I believe that design has the power to make people’s lives better. Sometimes that’s something profound, like Maggie’s, sometimes, it’s something quite simple. Bristol-based Paul Matson launched SowHow last weekend to help people grow their own vegetables for the first time.
He says, “A few years ago I got an allotment plot in Bristol having never really grown anything before. Seeing the wall-to-wall racks of seed packets in garden centres got me thinking about how else they could look. The instructions always seemed crammed onto the back of the packets – as a designer, I’m interested in how information can be presented more effectively.
“There’s been a sustained revival in ‘grow-your-own’ recently and I wanted to design seed packets and growing guides that might attract people who haven’t tried gardening before. I also wanted to make something that would make a nice gift, and for that reason printed them on high-spec paper and a design that feels great to hold and unfold, with no need for tearing to open them.”
“A big part of SowHow is the online growing guides. These complement the seed packets and are freely available for everyone to use. Built using a responsive web design approach, they read well on phones too.
“I’ve really enjoyed getting into gardening and spend any free time down there. It’s not just that growing your own tastes better – and unlike shop-bought veg I can be sure of what goes into the soil – it’s the satisfaction of being outdoors and in nature that appeals to me.
“The swiss modernist approach of designers such as Josef Müller-Brockmann and Armin Hoffman is a major inspiration. I like the constraints of working within layout grids and ‘quiet’ typography. Reducing visual elements to their simplest forms while still being recognisable shapes was the challenge. For the design of the instructions, I wanted to break down the sowing, planting and harvesting steps into easy-to-follow chunks and use straightforward language. But there’s always room for improvement and iteration so I’ll be trying to find out what people think and tweak the guides accordingly.”
Further reading for the especially geeky:
- design for good :: patient dignity
- design for good :: a better a&e
- design for good :: a litre of light
- design for good :: gert
