Janouk zoekt een Duurzame Wereld

How do you talk to kids about climate change, biodiversity loss and the plastic soup without overwhelming them? Janouk zoekt een duurzame wereld is a richly illustrated, playful yet serious book for young readers aged nine and older who want to make the world a better place. Created in collaboration with WWF and written by Janouk Kelderman and Daniella Elshof, the book transforms big, complex topics into accessible and hopeful stories. As the designer, the challenge was to wrap it all in an optimistic and engaging visual world that could motivate rather than discourage.

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Author

Janouk Kelderman

Photography

John Dijkgraaf (book photography), Richard & Dana Dijkgraaf, WNF

Collages en graphic design

Dana Dijkgraaf

Concept
The world is facing major environmental challenges and today’s children will inherit these problems. That is why this book is not only informative but empowering. The content was developed closely with WWF to ensure scientific accuracy, including facts and infographics. The book also features contributions from inspiring changemakers like Boyan Slat, Lisa Stel, Merijn van Leeuwen and Merijn Tinga. To support the message visually, we chose a duotone palette in two shades of green and created a dynamic rhythm by alternating between personal diary snippets, top five tips from experts, do-it-yourself ideas, extra info frames and main text segments.

What did we create?
Visually the book became a complete green-tinted universe. It contains photography from WWF’s archive, stock libraries and my own collection including photos made by my husband who loves nature photography. One of the title spreads features a monkey holding a phone by photographer Marsel van Oosten — a perfect blend of nature and culture. Throughout the book I added humorous speech bubbles and small jokes that the animals ‘say’, bringing lightness to the theme and helping the reader relate emotionally. This humanisation of animals builds empathy in a subtle and playful way. The book was printed 100 percent CO2-neutral on recycled paper, using plant-based ink, no plastic on the cover and eco-friendly glue. The result is a strong and cohesive visual identity that matches the message of the content.

Sparkles
The speech bubbles and talking animals became the most joyful layer of the book. They added humour and warmth, making the heavy topic feel lighter and more personal. The clear duotone design made the content approachable for children while still being informative for older readers. The book combines emotional storytelling with hard facts in a way that gives the reader energy rather than fear. Personally, it was my first full duotone project and also the first time I created illustrations with such a strong educational character. I discovered how much I loved working with this age group and topic. It fit my design style, my optimistic worldview and even my background. Years ago, I almost became a vet instead of a designer. With this book, I got to combine my love for nature with my passion for visual storytelling. That makes it one of my dream projects.

We do not know yet what the long-term impact will be, but every copy sold feels like a step towards a more sustainable future. You can buy the book at major bookstores and the WWF webshop. And hopefully, the kids who read it now will grow into adults who care and take action.

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