ORIGIN BY OCEAN

ORIGIN BY OCEAN

2024-2026

Adobe Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Premiere, Acrobat), Google Suite (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms), Monday, Hubspot, Miro, Linearity, Procreate

Photos: Ada Pärnänen

  • Roles & Responsibilities

    • Creative/Layout designs

    • Illustrations

    • Mockups

    • Product Photography

    • Editing

    • Sustainability

    • Writing/Communication

    • Research

    What is Origin by Ocean?

    Team Members

    • Project Aim

    • My Role

    • Icons & Signs

    • FOAK Drawing

      • Project Aim

      • My Role

    • Dieline & Final Packaging Mockups

    • Project Aim

    • My Role

  • Item description

  • Item description

    • Project Aim

    • My Role

    • Project Aim

    • My Role

    • Project Aim

    • My Role

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

As Marketing Activist for a year and a half at Origin by Ocean, I worked on a variety of projects. Using my background in Graphic Design (BA major), Sustainability (BA minor), and Creative Sustainability (MA), I was able to balance projects that required graphic design, photography, marketing, communications, sustainability, and research.

Areas and projects that I worked on:

  • Creative/Layout designs:

    • Flyers, Technical Data Sheets, One-pagers

    • Presentation slides (creating the style guide for all Origin by Ocean presentations, and editing slides to look cohesive and clear)

    • Brochures (Fucoidan, Feel the Impact, etc.)

    • Reports (Impact Reports, etc.)

    • Booth/panel designs for trade shows

    • Email footers and banners

    • Moodboards

  • Illustrations:

    • Graphs and charts

    • Icons and illustrations (creating the style and designs for all)

    • Signs and flyers

    • Mockups

  • Mockups:

    • 3D packaging mockups of products (creating the packaging dielines, designs, and the final physical mockups)

    • Digital mockups for booth designs

  • Product Photography:

    • Photoshoot planning, and product photography

  • Editing:

    • Videos (for applications)

    • Photos (from photoshoots)

    • Social media photos

  • Sustainability:

    • Sustainability planning/pathways, and working within work packages for EU projects (AlgaeProBANOS)

    • SDG Accelerator Program (certificate of completion)

    • UNGC COP sustainability report (2024-2025)

    • Origin by Ocean’s Impact Reports (2024, 2025)

  • Writing/Communication:

    • Social media text

    • Reports (Impact Reports, etc.)

    • Proofreading (in English)

    • Policy writing and updating

    • Questionnaires

  • Research:

    • Reading through research articles, compiling information, and creating citations for documents such as the Fucoidan brochure and the Impact Reports

No ai was used for my projects.

WHAT IS ORIGIN BY OCEAN?

Origin by Ocean is reimagining the chemical industry by transforming harmful algae into high-value, sustainable, 100% bio based & biodegradable ingredients for consumer goods.

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TEAM:

  • Communications Director Activist: Noora Westerlund

  • Marketing Activist: Ada Pärnänen

  • Product Development Activist: Marc Desmarais

  • Labtech Activist: Kristina Lumani

  • Lead Application Activist: Mamata Bhattarai

  • Business Director Activist: Vesa Harjunpää

Impact Report: Ada Pärnänen

Impact Report cover photo credit: Unsplash: Krystian Tambur

Photo: Ada Pärnänen

FUCOIDAN BROCHURE

PROJECT AIM:

Inform stakeholders and grow interest about the potential of fucoidan.

MY ROLE:

I created a 19-page brochure about fucoidan, covering information about Origin by Ocean, market trends and research, fucoidan, and fucoidan’s benefits (moisturization, skin protection, antioxidant activity, anti-inflammation, and antimicrobial properties).

I read through research papers, compiled the information, wrote the content, created the citations, chose the photos, and did the layouts for the brochure.

The full brochure can be found at the link below on Origin by Ocean’s website below (please note that you must provide an email address in order to access the full document).

LINK TO BROCHURE

Fucoidan Brochure: Ada Pärnänen

Brochure photo credit: Unsplash

ICONS, ILLUSTRATIONS, & SIGNS

​I designed and illustrated an icon style that fits Origin by Ocean’s brand. I created over 300 icons (varying in complexity depending on the use case) in Adobe Illustrator and they were utilized in reports, flyers, and presentations.

I translated that icon style into illustrations and infographics, which were used in reports, signs, and presentations.

All Icons & Illustrations: Ada Pärnänen

FOAK DRAWING

PROJECT AIM:

I was asked to create a drawing that includes the current factory as well an upcoming factory in Kokkola Industrial Park, which would be used in the publications announcing Origin by Ocean’s biorefinery in Kokkola.

MY ROLE:

My drawing was created by hand, using an Apple pencil on an iPad, with the programs Linearity and Procreate. The aim was to give a more warm and friendly feeling by hand drawing the image, as opposed to the more sterile and clean-cut feeling that can arise from some architecture models.

The drawing was used in a variety of publications, announcing Origin by Ocean partnering with CABB Group for a first-of-a-kind (FOAK) biorefinery.

