Prompt Part 1: Statement
At the beginning, our group prioritised visual outcomes, focusing mainly on how climate data could be translated into engaging graphics that were easy to follow. However, after reviewing key references, we began to root our compositions more strongly in context in order to deepen the narrative and improve audience understanding. Our enquiry gradually centred on the idea of collectiveness, translating quantitative data into a visual language that could communicate emotion while remaining grounded in evidence.
We used comparisons of carbon emissions to help audiences understand the scale of impact and to highlight that addressing emissions is a shared responsibility. This shift made us more critical about the proxies we selected, ensuring they were meaningful and relevant to the public rather than purely visually appealing. Through this process, my awareness of climate justice grew, particularly in relation to international students who often travel long distances due to structural educational systems rather than personal choice. Because of this, we aimed to present the information without assigning blame to individuals with limited alternatives.
Publishing the project as a website instead of print also aligns with the Net Zero plan by reducing material use while making the work accessible to a wider audience.
References
Drucker, J., 2014. Graphesis: Visual forms of knowledge production. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
E-flux.com. (2017). Accumulation – Wendy Hui Kyong Chun – On Patterns and Proxies. [online] Available at: https://www.e-flux.com/architecture/accumulation/212275/on-patterns-and-proxies.
OMA. (2025). Diagrams. [online] Available at: https://www.oma.com/projects/diagrams.
D’lgnazio, C. and Klein, L.F. (2020). Data Feminism. CrimRxiv. [online] doi:https://doi.org/10.21428/cb6ab371.95cefa5b.
Reenakallat (2025). Aqua Atlas, 2023–2024 – REENA SAINI KALLAT. [online] Reenakallat.com. Available at: https://reenakallat.com/aqua-atlas-2023-2024/.
Office, E. (2010). Powers of TenTM (1977). YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0.
Prompt Part 2: Annotated Bibliography
Texts Inside the Reading List:
- Drucker, J., 2014. Graphesis: Visual forms of knowledge production. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Drucker’s text influenced how we approached the role of graphic design within our project, particularly in thinking about digital platforms as interpretative spaces rather than neutral containers for information. Her discussion of designing environments that support critical engagement encouraged us to rethink the purpose of our website. Instead of simply presenting climate data, we began exploring how interaction, pacing, and visual language could help audiences engage with the topic more proactively. This shifted our focus toward creating a more humanistic digital experience. In our project, this meant designing the website to feel interactive, visually engaging, and approachable, so that viewers could reflect on the implications of carbon emissions rather than only reading numerical data. We wanted the design to support contemplation and understanding without overwhelming the audience. Additionally, Drucker’s idea of working in a “constellationary mode” also reflects how our group developed the project. By combining insights from multiple references alongside our different design skills, we created a process that prioritised interpretation, collaboration, and the development of a shared visual language around climate responsibility.
- E-flux.com. (2017). Accumulation – Wendy Hui Kyong Chun – On Patterns and Proxies. [online] Available at: https://www.e-flux.com/architecture/accumulation/212275/on-patterns-and-proxies.
This article helped shape how we think about the use of images and visual proxies in communicating climate change. Rather than treating images as straightforward evidence, the text made us more aware that visual representations, such as satellite imagery, diagrams, or data visualisations, are publishing choices that influence what becomes visible and how audiences interpret it. This idea became important in our project because we rely on several proxies and metaphors, including circles, scale, and satellite imagery to represent carbon emissions. These choices do not simply illustrate information, they frame how the issue is understood. The text encouraged us to reflect on the duality of proxies: they can build trust and also cause mistrust. As a result, we became more careful about the images we selected. Instead of focusing only on environmental damage or negative representations of specific countries, we aimed to show that these places are also sites of community and everyday life. This strengthened our narrative approach, presenting individuals, streets, and communities alongside environmental impacts, emphasising climate change as an interconnected system shaped by daily life rather than individual fault.
Texts Outside the Reading List:
- OMA. (2025). Diagrams. [online] Available at: https://www.oma.com/projects/diagrams.
