Hi! I'm an Irish/Scottish designer, born and raised in Paris. I was drawn to this field because I have a passion for creative problem-solving and fostering innovation through empathy. I have a few years of experience working in UX Design and Brand Strategy.
Conor Mc Donald Heffernan
I’m focussed on how design can spearhead disruptive innovation. I believe that design’s ability to understand problems, foster collaboration and take a lean approach to zeroing in on solutions positions us as socially-conscious value creators. I have recently set up a venture studio to validate how this scales in practice.
Aethos - The future of values-driven purchases
For my final project, I worked with Benedetta Locatelli and Giulio Ferrato in collaboration with VISA to come up with a vision to transform the future of values-driven purchases.
In today’s consumer landscape, social impact has become a front of mind consideration. People want to align their spending with their values. Our goal when we set out to create Aethos was to help bridge the growing gap between consumer's aspirations and actions.
Do you know where your clothes come from? What if you found out they were made in an unethical or unsustainable way? Would you still have bought them? The gap between our values and the purchases we make is becoming wider.
This is why we created Aethos: the service to issue the 21st-century receipt. It combines a fully automated platform that enables the receipt to be issued, with a hybrid model that facilitates a supply chain verification process.
On the one hand, Aethos is an engine for transparency that empowers conscious choices by revealing the real story behind products. On the other, it’s a megaphone for people to promote transparent brands and hold opaque ones to account through our #knowyouraethos social media movement.
We’ll deep dive into the receipt first, and then we’ll look at Aethos verification.
Would you like your receipt?
#knowyouraethos - promoting transparent brands
#knowyouraethos - promoting transparent brands
#knowyouraethos - holding brands to account
Discover the 21st-century receipt
We are not the first group of people to tackle transparency, so we felt it was very important for us to look closely at the assets already in play and re-envision a better version.
Receipts are still an integral part of the retail experience. Ours works as a proof of conscience, displaying the information that matters most to consumers about their products. It comes in paper form or email form, linked to an interactive web app version that brings to life the stories of the producers and places that created the product.
A big part of the power of the Aethos receipt is its ability to empower ethical fashion brands and hold others to account. Sharing the receipt of a transparent product displays the brand's name and a confirmation that the clothes are exploitation free while opaque brands are prompted to make their product journeys transparent.
Our supply chain verification process
Verified by Aethos
Aethos verification enables brands to prove their supply chain claims. It relies on blockchain combined with physical technology to track a product’s journey from farm to shelf. This location data is cross-referenced by us with existing databases and certifications standards. Our approach is to use existing trails to legitimise and authenticate supply chains rather than add another level of certification.
Our tracking process uses unique molecular tracers that enable us to physically verify a material’s point of origin, paired with NFC tags that function as a digital marker. These are scanned along the production journey and relayed to our Blockchain-based app. This secured digital ledger registers the tag ID and location data of the smartphone when it’s read.
By combining proof of location underpinned by a decentralised system, with the work of existing verification bodies, we can create real transparency in establishing whether products are truly exploitation free.
Our theory of change
Our theory of change foresees that with the creation of the 21st-century receipt, we can impact more brands to be fully transparent of their supply chains and eradicate greenwashing strategies.
The social media movement will empower people to hold businesses to account and hold themselves to account, to establish a future where our purchases are truly driven by our values.
Sharing information about the places and stories of the people behind products, while also bringing to attention relevant political debates empowers consumers to learn and educate themselves, giving rise to future decisions that are more informed and conscientious.
Our long-term vision is that the journey of every single product on the market becomes transparent, as consumers progressively stop buying from brands that they know are not.
Please watch the video below if you are interested in a more complete run-through of how Aethos can impact the world.
Project pitch
Please watch the video if you are interested in a more complete run-through of how Aethos can impact the world.
"Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing."
(Oscar Wilde)
A special thanks to Elin Surjsen and Cedrine Streit from the VISA Innovation & Design Team for guiding us throughout the project, to our tutor Judah Armani for his unwavering support and to our Head of Programme Clive Grinyer for pushing us to think further. I would also like to give a special thanks to the fashion SMEs, retailers and people who gave us time out of their busy days to help make Aethos possible.