A multidisciplinary designer specialising in brand strategy and creative storytelling. My passion is to design for connection - connection with others, with the environment and with brands - whilst using design to solve problems and campaign for change.
Excessive screen time and social media use is making Gen Z lonely, but it’s addictive. Gen Z wants to break up with their phones and focus on real life, but this is a struggle as social media has become such a large part of their culture. Airbnb’s new category, Phone-Free, offers a new type of stay where guests make a pact not to use their phones. This is aided by tools from a Deposit Box and Guest Book to Bingo Cards featuring Phone-Free challenges, encouraging Gen Z to unplug and focus on each other whilst making core memories in real life.
Booking
The Phone-Free category’s booking process introduces the three levels available – Level 1: Modern, Level 2: Retro and Level 3: Back to Basics. Each level offers a unique memory collection tool – 1: Instant Camera, 2: Digital Camera and 3: Journals.
Hosts set which level they offer. They provide the relevant amenities with the help of Airbnb.
Deposit Box
Upon arriving at their Airbnb, guests make a pact to leave their phones in the Deposit Box for the Duration of their stay.
Forfeit Sticker
Together, the group decides a forfeit for anyone who breaks the pact. They write this on the box’s Forfeit Sticker, as an instant reminder to any potential rulebreakers.
In place of phones, guests receive Bingo Cards, tailored to each level with related challenges to complete.
Challenges relate to four categories which are key to a Phone-Free stay: Connection; Location; Level-Specific and Host’s Experience/Challenge.
Hosts’ categories are left blank for them to fill in, adding a personal touch to the experience and a connection between guests and their Host.
A bespoke Guest Book with prompts is included in every Phone-Free Airbnb.
These are useful for guests to flick through for tips and ideas from previous groups; especially whilst phones are not available to search the internet.
Guest Books also add a layer of connection between different guests who have shared in the Phone-Free experience.
At the end of their stay, guests return home with unique memories they have made together in the Phone-Free environment. As time passes, they reminisce, planning to book another trip and connect once again.
See the full project on my personal portfolio website (link in profile)
In the UK, we have lost 97% of our wildflower meadows since the 1930s. These native flowers are an essential part of our landscape, providing food and shelter for important pollinators; without wildflower meadows, pollinators vanish too, as well as the animals that eat them. Without pollinators, we’d need to artificially pollinate most of our fruit and veg, which would be time-consuming and expensive.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew’s ‘Grow Wild’ outreach programme is the UK’s biggest wildflower campaign. It educates on why wildflowers matter and delivers national impact projects to reintroduce them. However, it is not effectively promoted at Kew Gardens, which doesn’t feature a wildflower meadow attraction.
See the full project on my personal portfolio website (link in profile)
Ceramic items cannot be recycled from home anywhere in the UK. We are advised to throw broken crockery in the general waste bin, which is a problematic addition to landfill. Whilst crockery repairs are possible, this requires specialist materials and intricate processes, which is not an easy task. If broken items have sentimental value, this can be devastating.
The Arts and Crafts movement advocated for responsible consumption, and the beauty and handcrafted nature of functional items. William Morris, one of its leading figures, advised, ‘Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’. At a time when the climate crisis is prevalent and impacted by overconsumption, the sustainable ethos of the Arts and Crafts movement resonates in our lives.
See the full project on my personal portfolio website (link in profile)
