Rebrew: A Dissolvable Cookbook for Herbal Medicine
A speculative product that reimagines how we care for ourselves and the planet through zero-waste recipes, dissolvable materials, and everyday rituals of healing.
ROLE
Design Researcher, Interaction Designer
CONTRIBUTIONS
Co-led concept development, user research, herbal recipe design, material prototyping, and iterative testing.
PROJECT TYPE & DURATION
Speculative Product & Material Futures - 10-week project
What if the future of wellness left nothing behind?
What if the future of wellness left nothing behind?
What if the future of wellness left nothing behind?
Rebrew began as a study of kitchen rituals and evolved into a deeper inquiry into circular design, material waste, and food as healing. What would it look like to care for ourselves without harming the planet?
Rebrew began as a study of kitchen rituals and evolved into a deeper inquiry into circular design, material waste, and food as healing. What would it look like to care for ourselves without harming the planet?
Rebrew began as a study of kitchen rituals and evolved into a deeper inquiry into circular design, material waste, and food as healing. What would it look like to care for ourselves without harming the planet?
Herbal remedies can be comforting and cultural grounding, but they're often inaccessible or intimidating. At the same time, our wellness habits still rely on systems that generate excess and waste.
Herbal remedies can be comforting and cultural grounding, but they're often inaccessible or intimidating. At the same time, our wellness habits still rely on systems that generate excess and waste.
Herbal remedies can be comforting and cultural grounding, but they're often inaccessible or intimidating. At the same time, our wellness habits still rely on systems that generate excess and waste.
Rebrew reimagines the entire lifecycle of care, from sourcing and preparation to use and decomposition. The result: an interface you can tear, dissolve, sip, and return to the earth.
Rebrew reimagines the entire lifecycle of care, from sourcing and preparation to use and decomposition. The result: an interface you can tear, dissolve, sip, and return to the earth.
Rebrew reimagines the entire lifecycle of care, from sourcing and preparation to use and decomposition. The result: an interface you can tear, dissolve, sip, and return to the earth.
A dissolvable recipe book rethinking the lifecycle of wellness.
A dissolvable recipe book rethinking the lifecycle of wellness.
A dissolvable recipe book rethinking the lifecycle of wellness.
When joy and guilt share the same kitchen.
When joy and guilt share the same kitchen.
When joy and guilt share the same kitchen.
We spoke to people who turn to food for healing and kept hearing the same thing. The rituals of nourishment are meaningful, but they’re not always easy. Between wasted ingredients and complicated prep, what should feel healing can quickly become overwhelming.
We spoke to people who turn to food for healing and kept hearing the same thing. The rituals of nourishment are meaningful, but they’re not always easy. Between wasted ingredients and complicated prep, what should feel healing can quickly become overwhelming.
We spoke to people who turn to food for healing and kept hearing the same thing. The rituals of nourishment are meaningful, but they’re not always easy. Between wasted ingredients and complicated prep, what should feel healing can quickly become overwhelming.
Rebrew eases that tension by by reducing complexity and waste without losing the joy or intention behind the ritual.
Rebrew eases that tension by by reducing complexity and waste without losing the joy or intention behind the ritual.
Rebrew eases that tension by by reducing complexity and waste without losing the joy or intention behind the ritual.
In-home interviews revealed the joy and ritual embedded in daily preparation.
In-home interviews revealed the joy and ritual embedded in daily preparation.
In-home interviews revealed the joy and ritual embedded in daily preparation.
But those rituals often coexist with confusion, guilt, and waste.
But those rituals often coexist with confusion, guilt, and waste.
But those rituals often coexist with confusion, guilt, and waste.
Where recipes become the remedy.
Where recipes become the remedy.
Where recipes become the remedy.
Rebrew is a dissolvable herbal recipe book. Each page is embedded with pre-measured ingredients for tea, broths, poultices, and inhalations. Made from organic, food-safe materials, every sheet biodegrades completely.
Rebrew is a dissolvable herbal recipe book. Each page is embedded with pre-measured ingredients for tea, broths, poultices, and inhalations. Made from organic, food-safe materials, every sheet biodegrades completely.
Rebrew is a dissolvable herbal recipe book. Each page is embedded with pre-measured ingredients for tea, broths, poultices, and inhalations. Made from organic, food-safe materials, every sheet biodegrades completely.
You tear a page, steep it, and let it disappear. The act of self-care becomes cyclical; nourishing you, then dissolving back into the earth.
You tear a page, steep it, and let it disappear. The act of self-care becomes cyclical; nourishing you, then dissolving back into the earth.
You tear a page, steep it, and let it disappear. The act of self-care becomes cyclical; nourishing you, then dissolving back into the earth.
A tactile, sensory interface for rituals of care.
A tactile, sensory interface for rituals of care.
A tactile, sensory interface for rituals of care.
The page as ritual.
The page as ritual.
The page as ritual.
Rebrew is designed as a tangible act of care. Tearing a page becomes a moment of pause.
Rebrew is designed as a tangible act of care. Tearing a page becomes a moment of pause.
Rebrew is designed as a tangible act of care. Tearing a page becomes a moment of pause.
Each sheet blends organic herbs with natural binders and prints accessible instructions inspired by traditional herbal practices.
