Capstone Progress

Tess Doyle

MCAD, MAGWD Fall 2026

 
 

Project Brief — Revised

Project Brief for Pressed & Sown.

The Goal:

Pressed & Sown highlights the importance of native plant ecosystems in Texas and neighboring North American regions. It aims to assist it’s users to find a healthy balance with technology & the natural world, and an opportunity to connect meaningfully with their natural environments and communities.

The Challenge:

Encouraging amateur & experienced Texas gardeners, to consider planting native plants in their gardens. Pushing sustainability beyond the garden & into small, low-impact, sustainable creative practices.


Project Timeline

September To-do list

Linked as a Google Doc

Check List

Mobile App User Flow

Update on mobile app pages that need to be built out.

User Flow

Week 4 Prototype Update

Plant & Craft Pages built out and tweaked. Still need to add interactions and some links. Created on FIGMA

Week 5 Prototype Update

Plant & Craft Pages built out and tweaked. Still need to add page and some links. Created on FIGMA.

Week 6 Prototype Update

Garden Notes Pages built out and tweaked. Need to add resource pages and some links. Created on FIGMA.

Also worked a lot on interactive buttons and states to make the mobile app seem more alive and functioning.

Week 7 Updates:

Adding More ProtoType Pages: Plant & craft Journal-notes FIGMA

Created wire frame for case study site. — link

Plant & craft Journal-notes 1

Plant & craft Journal-notes 2

User Survey for Pressed & Sown Mobile App Prototype

LINK TO SURVEY

LINK TO PROTOTYPE ON FIGMA

Mood-board from Prototype 1

Week 2: Asset Prototypes

Link to Figma Prototypes

There is a copy of the original assets. I am considering changing the colors. So I’ll have a Prototype Update on Figma as well.

Items considering changing:

  • Brand Colors

  • Typeface

Need to add:

  • Image Identities — Meaning something that looks hand-made or hand-printed.

Would love feedback on any of this!

Pinterest Moodboard

Look & Feel Inspiration.

Pinterest

Types of Crafting – prompts to potentially add in mobile app:

Fiber & Weaving Crafts

Basketry — Made from pliable plant materials: willow, rattan, bamboo, reeds, pine needles, sweetgrass, and vines. Different techniques (coiling, plaiting, twining) suit different fiber types.

Textile weaving — Fibers extracted from plant stems and leaves: flax (linen), cotton (seed fiber), hemp, jute, ramie, and banana/abaca fiber. The stem fibers usually need retting (controlled rotting) to separate fiber from woody material.

Cordage and rope-making — Twisted or braided fibers from agave, yucca, nettle, milkweed, and inner tree bark (like linden/basswood).

Mat and hat weaving — Palm leaves (like pandanus or raffia palm), rice straw, and rushes woven into tatami-style mats, sun hats, and floor coverings.

Paper & Bark Crafts

Papermaking — Traditional papers use mulberry bark (washi in Japan, hanji in Korea), bamboo pulp, and papyrus reed pith.

Bark cloth — Made by pounding the inner bark of trees like paper mulberry or fig — practiced in the Pacific (tapa cloth) and parts of Africa (bark cloth from Uganda).

Birchbark crafts — Boxes, canoes, and baskets made from peeled birch bark, common in Scandinavian and Native American traditions.

Dyeing Materials

Plants supply natural dyes extracted from various parts:

  • Roots: madder (red), turmeric (yellow)

  • Leaves: indigo, henna

  • Bark: oak, walnut hulls (brown)

  • Flowers: marigold, safflower

  • Wood: logwood (purple/black)

Wood & Woody Crafts

Woodcarving and joinery — Furniture, tools, masks, and sculpture from various hardwoods and softwoods.

Cork crafts — Bark of the cork oak, used for stoppers, flooring, and decorative items.

Bamboo crafts — Extremely versatile — used whole or split for furniture, scaffolding, musical instruments, and woven items.

Other Extracted Materials

  • Resins and gums: pine resin, gum arabic (from acacia) — used as adhesives, varnishes, or in lacquerware

  • Latex/rubber: from rubber trees, historically used in Mesoamerican crafts

  • Plant waxes: carnauba and candelilla wax for polishes and candles

  • Seeds, gourds, and pods: dried and used whole for rattles, containers, jewelry, and instruments

  • Straw: wheat and rice straw for straw marquetry, corn husk dolls, and thatching

Weaving Plant List

More Research 10/13/2026

Virginia Smith’s Research

An Investigation of Plant Fibers for Basketry.

Research

Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT)

Harris County Native Plant List.

THE LIST

iNaturalist, Phone App

Like Minded Examples