Student Spotlight: Homebase "Grow Your Own"

“I felt the best solution was to design a kit that contained everything the novice gardener would need without having to go hunting for other items – lack of tools is a problem for those just trying out gardening for the first time. I didn’t want to design a range of products, but to have everything in a single kit, from pots and soil to tags. The project is sustainable in both content and structure. Content wise, I chose to include biodegradable coconut fibre plant pots and soil pellets instead of plastic plant pots, eliminating wastage."

The pack is also sustainable because it is constructed using tabs instead of glue and printed with vegetable ink so that there is nothing to hinder the biodegradable disposal. The pack is perforated so that the instructions can easily be torn off and kept and one side of the box breaks down into several marker sticks to mark seeds are in a pot. The rest of the pack can easily be put into a compost bin or recycled with no wastage left behind.

“This project was what sparked my love of packaging and I started to explore the issue of sustainability through it. Since then, I haven't been able to leave it alone! It was definitely the project that made me realize what I wanted to do with the rest of my career. It focused me and I haven't looked back” says Hannah.

Hannah Jackson is a graphic design student from Leeds Collegeof Art, currently on placement at design agency Holmes & Marchant.