Designing a storybook aimed at instilling environmental awareness in children using landscape elements

This thesis examines the design process of a storybook aimed at instilling environmental awareness in children using landscape elements. This book, prepared with the aim of strengthening children's relationship with nature and enhancing their environmental awareness, is shaped by an approach that combines elements of landscape architecture and graphic design. The study reveals how the natural elements used in the story serve a role in fostering environmental conservation awareness in children. In this context, the trees, flowers, plants, animals, and other natural elements featured in the book contribute to children's visual and emotional recognition of the environment while conveying the concept of environmental sustainability in an engaging and impactful way. The integration of natural details offered by landscape architecture with graphic design aims to foster children's interest in nature and increase their sense of responsibility for environmental protection. The first section of the thesis discusses the definition and development of illustrated children's books, highlighting the features and significance that should be present in such books. Also, the topics of text and illustrations in children's books are briefly examined. The second section examines how illustration techniques and graphic design elements are utilized in the context of environmental education for children. The role of graphic design in children's books has been discussed with the aim of strengthening children's perception and their connection to the environment; the effects of landscape architecture and natural elements on child development have been focused on. In this context, the aim has been to instill a sense of sustainability in children through the visual representation of natural elements. It has been examined how natural elements related to landscape architecture are used in the book's content, along with their effects on fostering environmental awareness in children. Natural landscape elements provide an entertaining and educational narrative while helping children integrate with the environment through the story. v The third section of the thesis addresses the development process of the storybook project titled "The Magical Guide to the Forest." In this section, the story's subject, purpose, target audience, and the book's features are examined in detail. This storybook, created through the combined use of graphic design and landscape architecture, is presented as an important tool for instilling a love of nature and environmental responsibility in children. This study, approached from both graphic design and landscape architecture perspectives, demonstrates how they can play an effective role in environmental education and the process of raising awareness.