Each sheet blends organic herbs with natural binders and prints accessible instructions inspired by traditional herbal practices.
Each sheet blends organic herbs with natural binders and prints accessible instructions inspired by traditional herbal practices.
After use, remnants dissolve fully or biodegrade into the soil, leaving nothing behind except the care it offered.
After use, remnants dissolve fully or biodegrade into the soil, leaving nothing behind except the care it offered.
After use, remnants dissolve fully or biodegrade into the soil, leaving nothing behind except the care it offered.
Four pages, four remedies. Each one crafted to disappear without waste.
Four pages, four remedies. Each one crafted to disappear without waste.
Four pages, four remedies. Each one crafted to disappear without waste.
Printed with clear instructions to make herbal practice more intuitive.
Printed with clear instructions to make herbal practice more intuitive.
Printed with clear instructions to make herbal practice more intuitive.
A system rooted in circularity.
A system rooted in circularity.
A system rooted in circularity.
We grounded the project in place, sourcing herbs from Bay-Area parks, markets, and kitchens. We transformed those ingredients into dissolvable sheets through weeks of material experimentation: drying and blending ingredients, testing binders, printing, perforating, and iterating on format and form.
We grounded the project in place, sourcing herbs from Bay-Area parks, markets, and kitchens. We transformed those ingredients into dissolvable sheets through weeks of material experimentation: drying and blending ingredients, testing binders, printing, perforating, and iterating on format and form.
We grounded the project in place, sourcing herbs from Bay-Area parks, markets, and kitchens. We transformed those ingredients into dissolvable sheets through weeks of material experimentation: drying and blending ingredients, testing binders, printing, perforating, and iterating on format and form.
The final sheets are flexible enough to tear, sturdy enough to hold, and gentle enough to steep. Every decision, from ingredients to instructions, was designed to close the loop between care and sustainability.
The final sheets are flexible enough to tear, sturdy enough to hold, and gentle enough to steep. Every decision, from ingredients to instructions, was designed to close the loop between care and sustainability.
The final sheets are flexible enough to tear, sturdy enough to hold, and gentle enough to steep. Every decision, from ingredients to instructions, was designed to close the loop between care and sustainability.
Form meets function: balancing flavor, dissolvability, zero-waste, and ritual in every page.
Form meets function: balancing flavor, dissolvability, zero-waste, and ritual in every page.
Form meets function: balancing flavor, dissolvability, zero-waste, and ritual in every page.
A sensory invitation into herbal heritage.
A sensory invitation into herbal heritage.
A sensory invitation into herbal heritage.
Rebrew honors ancestral practices while inviting new audiences in. The book includes four beginner-friendly recipes: throat coat tea, warming broth, steam inhalation, and wound poultice. Each one is designed to demystify herbal healing while preserving its cultural depth and sensory richness.
Rebrew honors ancestral practices while inviting new audiences in. The book includes four beginner-friendly recipes: throat coat tea, warming broth, steam inhalation, and wound poultice. Each one is designed to demystify herbal healing while preserving its cultural depth and sensory richness.
Rebrew honors ancestral practices while inviting new audiences in. The book includes four beginner-friendly recipes: throat coat tea, warming broth, steam inhalation, and wound poultice. Each one is designed to demystify herbal healing while preserving its cultural depth and sensory richness.
A pocket apothecary inspired by generations of wisdom, made approachable for the herbally curious.
A pocket apothecary inspired by generations of wisdom, made approachable for the herbally curious.
A pocket apothecary inspired by generations of wisdom, made approachable for the herbally curious.
Beyond the page: A provocation for circular futures.
Beyond the page: A provocation for circular futures.
Beyond the page: A provocation for circular futures.
The world produces over 400 million tons of plastic each year, most from from single-use packaging. Only 9% gets recycled. At the same time, interest in natural care is growing, especially among younger generations seeking alternatives to over-processed care.
The world produces over 400 million tons of plastic each year, most from from single-use packaging. Only 9% gets recycled. At the same time, interest in natural care is growing, especially among younger generations seeking alternatives to over-processed care.
The world produces over 400 million tons of plastic each year, most from from single-use packaging. Only 9% gets recycled. At the same time, interest in natural care is growing, especially among younger generations seeking alternatives to over-processed care.
Rebrew sits at this intersection. It proposes a new format for wellness. One that is sensory, cyclical, and regenerative by design. It’s a speculative provocation that asks: what if care rituals could be both personal and planetary?
Rebrew sits at this intersection. It proposes a new format for wellness. One that is sensory, cyclical, and regenerative by design. It’s a speculative provocation that asks: what if care rituals could be both personal and planetary?
Rebrew sits at this intersection. It proposes a new format for wellness. One that is sensory, cyclical, and regenerative by design. It’s a speculative provocation that asks: what if care rituals could be both personal and planetary?
TOOLS
Material prototyping, food-safe fabrication, ingredient dehydration, laser engraving, natural binder testing
FOCUS AREAS
Circular design, material experimentation, speculative design, interaction design, research synthesis
TEAM
Abigail Chen, Divya Srinivasan, María-Teresa Carmier, Shameemah Fuseini-Codjoe