Arveta
This project has won de Vaan - 2025
This project has won the Environmental
Student Online Design Award (ODA) - Q2 2025
This project has won the Publications
Student Online Design Award (ODA) - Q2 2025
This project will be presented at Maker Days Eindhoven - 2025
How can graphic designers be inspired and supported in using
biobased paper, so that it leads to
more conscious material
choices and a more sensory design process?
Story
In a world that moves ever faster, our connection to nature fades into the background. Sustainable
paper often feels complex, so we default to the familiar, yet that tells us little. The graphic
design sector still has a big step to take. Through designing for and with nature, this message can
be shared with the world.
Arveta shows that things can be different.
With biobased paper types and tactile inspiration, material choice becomes the starting point of a design; meaningful and future-oriented. All of this is aimed at graphic designers, inviting them to join the movement toward more sustainable and sensory design.
Story
Arveta consists of two core components:
- A tangible guide for designers to touch, flip through, and explore. This material-zine includes biobased paper samples, inspiring examples, and real-world stories. It’s an invitation to take material choices into your own hands, literally.
- A growing platform for knowledge, inspiration, and collaboration. A space to learn from each other, discover together, and explore new ways of sustainable design.
The journey
Research
I explored biobased and living materials through experiments with natural inks, bioplastics,
and mycelium. Interviews with designers and experts revealed a clear need for more
accessible and tactile resources to support sustainable choices in graphic design.
Development
I translated insights into early prototypes of Arveta and tested them with designers. Their
feedback helped refine the content, layout, and tone. This iterative process ensured Arveta
became both engaging and relevant.
- Illustrator
- InDesign
- Figma
Reflection
Throughout the process, I reflected on my role as a designer: to connect, question, and shift
perspectives. Arveta became more than a tool, it became a bridge between nature and design, theory
and practice. By putting materials at the center, I learned how tactile experiences can change
thinking. This project deepened my understanding of biodesign and strengthened my belief in the
importance of design for sustainable change.
"The future of design begins with conscious choices, starting from the paper up."
- Project manager / Designer - Lieke Kaspers
- Supervisor - Hazal Ertürkan
- Developer - Paul Kaspers
- Avans Hogeschool Den Bosch
- Bullseye Publishing
- Waardewenders
- PaperWise
- Growing Paper
- Fedrigoni
- Product designer - Giada Tamborrino
- Environmental designer - Emma Fanning
- Biophilic designer - Caroline Reapy