deciduous forests: a closer look
The Northeast is known for its complete four seasons and has a unique experience of autumn, with vibrant warm colors and forests for miles. However, this beauty is taken for granted and the problems can be overlooked. In three sections, I explain the aspects of a deciduous forest, exemplify some of the beautiful trees that make it up, and show the common problems that take over the forests. The designer’s book visualizes the beauty of these plants as the text supplies information. To supplement the book, a web animation introduces a more interactive version of the information.
This project was a semester-long studio project in order to compile information about forests and exemplify the beauty of them. Initial sketches take a broader approach, but as I was determined to focus on the organic structure of the leaf, including its imperfections, I began to shift to a more visual heavy approach. As the title suggests, the book is meant to highlight the details of these leaves, using scanned ink prints as soft backgrounds and images centered on the page. It evokes attention to the uniqueness of each tree. The final section takes the direction to the present era, bringing awareness to the subtle changes in the forest that could be evidence of climate issues and other forest problems.
In the first section, I explain the aspects of the forest, hoping to shine light on both the essential components of sunlight, water, and chlorophyll, but also the understated roles of fungi and lichen. This section introduces the idea of looking closer at Northeastern forests and encourages readers to notice these aspects, supplemented by photographs. The section’s ending also introduces common problems in trees, which is later mentioned throughout the typology section of the book, which mentions the invasive properties of trees, and the final section of the book, which shows evidence of issues in the forest.
The second section is dedicated to the beauty and uniqueness of trees in the area. I began taking note of trees, collecting leaves, and referring to sources to identify the plant and its properties, while also appreciating its beauty. With fifteen total trees highlighted, this section flips between ink prints that exemplify the beauty of the leaf’s veins and edges and text that informs the reader about the tree, its uses, and its contribution to the forest.
The final section blends both the first and second, using messed up leaf prints as a representation of the imperfections of the forest, bleeding over the edges and creating a sense of chaos amongst the grid of images. I point out problems with text, but for the most part let the images speak for themselves, finding the beauty amongst the messiness and vice versa.