Shelby Elyse Sixsmith
[ Project Scope ]
Industrial Design
Brand Identity
Brand strategy
Campaign
Launch Marketing Systems
Video Direction
[ My Role ]
Lead Industrial designer/Product Designer
Brand Design Lead
[ Context ] Reusable Packaging Systems
[ Project Partners ]
Whistler
Disney
UCLA
UVIC
Pomona College
Uber Eats
(Reusables.com)
Reusables.com is a Vancouver climate-tech company whose hardware and software system replaces single-use takeout packaging at universities and hospitals across North America.
I joined Reusables.com as an industrial designer and strategist to design their container system. That grew into the whole product suite: the patented Smart Return Bin™, the app, digital touchpoints and in-person brand presence. I was in 3D software, on the ground testing and prototyping, carrying each product from concept through to production.
As the company scaled from an ambitious startup into universities and workplaces across North America, my role grew from industrial designer to Creative Lead. I worked across product, brand and campaigns with leadership, product and marketing teams, and directed freelance photographers and collaborators to keep one clear experience from infrastructure to launch.
That included a full brand redesign: a new identity, positioning and messaging that framed Reusables as the seamless, high-tech alternative to single-use, built to make launches with large institutional partners run smoothly.
The bin in these images is V3. Getting there took three years of research and prototyping, from static bins through failed, tested and rebuilt versions, to a fully electric bin that connects to the customer app and client back-end portals. It doesn’t just collect containers. It collects the data institutions use to prove waste reduction and cost savings.
Every decision came back to one question: what would make reuse easier than throwing something away?
Adoption depends on removing friction, so the bin was designed around habits people already had, not new ones they’d have to learn.
Intentionally designed.
Our clients were tired of sustainability solutions that took up visual space. The bin was designed to be sleek and quiet, to sit within the existing architecture rather than compete with it, and to be weather resistant so it could go anywhere, indoors or out
The bin was designed as part of a system. Weight limits, placement and servicing were all considered so staff could empty and maintain it easily, and new clients could set up with little effort. Doors were also placed on both sides to ensure the bin could be serviced easily no matter where it was placed.
Visually considered.
Even the angle of the form was chosen deliberately: from all angles, the Reusables logo sits front and centre and stays legible, so the object carries the brand without loud graphics. Creating a balanced and sleek form.
Custom Vinyl Graphics
We designed custom vinyl wraps and graphics for partners like Artizia and Starbucks and Hollyburn Country Club. Each design was carefully designed to align both brands seamlessly without loosing the sleek visual language of reusables products.
Colour Suite
The Reusables colour suite was also revised to lean into the blue they had been known for in the past, whilst giving more space for play across digital and physical touchpoints.
The expansion of the green and blue palette was chosen to mirror the shores of Vancouver where the company began in a way that could grow and live within their larger identity and digital presence.
The identity was designed as an extension of the product, not a layer applied afterwards. Built on the same principles
of clarity, simplicity and trust, it became a flexible system that could adapt to each institutional partner while maintaining a consistent brand experience.
Instead of rigid assets I designed a full template system that could be delivered and launched alongside partners without a full redesign each time. This was integral to our growth as we had to onbound and launch a new client each month with a small team to execute.
The most important design choice for these assets was clarity. Ensuring students and customers could understand the program the moment it landed at their school.
This led to the creation of 3 distinct packages that were designed around our 3 main brand colors. Universities often wanted our brand to fit seamlessly with their existing identities, so this gave us flexibility without loosing our brand recognition.