These were the woodchips of group 12, that we colored last week. This week we noticed mold on all the woodchips we colored. This discovery was disappointing, but educational. These woodchips were kept in plastic containers. The moisture gathered on the bottom of the containers and the mold started growing.

#Mold #MindTheMoisture #Color #Woodchips

This week we decided to do a new collaboration, but this time with group 5. In this photo you can see that we sprinkled some colorant powder over the filled mould. We are thrilled to see the result of this experiment next week.

#Collaboration #Powder #ReuseWaste

This week we did new tests. In this picture you can see the result. We mixed red beet powder with ethylalcohol. We then dipped the pieces of wood into the mixture of colorant, and we are excited to see the result of this next week.

#NewTesting #Alcohol

This is a screenshot of one of our system. This week we worked out several systems, such as our production-system but also our dispersion-system. By doing this we were able to visualise how many variables have an influence on our product and how many people contribute to our product.

#Systemthinking #Stakeholders #Production

We washed some of the avocados seeds and let them dry for a week. A lot of them dried nicely and gave us useable material, but some still developed mold, especially on the bottom of the seed. Probably because this side was on the paper towel which causes is to lose a lot of ventilation

#mold #Bio #ventilation

This is a result of the testing we did with alcohol. The wood absorbs the color really well, but the cardboard our pieces were laying on also seemed to absorb the color. We’ll have to find a way to prevent this but this also gives a new path to experiment : cardboard.

#Alcohol #Cardboard #Color

Collaboration

This week we decided to do a collaboration with group 1, this is the group who works with mycelium. In this picture, you can see the mycelium-based material after we dipped it in our alcohol-based colorant. We are very excited to see how this collaboration will turn out.

#Collaboration #Mycelium #Color

In this picture, you can see some chalk that we found. We are planning on setting up a system where leftover pieces of chalk can serve as colorant. This way, this chalk doesn’t get thrown away and serves a new use.

#Chalk #Reuse #Leftover #Waste #NewLife

In this photo, we are looking for different types of wax. Last week we did some testing with wax, the was we used last week didn’t give great results. So now we are trying to fine tune this system, by first of all, looking for different types of wax.

#Wax #Crayons #SmileUnderTheMask

Types of wax tested for bio colouring sticks.

Molded ‘stick’.

Tests on paper.

Very happy to announce that new testing with our self-made biological ink and a brush pen finally paid off. We now have a way to make ink that is usable as ink to write with. In this picture you see a test with the ink on a piece of paper.

#PaintOrWrite #Biological #Ink

This week also we focused on the use of our product in the real world. Because the easier it is to use, the more people will actually use it. We can now ensure that our ink can be applied in multiple ways that are very easy, efficient and user friendly.

#Application #Wood #SpecificWays

The collaboration of this week, really paid off. Our waste stream got integrated in the knotplex team. This team used our waste residue to add color to their project. In this picture you can see the use of a little bit of residue (upper picture) and more residue (lower picture).

#WasteStream #Residu #Reuse

This week we made a demo video of the process of making colorant. The video is easy to follow and shows everything you need and all the steps. This video will be used by other groups who want to add color to their project

#Demp #StepByStep #Colorful

This week also we focused on different concentrations of the colors we made. This way, you can make different shades of a certain color, starting from one powder.

#Concentrations #Shades

Trying to make a really concentrated colorant with ox tongue root, we were too enthusiastic with the amount of root we could add and thus it resulted in a puree. From this puree, we couldn’t subtract colorant. We did learn the upper limit from this failed attempt.

#OxTongueRoot #VeryHighConcentration #LearnFromFails

This picture was taken during user tests we did this week. Casper was a willing participant for our user tests. You can see the radiating smile that is hidden underneath the mask after making the bio-colorant.

#UserTest #Bio-colors #BigSmileUnderneathTheMask

We also set up an experiment in the IDC building. Everyone can access it and so everyone can try out our bio-color system. There is already bio-colorant made and there are also brushes etc to try it out with.

#Experiment #TryOutBioColors

After realizing we weren’t doing the LCA in a right way, we properly reworked the LCA. In this LCA we compare our bio-coloring system to a regular spray paint can. In this table, the CO2 emissions are put next to each other in order to compare the systems easily.

#RewordedLCA #CO2 #Emissions