jane austen

packaging design

about the project:

project type: student project
programs used: fresco, illustrator, indesign
deliverables: maximalist packaging

fun facts: i collect editions of ‘pride and prejudice’
want to see my process? click here!

For the Jane Austen Book Set, my goal was to create a collector’s edition that captures the essence of Austen’s world through a thoughtful and intentional design. This maximalist packaging project not only showcases Austen’s timeless novels—Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Emma—but also offers a glimpse into the spaces that fueled her creativity. Drawing inspiration from the writing room, drawing room, and dining room wallpapers in her home in Hawton, England, I carefully replicated these patterns to serve as a backdrop for the motifs used throughout the design.

The details extend beyond the visual—each element reflects the author and her private life, including the shape of her cherished writing table where she penned these classics. I wanted this project to transport lovers of Austen into the very environment that inspired her, connecting the physical design with the literary world of her novels. The books are housed in specially designed slipcovers that open to emulate letters, a nod to how her characters often communicated in her stories, inviting readers to immerse themselves once again.

Working on this project was an exercise in merging the digital with the physical. I designed, built, and laser cut various iterations of the interior that slides open to reveal the set and illustrated the exterior of her home to evoke her world from the outside in. This project, which required meticulous craftsmanship, taught me valuable skills like laser cutting and attention to every minuscule detail, as I balanced aesthetics with functionality to ensure that the set would sit beautifully on a bookshelf among other Jane Austen works. Ultimately, this project is a tribute to the spaces and moments that shaped the author’s extraordinary imagination and a reminder of the power of design to bring fiction to life!