Growable Graphics

Imagine our graphics as little eco-systems

This project was born with the urge, to escape the niche of today's graphic design which is mostly used for commercial promotion, and to give it a broader purpose by shifting the place where it lives and how it's being used. Biophilic design, the use of natural elements to mimic natural surroundings, is known to improve people's mental health, productivity and overall well-being. It can also have environmental benefits such as temperature control in cities and improved biodiversity. As this new design trend is mostly represented in building-related disciplines or fashion, the designer of this project had the vision to fuse biophilic design with her discipline of graphic design and created a new design style: Biophilic Graphic Design. It answers questions such as: How can we co-exist with other species, improve biodiversity in cities and manufacture our graphics without harmful techniques? "Growable Graphics" is a live example of this new design style.

About the signage system

This signage system contains out of hexagon-shaped tiles that are covered with local moss and lichen species and can get used for letters, numbers, arrows and other shapes. Improving the local biodiversity, the tiles live on the venue's rooftop over the year and get harvested for the events. Thanks to the wood's geometric shape, they can get arranged and combined in an endless variety. The tiles can get used over and over without creating any waste, while hopefully sucking in more carbon than their production would have emitted. As the product is biodegradable, improves the local biodiversity as well as the air quality and doesn‘t produce any waste, it is a great example of how nature-inspired graphic design of the future could look if we rethink our current design approach and create products for long-term goals instead of following fast-fashion trends. Purpose of the project is to connect people with nature within urban spaces and to raise awareness for the potential of bio-infused design.