LAUNDREAM

LAUNDREAM

Fragrance-led eco laundry brand. Detergent sheets that keep laundry out of landfill and beat legacy brands to No.1.

Laundream eco laundry brand — co-founded and built by Sarah McDonnell
Laundream fragrance-led detergent sheets — brand built by Sarah McDonnell
Laundream eco-friendly laundry packaging — brand design by Sarah McDonnell
Laundream eco-friendly laundry packaging — brand design by Sarah McDonnell
Laundream detergent sheets product photography — brand built from scratch by Sarah McDonnell
Laundream detergent sheets product photography — brand built from scratch by Sarah McDonnell

Why we built Laundream and why the laundry category was begging for it!

The laundry category had been the same for decades. Garish plastic bottles. Complicated dosing. Eye-watering chemicals. Zero personality. Nobody was excited about it. And yet every single household in the country was doing it, week in, week out, forever. That gap between how boring laundry was and how much everyone had to do it felt like an opportunity. Not just for a better product, but for a brand that people could actually feel something about. So Rosie and I built Laundream. Two women, one big idea, and absolutely no blueprint for how to do it. We started from scratch. The product, the name, the brand world, the packaging, the website, the social strategy, all of it. The category said functional and forgettable. We said fragrant, beautiful and planet-kind. Detergent sheets that worked as well as anything on the shelf, packed nothing but gorgeously, and left your laundry smelling like you'd actually tried.

Laundream Amazon launch — number one eco laundry brand built by Sarah McDonnell

From Amazon listings to a D2C brand: What building Laundream actually taught us.

We launched on Amazon first. The fastest way to test a product, get real reviews in real hands, and understand what people actually thought when they got it home and put it in the machine. The feedback was immediate and it was good. People loved the scent. They loved how compact it was. They loved that it worked. We collected hundreds of reviews, listened to every single one, and used them to make the brand better before we went direct. The D2C relaunch in 2023 was a different beast entirely. We built the website ourselves. Set up the email marketing systems. Figured out subscriptions, retention, the whole customer journey from the moment someone landed on the page to the moment they became a regular. We brought in a marketing hire to grow our online subscriber base and push Laundream into new audiences. Every decision came from data, from consumer feedback, from genuinely understanding what our customer wanted and giving it to them better than anyone else. The thing nobody tells you about building a brand from scratch is that design is everything. Not just the packaging, but the entire feeling of the brand across every single touchpoint. Get that right and people trust you before they've even tried the product.

Laundream D2C brand relaunch 2023 — built by Sarah McDonnell and co-founder
Laundream premium eco laundry product — six-figure brand built by Sarah McDonnell London
Laundream brand built to six-figure turnover — co-founded by Sarah McDonnell
Laundream natural laundry sheets — fragrance-led eco brand by Sarah McDonnell
Laundream natural laundry sheets — fragrance-led eco brand by Sarah McDonnell

Over 800,000 washes: What Laundream really taught us.

We built Laundream to six-figure turnover with no outside investment, no safety net and no rulebook. Every penny went back in to grow it. When the funding conversations didn't land and the right acquisition offer didn't materialise, we made the hardest call and the smartest one. We wound it down on our terms, with our heads held high and an education you genuinely cannot buy. Most people who work in brand never actually build one. We built four. And Laundream was where we learned what it really takes, the product obsession, the consumer empathy, the design rigour, the late nights staring at email open rates, the joy of a five-star review from someone who genuinely switched and never went back. You don't get that from a brief. You don't get it from a workshop. You get it from doing it yourself, with your own money, your own reputation and everything on the line. That's what Laundream gave us. And that's what we bring to every client brief that comes through the door now.

LAUNDREAM

Fragrance-led eco laundry brand. Detergent sheets that keep laundry out of landfill and beat legacy brands to No.1.

