From an Agency Inside Joke to Reality

Awards

At NOPE , we have always loved doing things with a little twist. We like to think of ourselves as professional but entirely unserious at the same time. We live for the projects that make our eyes sparkle and push us way out of our comfort zones.

So, when we wanted to celebrate our women-driven agency’s identity, we skipped the predictable champagne toast. Instead, we leaned into an old inside joke about owning our own van and decided to build something that blended high-end digital design with real food and a cause we actually care about.

The result is EstroOrdinary. The name plays on estrogen and extraordinary. It started as a mission to create a hormone-infused ice cream, but when the health authorities understandably gave us a reality check, we pivoted to a soy base, which is a natural source of phytoestrogens. It turned into a massive project designed to market NOPE, spark community joy, and raise money for social causes.

The main goal is to focus on important women-related topics without sounding depressing. Finding that perfect balance between bold playfulness and heavy social commentary is the key to actually making words matter.

Giving Iris a second life

Every great digital agency needs a twenty-year-old rust bucket, right?! We tracked down a forgotten Mercedes T1 van that had been gathering dust and rust for two decades.

After spending an intense month in the mechanic shop undergoing serious structural repairs and much-needed updates – including building a brand new serving hatch from scratch – it was time for the visual transformation.

Our original plan was high tech. We wanted to use a projector to cast the design onto the side of the bus so we could easily map out the lines. Well, the Estonian summer sun had other plans and completely wiped out the projection. Instead, we went old school. We printed out the paper visuals, hand-painted the outlines in the blazing sun, and spent multiple weekends painting the bus block by block.

The magic happened early on. Our team was joined by the crew from gotoAndPlay, and even random passersby who saw what we were doing asked to join us. The project resonated with people before the first scoop was even frozen. We named the bus Iris, after the legendary and unapologetic fashion icon Iris Apfel.

Navigating the bureaucracy

Turning a design agency into a certified Estonian food handler is not for the faint of heart. Launching a food brand in Estonia means diving headfirst into strict regulatory frameworks set by the Agricultural and Food Board, also known as the PTA.

To take EstroOrdinary on the road legally, we had to handle a mountain of documentation. Every single NOPE team member stepping onto the bus had to complete official food hygiene training and secure a medical health certificate.

Operating a mobile food truck also means the paperwork never actually stops. Before every single event, we have to formally notify the PTA of our schedule and location. Plus, keeping premium artisan ice cream perfectly frozen in the unpredictable heat of Estonian summer festivals inside a vintage vehicle required meticulous temperature logs and lots of logistical patience.

Bold, sexy, and unapologetic visuals

In essence, we want to be bold, fiery, and a little bit sexy. We went through dozens of color palettes and typography systems until we found the perfect combination that screamed premium product while keeping our signature playful edge.

NOPE has always had a cat as a mascot, so bringing a feline into this project was a no-brainer. However, our standard agency kitty felt too casual for the weight of these topics. We designed a custom, expressive cat specifically for EstroOrdinary, a feline capable of balancing heavy social themes with a look of pure bliss.

We partnered with artisan ice cream makers Külm and Estonian chef Joel Ostrat. Our input was that we want flavor combinations that make people say “what the heck is this?” but in the best way possible. We knew from the start we wanted something with basil. Eventually, we went through multiple rounds of tastings and recipe tweaks to perfect two custom flavors.

The first is Force of Good. It features caramelized Norwegian brown cheese and fiery chili with a mango passion filling. It is a bold statement on consent. No means no, and silence is not an invitation. One hundred percent of the profits go directly to the Estonian Women’s Shelters Union to support their helpline. For the design, we gave our custom cat mascot a literal little flame emerging from its backside to represent the spicy kick.

The second flavor is Ice Ice Baby. This one is a delicate, refreshing mix of basil and Belgian white chocolate. It is a love letter to personal choice, destigmatizing the child-free lifestyle and celebrating active fathers who actually parent instead of just babysitting. The packaging features a blissful cat wrapped completely around a massive basil leaf in pure, unapologetic comfort. At our launch party, a 6-year-old kid tasted it, looked up, and announced: “Woow, it’s like eating a sweet salad!” Mission totally accomplished!

The digital experience

The website has to tell the true, visual story of this project from start to finish. That meant creating a space where the authentic, behind-the-scenes garage photos could sit naturally next to crisp digital design and somehow still make the ice cream seem desireable. It is a chronicle of the entire transformation, showing exactly how a vintage vehicle became a vibrant ice cream hub.

We packed the page with tiny details, like dropping in fun ice cream trivia and polaroids alongside our actual project updates to keep things light and engaging. If you are lucky enough, you might even experience some very melty buttons.

And, of course, the 3D elements. Today, you can use AI to whip up a spinning asset in minutes. But back in 2024, creating those interactive, rotating 3D ice cream cups required serious craft. We spent lots of hours perfecting the physics and tweaking the lighting reflections to make sure the digital cups looked just as delicious as the physical product. We wanted each interaction on the page to feel completely smooth and captivating.

That focus on detail really makes the site shine. It functions beautifully as our storytelling archive, giving visitors a clear overview of our past and upcoming events, while giving both flavors their own dedicated subpages where people can dive deeper into the background story. Plus, we built a simple form right into the page where anyone can easily invite Iris straight to their own events.

Where Iris has taken us

We quickly realized that traditional supermarket retail was unrealistic due to massive markups that would drive the cost per cup to an unrealistically high price. Instead, we turned EstroOrdinary into an exclusive, event-driven experience. Iris has rolled up to the Estonian National Museum season opening, art and flower festivals, weddings, meetups, and much more.

The ultimate validation came when we drove Iris directly inside Kultuurikatel for the Kuldmuna festival. Throughout the night, the design community queued up in lines. It was amazing to watch our fellow agency creatives and industry friends getting so excited about the ice cream, with plenty of people jumping right back in line for a second or third scoop of our ice cream.

In 2025, winning a Silver Egg for the ice cream website was amazing, but watching our industry peers fall in love with a project built entirely from our own sweat, values, and design pipeline was the real win. We are officially the first design agency in Estonia (probably in the world) to own an ice cream van, and we love it here.

The project is still running strong, and we are out on the road during summertime heading to new events, with a special focus in 2026 on design-related gatherings. If you want Iris to bring that fiery energy and yummy scoops to your next gathering, you can book us right here .

Read more about our vision and meet the minds powering projects like EstroOrdinary here .