Love Letters Ikhalenda by Yefan Liu and Zilan Zhou

Love Letters Ikhalenda by Yefan Liu and Zilan Zhou is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Umklomelo Wensimbi we-A' Design Award in Ezenhlalakahle Competition Category.

InsimbiEzenhlalakahle· 2026

Love Letters Ikhalenda

by Yefan Liu and Zilan Zhou

Client: Yezi Designs

Umklomelo Wensimbi we-A' Design Award Winner in Ezenhlalakahle Category

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Colors

The Design

About Love Letters Ikhalenda

I-Love Letters yikhalenda eyakhelwe ukuxhumanisa impilo yansuku zonke nokuqwashisa ngezinhlobonhlobo zezinto eziphilayo. Ikhadi ngalinye kwayishumi nambili liphethe incwadi evela ohlotsheni lwezilwane olusengcupheni yokushabalala, limema ukuzindla, izifungo zomuntu siqu kanye nokumaka izinsuku ezibalulekile. Ikhadi ngalinye ligoqeka libe yisakhiwo esizimela sodwa ngaphandle kokuboshwa, futhi kamuva lingafakwa emvilophini yalo yephepha ukuze liposwe noma ligcinwe. Leli sethi liprintwe ngendlela ye-offset ephepheni elingapholishiwe elinesitifiketi se-FSC futhi lifakwe ebhokisini lephepha elinesitayela sedrowa elingaphinda lisetshenziswe njengento yesikhumbuzo noma into yokufundisa.

The Recognition

About the Umklomelo Wensimbi we-A' Design Award

Love Letters Ikhalenda iwinile uMklomelo Wensimbi we-A' Design Award, ukwaziswa okuhloniphekile okunikezwa imiklamo emihle ehlangabezana nezidingo zobungcweti nezemboni ezilindelekile ezimpahleni ezihlelwe kahle. Abawinile beNsimbi babonisa ikhono elikhulu, ubungcweti obuphezulu, ukuqonda kochwepheshe namandla okudala abadali babo. Love Letters Ikhalenda ilindeleke ukuba ibe yinto exatshwa kakhulu, edunyiswayo nethandwayo esebenzayo nenezinto ezintsha. Lo mklamo owinile uMklomelo Wensimbi we-A' Design Award uhlanganisa izindlela ezinhle kakhulu zemboni futhi unezimfanelo zobuchwepheshe ezifanelekile ezihlanganiswe nolwazi nethalente. Love Letters Ikhalenda iyahlonishwa ngenxa yokucophelela kwayo futhi ihlelelwe ukulethela izinguquko zomgangatho wempilo ezisiza ukwenza umhlaba ube yindawo engcono.

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.