Tokyo design studio we+ presents SO-Colored, a project exploring microalgae pigments as eco-friendly alternatives to dyes. Revealed at Milan Design Week 2025, it showcases diverse natural colours, develops bio-composites with algae and resins, and promotes sustainable, innovative uses of colour that respect ecology.
SO-Colored
Sept 30, 2025
Materials
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Tokyo design studio we+ presents SO-Colored, a creative research project exploring the natural pigments of microalgae as an eco-friendly alternative to synthetic dyes. Revealed during Milan Design Week 2025, this project highlights the remarkable colour diversity in microalgae—ranging from red and blue to yellow and green—depending on species and environment.
In collaboration with Algal Bio Co., Ltd., we+ developed a new bio-composite by blending microalgae powder with natural resins. The result? Stunning objects tinted with rich, varied hues—all drawn from nature. SO-Colored emphasises sustainable colour systems, fostering new discussions about renewable materials in design. This project is not just about aesthetics—it's about rethinking how we use colour in a way that respects both ecology and innovation.
東京設計工作室 we+ 在2025年米蘭設計週推出創新研究項目 SO-Colored，探索 微藻 的天然色素，作為一種環保且具前景的染色來源。微藻的色彩不僅是綠色，也可能是紅、藍或黃色，視其種類與環境而定，展現出豐富而自然的色彩層次。
we+ 與 Algal Bio 株式會社合作，將微藻粉與天然樹脂結合，開發出新型 生物複合材料，製作出一系列極具自然美感的設計作品。這些作品展現了如何以可再生的方式運用 生物色彩，同時引發對設計中永續材料的全新思考。 SO-Colored 不只是色彩實驗，更是對環境與創新未來的友善回應。
WE+
Founded in Tokyo in 2013 by Toshiya Hayashi and Hokuto Ando, we+ is a contemporary design studio that crafts fresh perspectives and values through research-based, experimental methods. Their work spans self-initiated projects, R&D, installations, spatial and product design, branding, and art direction, integrating designers, engineers, researchers, and writers.
At the heart of their practice lies a desire to reconnect design with the natural and social environment, unearthing overlooked materials or processes and reimagining them as meaningful artefacts. Projects like “Nature Study” and “Urban Origin” explore human-nature coexistence and urban waste as new vernacular materials. We’s work stands between art and design: not merely functional objects but provocations of how we might design differently, more sustainably, more thoughtfully.
成立於2013年，由 Toshiya Hayashi 與 Hokuto Ando 於東京創立的 we+ 是一家現代設計工作室，致力於透過基於研究與實驗的方法打造新的視角與價值。其業務涵蓋自發性專案、研發、裝置、空間及產品設計、品牌塑造與藝術指導，團隊融合設計師、工程師、研究員與文字工作者。
工作核心在於重新連結設計與自然、社會環境：發掘被忽視的材料或工藝、重新構想並賦予意義。在「Nature Study」「Urban Origin」等計畫中，他們探討人類與自然的共存，以及將城市廢材轉化為新鄉土材料。
we+ 的作品跨越藝術與設計，不僅是功能性的產品，更是對我們如何以更永續、更有思考的方式進行設計的挑戰。
Designer: we+ | @weplus.jp
https://weplus.jp/studio/
Collaborator: Algal Bio Co., Ltd.
https://algalbio.co.jp/en/
Photographers: Masayuki Hayashi, Takumi Ota, Kanichi Murase
All images by we+ & Algal Bio & Masayuki Hayashi, Takumi Ota, Kanichi Murase
