The Urban Forest Project planned to plant 100 street banners by students and designers from San Francisco in the heart of the city. Each banner used the form of the tree or a metaphor for the tree to make a powerful visual statement about the environment. Conceived by Worldstudio, in collaboration with AIGA San Francisco, Academy of Art University, and the City of San Francisco, the Urban Forest Project paired high school students with design firms to encourage those passing by to pause, if only for a moment, to be entertained, stimulated or provoked by the work.
Morphos was one of a dozen San Francisco agencies that participated. We were paired with Mario Heard, who was a joy to work with and mentor. From the beginning, our concept grew around Mario’s observation that, without trees, we wouldn’t have oxygen to sustain us—trees allow us to breathe. Our design evolved into the Tree of Life— mother nature supports life on all continents and helps our urban city thrive in the cycle of life.
