Rainforest Alliance
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Rainforest Alliance *
Prompt
Create a gift bag for a foundation of your choice to be given out after a fundraiser gala.
Year
2023
Duration
3 weeks
Using design to preserve Mother Nature
This gift bag project explores how visual identity, material choice, and sustainability can coexist within a high-end donor experience. Created for a fundraiser gala, the gift bag was designed to feel elevated while communicating environmental responsibility through form, texture, and finish. The leaf-shaped hangtag and natural-toned palette reinforce the project’s biodegradable and reusable intent, using durable materials that extend the life of the bag beyond a single event.
Color was developed through plant-based dyes derived from vegetables, flowers, and botanicals, allowing natural variation to become part of the visual language. Each design decision considers both immediate impact and end-of-life, ensuring the piece can be reused or safely returned to the earth. The result is a refined, systems-driven approach to luxury graphic design rooted in purpose.
Final Gift Bag
Since fiber artists come from diverse backgrounds and generations, maintaining legibility with a high contrast color palette, gentle on aging eyes, was crucial.
A softer and vibrant palette with a funky typeface was vital in order to give the site a warmer vintage feel that could transcend generations.
Initial Brainstorm
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Gift Bag Sketching
Using sketching pencils and paper to design a cohesive plan of design.
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Tissue Paper Pattern Sketches
Using Adobe Illustrator and a freehand sketch I drew, I intended to create cohesion between the gift bag and the tissue paper. The floral design appears on the rear panel of the gift bag.
Getting to Know the Details
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Gold Buttons
These buttons are used to secure the yellow ribbon that holds up the structure of the handles.
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Yellow Ribbon
This yellow ribbon provides structure for the wooden beads that make us the handles.
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Functional Buttons
Leaf designs to fully coordinate with the facade of the gift bag. The leafs are also hand sketched and transferred to Adobe Illustrator.
Color and Texture Inspiration
The source of inspiration for the Rainforest Alliance gift bag came from sourcing various paint chips with the purpose what colors would look the best in person. The purpose was to curate a section of colors that correlated with the cause keeping its mission in mind and remaining authentic to the foundation.
I went out on a mission as well to look for wallpaper samples
Tissue Paper Final Design
Here, there is the final product of the tissue paper that would be used for the final gift bag design. The floral design comes from the same floral sketch that was put into illustrator. Then later duplicated in order to create an ongoing pattern across the back and front of the tissue paper. Each side of the tissue paper is fully aligned.
