FEILD:
Editorial design
CLIENT:
ISTD
DATE:
22/04/2025
USERS:
Secondary school students
about.
The aim of the project is to promote the concept of growth and raise ecological awareness in our lives. It interested me because I personally love plants. In my primary school, they used to give us some seeds and let us grow them at home with our parents, and during secondary school, deforestation was taught, and it would be more engaging if students could contribute and plant their own plants to help the environment.
My concept is to help secondary school students bring out awareness of their ecological impact and appreciate the cycles of nature and growth. My idea is to make a leaflet with sustainable paper explaining sustainability and the environment, with seed paper to allow them to grow their own plants and teach them how to minimise carbon footprints and make a connection with nature.
With seed paper, they can grow their own plants, and gardening is a great reminder that growth takes time and patience. It’s not easy to grow plants; they need care, attention, and the right environment to thrive, just like we do. In a world where we often want quick results, gardening shows us that meaningful progress doesn’t happen overnight. Plants grow at their own pace, and so do we. This encourages us to slow down, reflect, and appreciate the process of growth, both in our gardens and in our lives.
challenge.
When I looked more deeply into how to properly plant seed paper, I realised that my original idea of turning it into a garden label wouldn’t work. Seed paper needs to be soaked in water for around 30 minutes before planting, and that step wouldn’t be practical if the paper were used as a label already put into the soil.
Because of that, I decided to rethink the design and instead turn the seed paper into a bookmark. This felt like a much more functional and flexible solution; it still holds meaning, but also serves a purpose even for people who might not want to plant their seeds right away. The bookmark gives the seed paper a second life and adds an extra layer of functionality to the design. I see this change as an improvement because it made the design more versatile and accessible for different users.
result.
The outcome is a printed folder and bookmark made using recycled paper, combining illustration and education content with a strong, sustainable message. The folder includes sections on how planting matters, planting instructions, and flower language. The bookmark, printed on seed paper, carries both function and symbolism, encouraging the user to grow with a short poem about gardening.
Overall, I think the project was a success. I developed a functional, meaningful design that aligned with my initial idea while adapting to challenges like paper texture, printing limitations, and layout structure. The feedback from peers was especially useful in helping me refine the visual consistency across all elements. If I were to do it again, I’d experiment more with layout options earlier in the process and test print sooner to catch issues like colour contrast. This project helped me improve not just my technical skills, but also how I think through ideas and make decisions based on both aesthetics and practicality. It taught me how to communicate a message visually, solve production issues creatively, and stay flexible during the design process.
