Our Work » Eco-conscious calendar

Healeys x Maze: Eco-conscious calendar

Creating a calendar to highlight sustainable practises

Client Healeys x Maze

Project Type Work

Services Design

The brief

Healeys Print Group is one of the first carbon-balanced publication printers in the UK. We were approached by them to design a calendar that would be sent to suppliers, clients, and prospects. The calendar was intended to:

Highlight the company’s association with the World Land Trust
Showcase Healeys’ sustainable printing methods
Emphasise that carbon-neutral paper doesn’t need to be restrictive or dull

As Healeys wanted the calendar to create conversations and potentially lead to new business, we knew it had to stand out and highlight Healeys’ incredibly diverse supply of sustainable paper and print materials it could use in its work.

How we tackled it

To emphasise Healeys’ proud association with the World Land Trust and its conservation efforts, we created a concept that celebrated one of the most important parts of the ecosystem: bugs.

With a vast array of weird and wonderful insects to choose from, we thought this would not only help to emphasise Healeys’ stance on sustainability, but it would also give us a chance to play with colours, textures and other design elements in order to create fun and eye-catching illustrations that would truly delight prospects.

We wanted every part of the project to emphasise Healeys’ conservation efforts, which is why each month’s illustration featured an insect that was either protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 or was on the UK BAP Priority Species list.

In order to highlight Healeys’ diverse range of carbon-balanced paper stocks and print finishes, each illustration was printed on different sources of sustainable paper. This included paper made from:

Cotton fibres that were a waste byproduct from the textile industry
Algae that was affecting the fragile ecosystem of the Venetian Lagoon
Resource-saving fibres, including wheat, grass and cannabis
Post-consumer recycled pulp
Various kinds of recycled paper

The results

We are proud to say that the end result was completely carbon balanced, only used sustainable or recycled papers, and was 100% recyclable. The calendar included facts about each month’s insect, as well as details about the specific paper that was used so recipients could easily identify which materials would suit their needs.

Each month’s illustration in the calendar was perforated so it could be reused as a postcard or displayed in a frame. As most calendars are usually discarded after a year, this helped improve the calendar’s longevity beyond 2021.

Our client’s enthusiastic words are a reflection of the project’s success. We’ve received some incredible praise about the calendar and the fact that it has helped Healeys gain new work and start conversations around sustainability are just the results we were looking for.

“Our team loved this calendar and concept from day one. The finished version is stunning. We’ve been inundated with praise about the design, look, print finish, practicality and meaning behind what is a beautiful calendar.

Clients have been asking for extra calendars to be sent to them and have, in fact, ended up buying them. We have already gained work from this and the enquiries and conversations as a result of the calendar have continued into the new year at a volume we have never enjoyed before as a result of this annual project.

The reaction all over on Healey’s social media shows this project has been adored by so many.”
Jane Carter, Healeys