LINK TO ORIGIN BY OCEAN'S PUBLICATION

FOAK Drawing: Ada Pärnänen

Dieline & Packaging Design: Ada Pärnänen

Photo credit for the 3 photos: Noora Westerlund

Physical product mockups: Ada Pärnänen

TRADE SHOWS & MOCKUPS (physical & digital)

I worked with Noora Westerlund on Origin by Ocean’s panels and booth designs for the following trade shows and events:

  • FI-EU (2024)

  • Sargassum Conference (2024)

  • SEPAWA (2024)

  • Making Cosmetics Italy - Green Dream (2025)

    • Origin by Ocean won the Green Dream award alongside Evonik

  • in-Cosmetics (2025, 2026)

  • Cosmoprof (2026)

The nine physical mockups presented in the photos were displayed at Food Ingredients Europe (FI-EU) in 2024 at our booth, exploring the different food application possibilities of alginate. We asked the question “Where could regenerative alginate make the biggest impact?” I designed the mockups from start to finish, creating the designs and dielines in Illustrator, printing them, and then assembling them.

  • Six products (plant-based milk carton, plant-based meat packaging, ice cream box, gum packaging, candy bag, yogurt cup) were printed on thick paper, and three products (smoothie, sauce, jam) were stickers on glass bottles and jars.

For trade shows with larger booths, I created digital mockups of what our booths would look like, with the panel designs, flooring, and furniture, so that it would be easier to visualize how all of the elements would come together and see if anything needed to be changed.

PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY

PROJECT AIM:

Take product and scenery photos that can be used for a variety of applications, such as reports, brochures, presentations, and social media.

MY ROLE:

I planned and staged over 10 photoshoots, took all of the photos (with a mix of a DSLR camera and a phone), and edited the photos with Photoshop. The photos explore movement through water, warm and cool tones through lighting, and balance and placement through the backgrounds and environments.

The photos were taken in Finland and the United States.

All photos on this page are my own, unless stated otherwise.

Thank you to my family and coworkers for their assistance during photoshoots!

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Photos, Editing, & Oat Drink label design: Ada Pärnänen

Photos shot on iPhone

PHOTO EDITING

Some photos needed little-to-no editing, while others, such as the two examples in this section, required some classic Photoshop magic to get the final product.

Photos & Design: Ada Pärnänen

SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

In 2025, Noora Westerlund and I started brainstorming what the new visuals for our social media could look like. I created a mood board with different options and we selected which ones we would like to start using. We wanted the style to be cohesive, clean, and in line with Origin by Ocean’s brand guidelines.

Here are some examples of social media photos and videos that I created with the new visual style.

Videos & Design: Ada Pärnänen

SDG AMBITION ACCELERATOR PROGRAM

PROJECT AIM:

Plan some of Origin by Ocean’s sustainability pathways for 2025-2030.

MY ROLE:

The SDG Ambition Accelerator Program was hosted by the Finnish chapter of the United Nations Global Compact, and aimed to help companies make progress related to our Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Noora Westerlund and I participated with 15 other companies in a 3-month program (February 26th-May 13th, 2025) in Helsinki. The program focused on progressing SDG-related goals and setting measurable targets, and we had to choose one SDG to focus on.

Through this program, we were able to create three pathways that were in line with SDG 13 (Climate Action). Our first pathway was to create an LCA for our supply chain and our own operations. Our second pathway was focused on our production process (biorefinery). Our third pathway was focused on a customer application through a case study.

We started working on the first pathway in 2025, as part of a collaboration in an EU project (AlgaeProBANOS).

IMPACT REPORT FOR 2024

PROJECT AIM:

Create Origin by Ocean’s very first impact report, setting the tone for future reports, and informing stakeholders.

MY ROLE:

In the beginning of 2025, Origin by Ocean published the company’s very first impact report.

For that impact report, I read through research articles and our own documents, wrote an internal questionnaire, and compiled the information so that I could write cohesive text for the report. I created the illustrations, icons, and layouts, and I chose which photos would be used. Noora Westerlund helped edit the text and visuals for the impact report.

The impact report went through a company-wide internal review prior to being published.

Impact Report 2025: Ada Pärnänen

Impact Report cover photo credit: Adobe Stock

Link to 2024 impact report

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Impact Report 2025: Ada Pärnänen

Impact Report cover photo credit: Unsplash: Krystian Tambur

Link to 2025 impact report

IMPACT REPORT FOR 2025

PROJECT AIM:

Create Origin by Ocean’s second annual impact report, published on our blog and sent to stakeholders.

MY ROLE:

In the beginning of 2026, Origin by Ocean published the company’s second impact report. For that impact report, I looked at what information I should build upon from the first version and see what new additions should be made. I took visual elements from the first version, but paired it with stylings from the fucoidan brochure that I had created. This way, the visual design still looked cohesive but had also evolved into a new direction. 

For this impact report, similarly, I read through more research articles and our own documents, wrote an internal questionnaire, and compiled the information so that I could write cohesive text for the report. I created the illustrations, icons, and layouts, and I chose which photos would be used. Noora Westerlund helped edit the text for the impact report.

The impact report went through a company-wide internal review prior to being published.

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