For even more eco-friendly designs, we have the solution.

What’zhat is a design agency based in Vietnam, that’s why this topic affects us doubly. Indeed the issues concerning ink and air pollution are part of our daily lives. That’s why today we present the story of Air Ink.

When Anirudh Sharma was then only a student, he made a trip to India, his home country. There, he took this rather artistic photo and had a brilliant idea: make black ink from engine pollution. More details of this anecdote in this TED TALK video.

Then he started several home-made experiments to find out if his project was realistic. It’s a success. With his team Nikhil, Nisheetj and Nitesh, they transform their living-rooms into assembly lines for their innovative pens. It was in 2012. Since then, the production has grown steadily and Ink Air is now used by artists around the world.

Before Air Ink there is first Kaalink, the small machine fixable on any muffler to extract the PM2.5. This complicated scientific name is simply the pollution dust created by our cars, motorcycles, factories …

Indeed a pen corresponds to 40 to 50 minutes of pollution of a diesel engine. However, you must be wondering if this ink is then healthy and of good quality. Well, that’s the case. What is dangerous in dust pollution are the microparticles, so small that they pass into our lungs and our blood! By compacting these particles in the ink, they become harmless.

Moreover, on November 1^st 2018, the OMS announced in Geneva that air pollution kills 7 million of us each year, Air Ink creation is fortunate!

In July 2016, they collaborated with Tiger Beer and made a promotional video.

The video was a resounding success and was picked up by news organizations around the world. The artists began to flock and want to get their hands on one of these pens. Here are two of them:

Kristopher Ho, Hong Kong Muralist, you can follow him on Instagram.

Artist Caratoes creates a mural using Air Ink. Image c/o CNN 

Kickstarter, which is celebrating its 10 years of existence, is a platform that connects entrepreneurs with creative ideas and contributors ready to invest for these projects. It is on this platform that Air Ink was able to obtain the necessary budget for its development.

They classify projects by categories:

• Art,
• Comics and illustration,
• Design and technology,
• Cinema,
• Gastronomy and creation,
• Games,
• Music and publishing

Some of our favorite projects at What’zhat:

[icon name=”bolt” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] Iris – The drawing tool that inspires creativity:

[icon name=”bolt” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] Via – Waterproof sneakers made from recycled ocean plastic:

[icon name=”bolt” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] Other promising projects that restore confidence in the future! To follow the Air Ink adventures do not forget to subscribe to their Instagram page.