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Bartram's Blend
Bartram's Blend
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Brief
From Garden to gift
Bartram’s Garden was about to embark on a National Capital Campaign, and the board was hoping to identify local designers to help produce a unique “Thank You” gift that connects the donors to Philadelphia, the Schuylkill River, and the Garden itself as well as celebrating the vision, mission, and strategic plan of Bartram’s Garden. Cross-disciplinary teams were formed between product design and graphic design to approach the brief collaboratively.
The final product was required to tell the story of the Garden and its surrounding area through the incorporation of paper and textiles, remaining aesthetically beautiful, aligned with the Garden’s branding, and true to an intricate, nature-inspired aesthetic. The gift needed to be reproducible between 250 and 1000 pieces within a budget of $10,000 to $15,000.
How can a gift capture the feeling of Bartram’s Garden — landscape, heritage, mission — in a way that connects donors to Philadelphia, the Schuylkill River, and the Garden itself?
Background
Background
Written guidelines and current branding
Mission — To create equitable relationships among people and nature through immersive, community-driven experiences that activate the Bartram legacy, Garden, and House, on land and on the Schuylkill River, in Southwest Philadelphia.
Strategic Plan Priorities — Bartram's Garden is a place and an aspirational vision for the future where importance is placed on horticulture, history, community & education, agriculture & food sovereignty, and enduring sustainability.
Along with the rhetoric of the Garden’s written guidelines, the product must align with the visual and aesthetic branding of the Garden.
Insights
Insights
Insights
Emphasis on experiences
Bartram’s Garden places immense emphasis on experiences, therefore we wanted to design a gift that centers an experience or activity at its core. By designing a gift that centers an experience or activity, it becomes an extension for what Bartram’s stands for.
Insights
Insights
Insights
Routines vs. rituals
The goal was an experience embedded in the everyday (routines), carrying meaning beyond its primary function (rituals). What separates a ritual from a routine is value, tedium, and consciousness. Designed rituals don’t add to the to-do list, they transform something already being done into a moment worth having.
Making a cup of tea is one of the few daily tasks practiced by millions everyday that invites the user to slow down and reflect. Tea sits at the intersection of the Garden’s vision and mission – honoring its botanical heritage and its history in natural science and medicine, as well as actively utilizing the ongoing agricultural programs.
Tea transforms a common daily task into a meaningful ritual, and is rooted in the Garden’s heritage, history, and current agricultural programs.
Concept
A gift centered around tea that incorporates elements of the garden and highlights the new developments.
product pillars
HOVER OVER CARDS
01
Watercolor Illustrations
02
Apothecary
03
Origami
HOVER OVER CARDS
01
Watercolor Illustrations
02
Apothecary
03
Origami
HOVER OVER CARDS
01
Watercolor Illustrations
02
Apothecary
03
Origami
Process
Illustrations and graphic design
We assigned tea blends to four landmarks central to the campaign, with ingredients sourced from the Garden’s own amenities. Flora illustrations depicting each blend and corresponding to assigned landmarks were then created in a consistent watercolor style.
Process
Packaging components
—
Solution
An everyday reflection
Every component engages a different sense. Every detail traces back to something the Garden actually grows, does, or believes.
Paper & Packaging
Paper & Packaging 9-1 Subheading
Paper & Packaging 9-1 text description
Paper & Packaging
Paper & Packaging
Paper & Packaging 9-2 Subheading
Paper & Packaging 9-2 description
Paper & Packaging
Paper & Packaging
Paper & Packaging 9-3 Subheading
Paper & Packaging 9-3 text description
Paper & Packaging
Paper & Packaging
Paper & Packaging
Paper & Packaging 9-4 Subheading
Paper & Packaging 9-4 text description
BLOOM Tea Set
BLOOM Tea Set
BLOOM Tea Set
Bloom to brew
At the center of it all is the BLOOM Tea Set. The strainer’s form unfurls like a franklinia blossom and a ginkgo leaf simultaneously — the Garden’s two most historically significant plants rendered as a functional, daily object. Alongside it: four test-tube samples of in-house teas, each named for a distinct corner of the Garden’s grounds, and a small jar of honey sourced directly from the Garden’s own apiary.
Every component engages a different sense. Every detail traces back to something the Garden actually grows, does, or believes.
BLOOM Tea Set
BLOOM Tea Set
BLOOM Tea Set
Honey jar and stand
Custom honey jar and stand
BLOOM Tea Set
BLOOM Tea Set
BLOOM Tea Set
Tea test tubes
Apothecary look with 4 landmark blends
Want to see more?
This is just a snapshot of the entire design process. I know you secretly want to see my pitch deck to investors, BOM spreadsheets, and intensive manufacturers correspondence. Reach out to megginni.design@gmail.com for the full story!