This reference influenced how we approached the role of diagrams in translating complex data into a visual format that is both accurate and accessible. Rather than viewing diagrams simply as illustrations, we began to understand them as a way of carrying information across contexts and audiences.Working with a rich scientific dataset, this idea encouraged us to carefully consider how the information should be distilled and structured so that viewers can understand scale, comparison, and relationships more clearly. Since our studio-based experiment resulted in a website, we designed our diagrams to function within the digital environment, ensuring they remain readable, navigable, and engaging. This informed our decision to create ozone-inspired bubble diagrams that are scaled to the interface while still representing the numerical data as accurately as possible. While our project aims to evoke an emotional response, this reference reminded us that clarity and precision are equally important when informing audiences about global concerns. As a result, we balanced expressive visual design with careful data representation so the diagrams support both understanding and reflection.
- D’lgnazio, C. and Klein, L.F. (2020). Data Feminism. CrimRxiv. [online] doi:https://doi.org/10.21428/cb6ab371.95cefa5b.
This article influenced how we thought about the politics behind data visualisation in our project. It made us question the appearance of neutrality in graphics. Rather than assuming that data can present an objective overview, we became aware that every visual choice shapes how audiences interpret the issue. We designed with the third principle of data feminism in mind: elevating emotion and embodiment. Because our project involves both personal circumstances and global systems, it became important for us to acknowledge our own positionalities as designers and participants within the issue we are representing. Recognising this helped us avoid presenting the data as detached or purely statistical, and instead focus on the specific message we wanted to communicate. It also pushed us to think about what comes after raising awareness, ensuring the project guides the audience toward reflection rather than leaving the information unresolved. Therefore, we designed to emphasise collectiveness rather than separation between countries. Moving away from design minimalism, our diagrams function more like a living system made up of many interconnected parts, reinforcing the idea that climate impact is shaped by shared structures rather than individual actions alone.
Design Practices/Projects:
- Reenakallat (2025). Aqua Atlas, 2023–2024 – REENA SAINI KALLAT. [online] Reenakallat.com. Available at: https://reenakallat.com/aqua-atlas-2023-2024/.
This design project influenced how we approached the integration of imagery into our visualizations to create emotional and contextual resonance. Instead of presenting data against a neutral background, Kallat uses hand-painted oceans to frame water consumption patterns, giving the numbers narrative and emotional weight. Drawing from this approach, we introduced life-style and geological images of Asian countries as backgrounds for the ozone-inspired circles that represent the amount of CO₂e emissions. By layering the illustration over narrative imagery, we aimed to make environmental impacts more perceptible and meaningful, helping viewers connect abstract measurements to real-world consequences. This strategy shaped both our visual language and our approach to audience understanding: images act as a bridge between complex numerical data and human perception, enhancing clarity while building awareness. The project reinforced the value of affective engagement in data translation, demonstrating that visualization can communicate both scale and significance. For our website, this translated into a visual hierarchy that is both informative and empathetic, guiding users through the data while supporting comprehension and reflection on the broader environmental context.
- Office, E. (2010). Powers of TenTM (1977). YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0.
This video influenced how we structured the sequence and pacing of information within our website. Rather than presenting all the data at once, we began to think about how scale can be revealed gradually so that viewers can build an understanding of complex measurements over time. This was particularly relevant because carbon emissions and CO₂e values are difficult to grasp when presented only as numbers. Inspired by the film’s movement between different orders of magnitude, we adopted a similar zooming structure in our project. The website begins at a smaller scale, introducing CO₂e through comparisons with the different type of travels before moving outward to larger datasets related to travel emissions. This progression allows viewers to first understand the unit of measurement and then see how it expands within broader environmental systems. This reference also shaped our thinking about how audiences navigate information. By revealing data step by step, we aimed to make complex environmental information more digestible and less overwhelming. As a result, scale became not just a visual device but a way of helping users interpret scientific data and understand its significance.