Laundream eco laundry brand — co-founded and built by Sarah McDonnell
Laundream eco laundry brand — co-founded and built by Sarah McDonnell
Laundream fragrance-led detergent sheets — brand built by Sarah McDonnell
Laundream fragrance-led detergent sheets — brand built by Sarah McDonnell
Laundream eco-friendly laundry packaging — brand design by Sarah McDonnell
Laundream eco-friendly laundry packaging — brand design by Sarah McDonnell
Laundream detergent sheets product photography — brand built from scratch by Sarah McDonnell
Laundream detergent sheets product photography — brand built from scratch by Sarah McDonnell

Understanding emotional response through space, hierarchy, and visual restraint:

In digital design, space isn’t empty—it’s intentional. White space controls pacing, hierarchy builds comfort, and contrast guides attention. These elements evoke mood and build trust through unseen tension. A strong layout doesn’t just function—it speaks.

In well-crafted sites, layout becomes memory. You don’t just recall the content—you remember how it moved, how it felt, how it opened up space or leaned into density. That resonance is rarely about color or font alone—it’s how the structure carried everything with intention.

When every pixel plays its part, and every part respects the whole, we begin to build sites that don’t just function—they resonate. They linger. They become signatures. Not by shouting, but by speaking in rhythm, with quiet clarity and deep precision.

Explore deeper perspectives only on Akihiko Blogs.

Laundream Amazon launch — number one eco laundry brand built by Sarah McDonnell
Laundream Amazon launch — number one eco laundry brand built by Sarah McDonnell

Creating interaction that feels intuitive, considered, and emotionally aligned:

When motion, structure, and design align, users don’t think—they feel. That’s the sweet spot where layout becomes a bridge. Interfaces should communicate tone as much as task. Even the simplest detail—a button’s curve or a heading’s weight—can influence how someone feels.

Modular components give structure, but it’s the unexpected breaks—the asymmetry, the shift in rhythm, the quiet gesture—that introduce character. That’s where emotion sneaks in. That’s where the layout becomes a story, not just a scaffold. It’s in the relationship between repetition and surprise, clarity and contrast, that visual tension thrives.

We often think of layouts as fixed, but the best ones are elastic. They stretch to fit diverse narratives, but never lose coherence. They allow variation without losing voice. When a layout becomes too stiff, it feels soulless. When it becomes too loose, it loses trust. The sweet spot lies in the in-between. That edge—that living edge—is where the work breathes.

Know more about this through Akihiko Blogs.

Laundream D2C brand relaunch 2023 — built by Sarah McDonnell and co-founder
Laundream D2C brand relaunch 2023 — built by Sarah McDonnell and co-founder
Laundream premium eco laundry product — six-figure brand built by Sarah McDonnell London
Laundream premium eco laundry product — six-figure brand built by Sarah McDonnell London
Laundream brand built to six-figure turnover — co-founded by Sarah McDonnell
Laundream brand built to six-figure turnover — co-founded by Sarah McDonnell
Laundream natural laundry sheets — fragrance-led eco brand by Sarah McDonnell
Laundream natural laundry sheets — fragrance-led eco brand by Sarah McDonnell

Balancing order and creativity for expressive user interfaces:

They aren’t rigid templates or chaotic experiments—they’re frameworks that breathe, adapt, and respond. A layout, when designed with intent, doesn’t just hold content—it elevates it. It becomes the unseen rhythm of the page, guiding the user’s eye with balance, restraint, and just enough tension to keep things alive.

A smart layout doesn’t impose itself. It listens. It bends where it needs to. It adjusts for type, for image, for tone. It creates systems that can scale but still feel personal. A great layout doesn’t flatten expression—it preserves soul. It knows when to hold back and when to surprise. That balance is the mark of a thoughtful designer.

Find more insights on Akihiko Blogs.

WHO I WORK WITH...

working with

01

Global Brands

02

Startups & VCs

03

Agencies

Global Brands

Startups & VCs

Agencies