Beam Circular
Launching a public data portal to unlock the circular bioeconomy in California’s Central Valley.
agency
Agilno
ROLE
Lead Product Designer
TEAM
Project Manager
Engineering & Data Lead
Frontend Developer
timeline
4 months / 2026
Deliverables
UX/UI, Prototyping, Design system
The Project
A 5+ year initiative that needed a front door.
BEAM Circular is a hub for the circular bioeconomy in California’s agricultural heartland, one of the most productive farmland regions in the world and, inevitably, one of the biggest producers of organic waste.
They came to us to develop a digital platform that could inform and accelerate the commoditization of that biomass, supporting sustainable, bio-based production across the region.
Our challenge was to consolidate all available feedstock data, from composition and conversion to volumes and pricing, while presenting it clearly under one roof instead of scattered across spreadsheets and tools.
What shipped.
A public portal built around a whole region's biomass data. Researchers get credible, well-sourced data they can cite and compare; early-stage developers get the numbers to test whether a feedstock can support a real business.
THE CONSTRAINT
Three weeks from kickoff to a build-ready MVP.
We had less than a month to design a search-led landing page, a way to browse the growing biomass catalogue, and feedstock profiles carrying the conversion data researchers needed.
With engineering building almost as soon as design started, waiting for sign-off wasn't an option. I set up a component system designed for that pace, quick to adapt to feedback, so production could keep moving while designs were still in review.
Process
Planned early.
Weighed with engineering.
BEAM arrived with discovery already behind them. Before kickoff that research became user stories, an information architecture, and an MVP shaped to absorb the marketplace phase later.
Directions with a cost attached.
Rather than pitching a single solution, I brought different approaches for complex features, each worked through with engineering so it arrived with a real cost and timeline attached. That kept client conversations honest about what could ship now and what had to wait.
BUILT TO SCALE
Three counties now,
eight by design.
The platform was scoped as infrastructure rather than a finished product. New counties enter without structural change, and a supply-side route shipped inside the MVP so supply and demand signals could start accumulating before the marketplace phase begins.
On reflection
Shipped on time, and
two lessons I took from it.
Data readiness.
We designed while the dataset was still being organised, so everything from filters to profiles had to stay flexible enough to absorb whatever came next. Settling what would exist at launch first would have made scope and timelines easier to hold.
The cost of moving in parallel.
Running design and build together was the right call for the timeline, and it wasn't free. Some work was rebuilt after revisions landed. The component system absorbed most of that, not all of it.
