How Omdesign is Scripting a Sustainable Future, One Bee Hotel at a Time

In the intersecting worlds of design and environmental sustainability, Portugal’s Omdesign emerges as a vanguard. With an ethos firmly rooted in simplicity and detail, the award-winning agency has always advocated for a harmonious relationship between man and nature. This year, they bring their ideas to life in a remarkable way — by drawing inspiration from the industrious life of solitary bees. Meet “OMel,” Omdesign’s self-initiated project that’s more than a product; it’s a statement, a lifestyle, and a step towards safeguarding the fragile tapestry of Earth’s ecosystems. With an intricate network of 150 Bee Om Hotels around the world, each crafted from surplus wooden wine boxes, Omdesign’s latest endeavor is not just another design project; it’s a testament to their commitment to ecological responsibility and social impact.

By: Diogo Gama Rocha

Bee or not to bee?

Since 1998, Omdesign has believed that true luxury lies in simplicity and details. Year after year, the creative agency raises awareness for the importance of preserving nature and the urgency of preparing for the future.

Here at Omdesign, we have no doubts: we are, and will be, equal to ourselves. Together, we defend our values, our purpose, and our mission. We want to be part of the solution, transform mindsets, and promote a turning point with a view to the common good.

In these years of significant challenges and a lot of creativity, we wanted to go further. With a lot of resilience, audacity, and hard work, we focused on the path we had set out and drew inspiration from a small, great being with a huge impact on our planet.

Omdesign interpreted the way of life of solitary bees, true pollinating nomads, and synonymous with hard work to create this original piece and thus inaugurate a network of 150 hotels! Each Bee Om Hotel is special and will help to instill a sustainable, united, and purposeful mindset.

We tasted the bees’ honey (“mel,” in Portuguese), which we wrapped with the natural cork that welcomes them and gives life to this package. Built with reused and surplus production of wooden wine boxes, which would be destroyed and burned, OMel seeks to return to the environment as a refuge for solitary bees to make it home and continue to protect the biodiversity of ecosystems.

History has written that only in perfect harmony and integration of all parts is it possible for us to cohabit with the glimpse of a future. For this reason, on top of our OMel is the spoon-shaped pencil, the starting point to continue writing the rest of the story. With it, we also collect the nectar delivered by the bees and invite you to reuse the jar that carries it. May the next pages reveal that this is yet another small chapter in our history and our commitment to the future, full of daring, dedication, and consistency.

This self-promotion project was thought to work as an alert and a representation of the importance of the circle of life. Our Bee Om Hotels network will create a perfect and safe habitat for bees around the world. We selected all the materials based on the 3 “R” idea: reused wood, reusable jars, spoon-shaped pencils, and reduced production processes. As Albert Einstein is thought to have said, “If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live.” True pollination shelters, the bee hotels play a crucial role in sustainability, so they are a safe place for winter hibernation/summer reproduction and, thus, a guarantee of our balance and continuity.

Omdesign also used virgin raw materials to avoid a negative impact on the environment. To start installing OMel, firstly, we need to remove the honey collector pencil, press the layers of wood down, and remove the jar as soon as the boards are all together. Then, we cut the two dowels placed at the top and hung this bee hotel in a green area in the heart of the city, 1mt above the ground, in a stable location, and with the holes facing forward. We also should favor places with flowers and avoid proximity to bird nests to keep bees safe. After the installation in nature, we cannot disturb the bee hotel during winter since the solitary bees will only emerge the following spring. Hopefully, this will show the world that the next chapter is written with hope and sustainability!

Omdesign is a 100% Portuguese creative, advertising, and design agency for whom the pursuit of excellence is not just a goal. It has been in our DNA since 1998, and it is a way of being and embracing each project as unique, only achievable with great demand, attention to detail, and, above all, consistency. Excellence is a constant challenge that puts our creativity to the test every day. We are a 360° agency with full-service solutions in different areas, and the transversality and consistency of what we create, from design to production, from branding to packaging, from press to digital, from the point of sale to the final consumer, is what has set us apart since 1998. We work with design as a tool of excellence to be distinct, which, along with ambition and an endless search for innovative and effective solutions, has contributed to our client’s loyalty and building lasting relationships with all our partners in all corners of the world. From Leça da Palmeira to the world, we have created global projects for leading brands in various sectors. The quality and consistency of our creations have been distinguished in top-notch competitions of design, communication, and packaging, nationally and internationally. We have garnered more than 300 distinctions since 2015, and these awards are a valuable recognition and motivation for the entire team. At Omdesign, we believe that the course set from 1998 is the right one, fundamental for the success of the brands we proudly work with, always with a focus on excellence.

Diogo Gama Rocha was born in 1973 in Oporto into a family of artists from his mother’s side and industrial/managers from his father’s side. This unique heritage, combined with the industrial approach of his secondary studies, bestowed upon him profound know-how and passion for creativity and the intricacies of the production process, constantly innovating and challenging Omdesign’s partners to go further. Obsessed with detail, he graduated in Graphic Design at ESAD (Portugal) and received his MBA in Marketing and International Trade at ESADE (Spain). Passionate about nature, he has been involved in several sustainable projects to inspire and promote an ecologically friendly mindset. Diogo founded Omdesign in 1998, and since then, the creative agency has worked with leading brands in different areas around the world and carries, in its DNA, the pursuit of excellence as not just a goal but a way of being and embracing each project as unique, only achievable with great demand and consistency.

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