Love Letters Féilire by Yefan Liu and Zilan Zhou

Love Letters Féilire by Yefan Liu and Zilan Zhou is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Duais Iarainn A' Design Award in Dearadh Sóisialta Competition Category.

IarannSóisialta· 2026

Love Letters Féilire

by Yefan Liu and Zilan Zhou

Client: Yezi Designs

Duais Iarainn A' Design Award Winner in Sóisialta Category

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Colors

The Design

About Love Letters Féilire

Is féilire é Love Letters atá deartha chun an saol laethúil a nascadh le feasacht ar an mbithéagsúlacht. Iompraíonn gach ceann den dá chárta dhéag litir ó speiceas atá i mbaol, ag tabhairt cuireadh chun machnaimh, gealltanas pearsanta agus dátaí tábhachtacha a mharcáil. Filleann gach cárta ina struchtúr féinseasaimh gan cheangal, agus is féidir é a chur ina chlúdach páipéir níos déanaí lena phostáil nó lena chartlannú. Tá an tacar clóbhuailte le clódóireacht fhritháirimh ar pháipéar neamhbhrataithe atá deimhnithe ag FSC agus tá sé i mbosca páipéir de chineál tarraiceáin ar féidir é a athúsáid mar chuimhneachán nó mar áis teagaisc.

The Recognition

About the Duais Iarainn A' Design Award

Bhuaigh an dearadh Love Letters Féilire Duais Iarainn A' Design Award, aitheantas gradamach a bhronntar ar dhea-dhearaí a chomhlíonann na riachtanais ghairmiúla agus thionsclaíocha a bhíonn á n-éileamh ó chruthuithe a ndearnadh go maith iad. Léiríonn buaiteoirí Iarainn scil mhór, speisialtóireacht ard, tuiscint saineolaí agus cumas cruthaitheach a gcruthaitheoirí. Táthar ag súil go mbeidh an dearadh Love Letters Féilire ina chruthú a bhfuil an-mheas air, a n-ardaítear agus a ghráitear atá praiticiúil agus nuálach. Comhtháthaíonn an dearadh seo a bhuaigh Duais Iarainn A' Design Award na cleachtais is fearr sa tionscal agus tá saintréithe teicniúla inniúla aige nasctha le heolas agus le tallann. Tá meas ar an dearadh Love Letters Féilire as a dhúthracht agus dearadh é chun feabhsuithe cáilíochta beatha a sholáthar a chabhraíonn leis an domhan a dhéanamh ina áit níos fearr.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: This project reimagines the calendar as a tool for emotional storytelling and environmental action. Each month features a letter from an endangered species, inviting reflection, personal pledges, and meaningful dates. The foldable card becomes both calendar and time capsule, using ritual, empathy, and biodegradable materials to turn awareness into active care, a purpose led experience connecting biodiversity loss to daily life.
Dimensions & Packaging: The finished product measures 110 mm × 230 mm × 40 mm. The calendar set includes 12 illustrated calendar cards, 12 paper envelopes, and a calendar storage box. The cards are designed to be folded into a self standing three dimensional structure without additional binding. After use, each card can be placed into its corresponding envelope for mailing or archiving. The complete set is housed in a paper based calendar box suitable for storage and distribution.
Tags: Emotional calendar, Eco conscious design, Endangered animals, Interactive daily ritual, Foldable cards, User engagement, Mailable cards, Educational gift, Modular structure
Production Technology: The calendar is produced using FSC certified uncoated paper with high opacity to enhance durability and color accuracy. Offset printing is applied for production, combined with spot color control to ensure consistent tones across animal illustrations in different batches. Multiple rounds of prototyping and user testing were conducted to optimize the calendar’s size, thickness, and interaction details for daily use.
Design Challenge: The main challenge was integrating a daily use object with abstract concepts to encourage genuine user engagement. This required designing a full interaction flow, from using the calendar, writing messages, to mailing actions, and adding playful, foldable features to the calendar cards. Constraints included production feasibility, material limits, and balancing usability with emotional and eco conscious objectives.
Research: Type of research: iterative design and user centered study. Objectives: to create an engaging, emotionally meaningful calendar. Methodology: multiple prototyping rounds and user testing. Tools: physical prototypes and feedback sessions. Participants: 15 users evaluated interaction and usability. Results: optimized foldable structure, size, and display clarity. Insights: users valued emotional engagement and eco consciousness. Impact: informs sustainable, interactive product design for daily life.
Inspiration: This project makes biodiversity loss personal and actionable by breaking it into monthly rituals, reflection, pledges, date marking, and small acts of care. Drawer style box and red envelopes create a sense of reveal, while foldable calendar cards combine animal storytelling with practical use. Guided prompts turn awareness into everyday action, embedding ecological urgency into time based rituals.
Project Duration: The project started in March 2025 in Georgia and Michigan, USA, and completed prototype testing and design refinements by September 2025. Since then, it has been in ongoing serial production, ensuring quality, consistency, and readiness for distribution.
Operation Flow: Most calendars function as tools, this one is designed as a relationship. The project bridges personal ritual and planetary care through a system that encourages reflection, action, and emotional continuity. Love Letters transforms a calendar into a twelve month exchange between users and endangered animals, packaging empathy and awareness through monthly interaction. The drawer style outer box symbolizes preservation and is designed for second life use as a keepsake or educational object.
Patents: Copyrights belong to Yefan Liu and Zilan Zhou, 2026
Team Members: Yefan Liu
Zilan Zhou
Jiayi Chen
Kangwen Shi
Image Credits: #Main Image: Photographer Yefan Liu, A Calendar of Love Letters, 2025.
#Image 1: Photographer Yefan Liu, A Calendar of Love Letters, 2025.
#Image 2: Photographer Yefan Liu, A Calendar of Love Letters, 2025.
#Image 3: Photographer Yefan Liu, A Calendar of Love Letters, 2025.
#Image 4: Photographer Yefan Liu, A Calendar of Love Letters, 2025.