I am a print designer with a passion for layered prints, bold colour and rich storytelling. My work has a playful, hand-drawn feel which is a little quirky, always fun and full of character.
‘Beyond the Book’ is a vibrant and interactive interiors collection designed to ignite a love for reading in young children. Inspired by the charm of my home county, Norfolk, the collection comes to life through a captivating self-written storybook journey. The tale follows a group of adventurous animals who escape the zoo and explore some of Norfolk’s most iconic tourist destinations. Each chapter of their escapade inspires a unique print, resulting in a charming interiors collection that brings storytelling off the page and truly beyond the book.
The story which inspires all of my work is displayed as chapters in felt books using digital embroidery for the text. These mini books are attached to a large story map wall hanging which follows the animals journey using visual motifs from the story. Within each chapter ‘gaps’ can be found on the pages, these spaces enable children to choose a word from the words bag and add their own creative spin on the story. This teaches them to be independent and also develops their critical thinking skills as they decide which words make the most sense. The child can use the velcro to attach the word to the book and detach it later on if they change their mind. Each ‘gap’ has two to three possible words to choose from which range in difficulty, this makes the story accessible to the age range whilst encouraging children to ask questions about tricky words, developing their language skills.
Above you can see an example chapter book on the story map. The yellow word indicates where the gap is for the child to choose their word of choice. You can also see one of the five character’s ‘trading card’ style posters. These posters enable the children to get to know the characters better and include a score rating of their unique traits!
‘Milton the mouse lived in a small enclosure but he didn’t mind because he had grand dreams! He made a Norfolk dream board with pictures of beaches, boats, and shows in Norfolk from torn up postcards. “One day, I’ll sail the Norfolk coast like a pirate and escape the zoo!” he thought.
But there was a problem…Milton was a mouse as tiny as a tomato and the sea was big and far away. Could a mouse really escape to a world outside of the zoo with a Giraffe, Lemur and Cheetah? Then one afternoon, a newspaper landed in front of him. The headline said, “Intelligent Pigs Escape in Garvestone!” Milton’s whiskers twitched. Could it be? An actual escape? “This is it!” he squeaked, standing up on his hind legs and making his tail swish like a pirate’s flag. “We will escape tomorrow!”.’
Above you can see an origami fabric ‘map’ hat which features in the story as the main characters hat. It can be used as a child’s dressing up hat alongside being used to follow the story adventure as a map when unfolded, mimicking the main character. This hat has a guide book to visually show the steps to fold it back up, similar to the one found below.
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