodects that use all compostable materials.

Personal: Live a zero waste, eco-friendly lifestyle.

Frustrations: Consumer: How many chemicals are used in everyday products.

Personal: Being caught up in the fast-pace way of life.

Shopping Habits: Patagonia, Thrift store 17

Kelly

Demographics Age: 23 Location: Denver, Colorado Job: Social Media Manager Goals: Consumer: Buy iteams that can fit timeless trends.

Personal: Become a top influencer.

Frustrations: Consumer: Green washing.

Personal: Not being able to stand out from other social media stars.

Shopping Habits: Target, Amazon, Magnolia.

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Brand Logo Varients

All Water Filtration

All Water Filtration

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Color Palette

Logo Marks

Title Type

Century Gothic Pro Bold - Italic Body Type

ITC Avant Garde Gothic Pro Book - Medium 18

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The Filter

Removable lid

Spigot

(Gold, Silver)

Water refill space

Filter

Exterior Wall Decor

(Wood, Granite, stainless steel)

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Insulated Stainless Steel

Materials Marble

Bamboo (stained)

Bamboo

Silver Stainless Steel

God Stainless Steel

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Audit All Water Targer Audiance Products

Filters

Pricing

$50-75

Aesthetic Product

Yes

Eye cathcing packaging

Yes

Belief

23

Millennials

Chemical free

Outreach/education resources

Yes

Website

Yes

Sold in stores

N/A

Customizable

Yes

Social Media Platform

N/A

Berkey

Brita

Everyone

Everyone

Filters

Filters, bottles

$285-700

$30-45

X

X

X

X

Family

Plastic Reduction

X

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

X

X

X

136k

13.5k 24

The process

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When creating this brand, I went through many ideas. I knew I wanted to focus on clean water advocacy. My initial concept was to create an app in which users could see the water quality in their area and connect to educational resources. My second concept was a social media campaign aimed to engage and inform millennials in water health to create more advocacy around this issue. I decided to do a water filter because it allowed me to focus on product design, but more importantly, it gave users something they could physically interact with that would inspire chemical-free living.

Examples of All Water app concept 26

Examples of All Water social media campagin.

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We're talking about a chemical that's out there. Not just on one farm in West Virginia, not even just in the public water of an entire community there, but it's now in water all over the country, all over the planet, in the blood of virtually every living thing...

There's got to be a point in time where the reality comes home and people realize, here are the facts, and this is either not true or it is true. You've got the facts, you can make your own decision now.

-Rober Bilott

THE ONLY THING THAT SHOULD BE IN YOUR WATER, IS WATER.

Citations

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Enander, R. T., Hanumara, R. C., Kobayashi, H., Gagnon, R. N., Park, E., Vallot, C., & Genovesi, R. (2012).

Reducing drinking water supply chemical contamination: Risks from underground storage tanks. Risk Analysis, 32(12), 2182–2197. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2012.01843.x Bilott, R. (2020). Exposure. Atria Books.

Bravo, O. S.-A., & Lee, J. (2019). The mediating effects of message agreement on millennials’ response to Advocacy Advertising. Journal of Marketing Communications, 26(8), 856–873. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2019.1596969 Johnson, O., & Chattaraman, V. (2020). Signaling socially responsible consumption among millennials: An identity-based perspective. Social Responsibility Journal, 17(1), 87–105. https://doi.org/10.1108/srj-02-2019-0074 Munsch, A. (2021). Millennial and Generation Z Digital Marketing Communication and advertising effectiveness: A qualitative exploration. Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science, 31(1), 10–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/21639159.2020.1808812 Gammon, 154B. K., & 154. (2021, December 22). She's on a quest to understand what's In your drinking water. The Story Exchange. Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://thestoryexchange.org/cindy-hu-whats-in-your-drinking-water/ MacMillan, Amanda. (2021, July 9). What's in your drinking water? NRDC. Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://www.nrdc.org/stories/whats-your-drinking-water Kristi Pullen Fedinick & Mae Wu & Erik D. Olson, & MacMillan, A. (2020, May 4). Threats on tap: Widespread violations highlight need for investment in water infrastructure and protections. NRDC. Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://www.nrdc.org/resources/threats-tap-widespread-violations-water-infrastructure What Does Brita Filter? . Brita. (n.d.). Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://www.brita.com/why-brita/better-water/ Sizemore, E. (2021, February 8). What does Berkey remove? Berkey Filters. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://www.berkeyfilters.com/blogs/berkey-blog/what-does-berkey-filter Stock photos, royalty-free images, graphics, vectors & videos. Adobe Stock. (n.d.). Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://stock.adobe.com/

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