I created this poster as an exercise in experimental data design. I tend to focus on function, and in this project, I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone by prioritizing the spectacle.
My goal was to visualize data sets about climate change by following the principles of data humanism. I wanted to 1) engage the reader with striking imagery, and then 2) provide them with the details and context they need to dig deeper.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/a806d770-09e6-4e72-907c-4cf769455fa3/86079e43-108a-4984-b5e8-3a5631171951_rw_1920.jpg?h=e0866afb0b7bd95636c56367dba1d957)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/a806d770-09e6-4e72-907c-4cf769455fa3/4756acfa-c88a-4a24-b253-b950680e620f_rw_1920.jpg?h=0db15f69528f130779ff5eef52415686)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/a806d770-09e6-4e72-907c-4cf769455fa3/eed4ae7c-9423-451c-8a3d-3f2db2f13a36_rw_1200.gif?h=de8cd1f2a38fca34f310582ae53f2ed2)
I was inspired by the climate change section of the World Risk Poll, which is the "first global study of worry and risk across the world." When assembling the poster, I borrowed some of the written content (including the headline) from the original report.
Brainstorm & Sketching
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/a806d770-09e6-4e72-907c-4cf769455fa3/f6ea7667-9e06-4761-af1a-1d637887903a_rw_1920.jpg?h=670b252c6be1c342e8bca1eb58cb7ea7)
I tried out several different methods of organizing data before I settled on the smoke stack design. It's a little on the nose, but it conveys the topic of the data immediately and provides many paths for interesting compositions.
Next, I did another round of sketching to find the poster's overall structure. I centered the smoke as much as possible to make full use of the eye-catching colors and mixed media.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/a806d770-09e6-4e72-907c-4cf769455fa3/858ca81f-d1f6-4700-82dd-490eecb95c5b_rw_1920.jpg?h=209488050acddd8c21748b8db59865b9)
Creating the Poster
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/a806d770-09e6-4e72-907c-4cf769455fa3/aafa62bc-bde7-4f41-8161-1be47838ad1e_rw_1920.jpg?h=d53cc701605dae67da7b6b4d6130950a)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/a806d770-09e6-4e72-907c-4cf769455fa3/d2f127d1-6952-4564-8982-14f07edfee10_rw_1920.gif?h=e27a0454cfd368790de5712a38d92878)
After creating a rough sketch on paper, I had some fun with watercolors and took the final painting into Photoshop. Then, using a lot of adjustment layers and feathered masks, I distinguished the colors as much as I could while maintaining the naturally painted style.
The final design includes digitally-drawn smoke stacks and a smattering of text, which provide context and clarifying information for the reader.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/a806d770-09e6-4e72-907c-4cf769455fa3/ae00922e-ec5c-4a31-b677-d1a92842de5a_rw_1920.jpg?h=f9dda2b7840a804a47e786490f326d8d)
Background texture sourced from Unsplash