For my capstone, I decided to focus it on a subject that got me into graphic design to begin with. It was in Hong Kong that I took my first photography course. My teacher and I bonded over our love for butterflies and she invited me to go to a butterfly park and reserve to photograph some for fun. Once that class ended, I decided to take another one she was offering, digital design. I wasn’t sure what I was going to learn or if I’d like the class but I knew I liked the teacher and she said I probably would enjoy it. 

Those two classes are what I like to think are the beginning of my graphic design journey. Since it all started with butterflies, I knew I wanted to focus my project on them but wasn’t sure what aspect at first. 

A few years ago I decided to raise monarch butterflies because I had read about their declining population. When I bought a kit, it was targeted for younger audiences and that’s when my idea formed. I wanted to design kits suited for teens and up in addition to be suited for families. I came up with the idea of having three kits, one that you can raise butterflies, two you can plant host plants and other plants that attract and benefit butterflies, and lastly a kit that can be gifted or purchased without the need of doing anything but would still contribute. 10% of the purchase of a support kit will go back to the company to spend on raising, releasing, and planting for butterflies. 

Originally I was planning to construct many of the items such as the packaging, pop-up cards, pamphlets, info/care cards and other print materials however, due to Covid-19, I had to restructure my plan to be more digital. Instead, I created illustrations of all the deliverables and contents such as the butterflies, caterpillars, print materials as well as the packaging design and patterns. 

My capstone includes a logo design, brand guide, packaging, website prototype, short stop-motion animation and three kits.

Website walk-through: On the landing page, my animation will play on a loop to welcome you. The home page talks about butterfly conservation in general and why it’s important and shows the footer which includes, how to contact us, our address and social media, in addition to our products, how to support, and more. Next I take you to the about page with contains the story of why I created Flutterby and specie specific information. The kits pages is where the prototyping became fun. By clicking on the three gray dots, it would show more images. Adding items to the cart is also active. First I add the nurture kit to my cart, I see that colored pencils are an add-on and add those to the cart as well. Then I go back to the main kit page and click on the raise kit. I click through the additional images and then add the kit to my cart, then the optional glass frame that can be used to frame any butterflies that may not have made it or ones you may find. Lastly, I visit the donate page where there are four options to help. You can donate money for us to raise and release butterflies, plant host and beneficial plant species, donate money for us to use in one of the two previously listed ways, or the ‘other ways to help” page with would include relevant articles and ways to volunteer and give back to the environment. 

Now, onto the kits. In each kit is a kit specific pamphlet explaining the contents and if necessary, how to get started. For the raise and nurture kits, information and care cards are also included to provide additional instructions. 

The butterfly ones contain info on how to raise the caterpillars as well as their timeline in each stage of their life and a bit about the species. The plant cards include how to sow the seeds, transfer them to a garden/planter, and the requirements it needs. Almost everything you’d need to raise butterflies or plants are included except the sun, water, and yard. 

The raise kit includes 8 caterpillars, a magnifying glass, metamorphosis journal to document the caterpillar's transformation into butterflies, a host plant (species dependent), a pop-up net, and seed push pop. 

The nurture kit contains, 3 biodegradable pots, 3 dehydrated compact soil discs, 3 seed packets (which can be the same if you wish to grow only one kind), a coloring book, adult butterfly feeder which you can fill with freshly cut fruit to attract adult butterflies, butterfly tea with 5 types of tea including (earl gray, english breakfast, green, butterfly pea flower, and chamomile). 

And lastly, the support kit includes a butterfly shirt, butterfly origami paper and instructions, a sustainable candle available in magnolia, lilac, verbena and unscented  fragrances, butterfly tea, and a pop-up butterfly card.  

These kits are easy to use, made for mature audiences, designed to be used in a variety of different housing arrangements and educate the importance of butterflies.