Graphic Design Students Design Exhibit for the Botanical Gardens

Graphic Design students from the Lamar Dodd School of Art recently collaborated with the Botanical Gardens of Georgia to help design the new seasonal gardens in the Alice H. Richards Children’s Garden.

The students are part of an environmental graphic design course taught by Cameron Berglund, a landscape designer at Koons Environmental Design Inc., the design firm currently developing the children’s garden. The team at Koons is responsible for making the children’s garden a whimsical journey through misting mushrooms, ancient fossils, water features and a towering treehouse.

The students’ designs include interactive elements, fun illustrations and colorful palettes. Visitors can seek and find different stages of plant life and discover which composting materials make cartoon worms happy or mad.

The seasonal gardens in the Alice H. Richards Children’s Garden will feature sunflowers, zucchini and other eye-catching plants. Below the garden beds is an underground cavern filled with colorful, interactive panels created in partnership with the students from the Lamar Dodd School of Art. The interchangeable, see-through panels introduce visitors to Georgia’s agricultural industry, soil science, the nitrogen cycle and composting. Through windows, the root systems of the plants above are visible.

“Our series of panels were on growing and processing peanuts, so we had to learn a lot about them, then we put that information in a kid-friendly format,” said Tyler Duhon, a senior graphic design student.  “Having an outside view helped us learn more, too.”

The Alice H. Richards Children’s Garden Grand Opening is set for Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 9 AM – 4 PM at the Botanical Gardens of Georgia.

Read more about the project on UGA’s Public Service & Outreach News here.