Nursery in a Box is a miniature, self-contained shadehouse and planting kit that provides all the key elements to grow an Australian native garden, all in one box.  The brain child of entrepreneur and founder of The Greening Project Inc., Emily Alford, Nursery in a Box is all of the above plus a rich source of much needed life experience for children and adults alike.   

 

 

To purchase one of these boxes or find out more about the Greening Project and their various initiatives, check out www.thegreeningproject.org

The brief for this logo was to create the impression of a journey, beginning with the Nursery in a Box product and quickly growing and expanding far beyond its origins, as if carried on a gentle breeze.  As this journey gains momentum, creatures from natural world are attracted to it and become a part of its flow.

 

It is a metaphor for the experience of growing new life and watching it become part of nature's cycles and food chains.  An experience that many people have lost contact with in our high-tech, manufactured society.

 

 

The product's design was such that all it's components could be packed into a large, green plastic crate that would form the base of the shadehouse.  To fit with The Greening Project's strong environmental values, the initial brief was to develop a "lid" for the crate that would use the least amount of packaging possible, while holding all the compenents in place during transit and still remaining stackable.

 

Version 1 was a die-cut, reinforced cardboard design that fit the inside lip of the crate, allowing tabs for standard packaging straps to hold it down and secure the contents.  Because these straps would cross the design at two points it was necessary to incorporate space for them in the layout.

 

Version 2 removed the need for complex die-cutting, by having the lid flush to the top of the crate.  This created more space inside for components and reduced the production cost, but meant stacking would risk damaging the design, as each crate sits within the lip of the last. 

 

My understanding is that due to the concerns of having bagged soil packed within the product, a more enclosed solution was required and the production version is a straight up cardboard box.  My hope is that at some point in the future, version 2 will at least wind up a large sticker on the product box now that it can't be used as a lid.

 

The below flyer was created to promote the Nursery in a Box packages at local growers markets and events.