The sketch is a literal portrayal of climate change by adopting the idea of generative type. As the sliders moves, the word ‘climate’ changes, gradually reducing legibility. This depicts the impact of human activities on our Earth, and the immense damage it will cause.
From the data set, I extracted numbers on the greenhouse gases emission, namely Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4) and Nitrous Oxide (N2O). From there, I calculated the yearly average numbers and displayed the numbers from 1984 to 2008.
Reflection
I chose climate change as my topic as it is a problematic issue that has been ongoing for a long time now. While researching on the topic, I realised that climate change is within our control, and it can be tackled if we all work together. Thus, I wanted to bring forth this issue and highlight the possible future damages should we continue this negligence.
As the rise in greenhouse gases is one of the main contributors to climate change, I extracted only the numbers of greenhouse gases emission from the data set. I was already aware of the rising greenhouse gases emission, but upon visualising it, it shocked me how much it has been increasing over the years.
Hence, besides equipping me with coding skills for future designs, this project has also made me reflective of my actions and how it impacts our environment.
The idea for the visual interpretation sketch was inspired by the weekly Tuesday sharing, where I learnt about generative type from Andreas’ workshop. This gave me a new perception of typography, thus I wanted to incorporate it into this project.
For the data visualisation, I tried out many different graphs before deciding on a grouped bar graph. My main focus was to make the graph informative and understandable for the reader. I chose a green background to represent the environment, while shades of yellow, orange and red represent the harmful gases.
Issues
One issue I faced throughout this project was having to adapt my idea to my level of coding ability. Many of my ideas were beyond my coding skills, thus I had to try them out and find one that I could handle. This was also because rather than just copying and pasting codes, I wanted to code something that I could understand and control.
Another difficulty I faced was applying concepts to the design! Even though I understood the functions and concepts in the tutorials, it was difficult to use and apply them into actual code. It can get frustrating when I can’t figure it out, however the sense of accomplishment upon solving it makes up for it.
Feedback
The idea behind the visual interpretation sketch was well-received! The message was properly conveyed despite the simple concept. It would be interesting to introduce more variables to further enhance the sketch.
Compared to looking at numbers, this graph makes the data more comprehensible. Viewers could easily tell that greenhouse gases have been on a rapid increase over the years.
Achievements
Coming into this project with 0 knowledge in coding, I would say being able to produce 2 working sketches from scratch is an achievement for me already. However, I know that there are many things that can be improved and so much more to learn. I particularly am happy that I was able to create a (amateur) generative type from scratch, and to see my idea visualised into an actual sketch!
Mindmap for topic research
Visual intepretation ideation
Data visualisation ideation
The word becomes illegible after moving sliders
Slider enables horizontal scrolling to view the graphs
