Reflection and Proposition Toward Coral Bleaching At The Great Barrier Reef

Learning

The drafted proposal had a good foundation. From the foundations of research into the changes of coral reefs along the Queensland coast, stakeholder influence and understanding, to the targeted audience, the peer feedback suggested a clear understanding to where the design action was headed. The colleague and I conversed on the functionality of the design solution questioning how the data visualisations will be resolved? What will make the proposition intriguing to the suggested audience? Is it possible to collect data in a more efficient and accurate way? Through clear analysis of the findings and filtering through statistical or conceptual findings the data should be resolved through a series of interconnected information visualisations. The colleague referenced the tool of ‘processing’  through code to interpret mass forms of data and scaling them accurately to achieve the desired result. Particularly through the use of API, CSV tools to filter through the research and develop a visual solution that is well informed.

Another point of feedback highlighted the need to close in on a specified response for the desired audience. Understanding the design solution, its functionality, usability and relevance to the audience will allow for a more well thought out and refined design solution. Whilst the proposition understood the issue in a clear way, or possibilities to change through the use of data visualisation and information graphics, the 3D application of this was somewhat vague. Through understanding user activities, designing for catalogue, book or instillation application were discussed to resolve this problem.

Overall, the discussion of possible ways to organise and collect statistics and research for the information visualisations allowed me to refine the way these information graphs could be applied. Thus allowing for the refinement of the design proposal.

 

Refined Design Proposal

The Catalogued Death of the Barrier Reef

Practice Type

Illustrating the eventual death of the Great Barrier Reef, will looking at time, colour and relationships through information visualisation. Data graphics, charts and keys communicating the issue of Coral Bleaching at the Great Barrier Reef.

The Issue

Coral bleaching affects marine species and habitats of the northern region of Australia, particularly the biodiversities and ecosystems that live on the 2300km of the great barrier reef. The coral bleaching affects the 600 types of soft and hard coral of the region and the variety of species that live and interact with the area. The issue is bound by the lack of education of governments, coastal communities and recreational users of the ocean prompting over-fishing, over-tourism, and disposal of waste in the area, thus disturbing the natural balance of life within the habitats and ecosystems interacting with the area. Eventually, the cause of the coral bleaching lies in the hands of these built systems all inextricably reliant on the ocean. Ocean conservation is urgent and imperative in these areas, the ocean is the being of all life and without it all life may perish or be harmed, from ecosystems in water to on land.

Future generations, impacted by the capitalistic and consumerist society of today are the main stakeholders effected in this transition period of climate change. With a tally of three mass deaths of coral fisheries around the world it is imperative to understand the trends in deaths, directly impacted by human behaviour and in turn visually understanding the deterioration, erosion and suffocation of the massacred coral fisheries. Approaching the issue in a new way may be communicated through understanding, temperature, light, colour, oxygen, shape, texture and body of these habitats.

• Climate change is evident through the changing patterns of sea temperature increase, altered weather patterns, ocean acidification and sea levels rising.
• Coral bleaching is impacted by coastal development and catchment modification: clearing and modifying coastal habitats, artificial barriers to flow, and disposal and resuspension of dredge material.
• Changes to reef environments through land-based run-off, nutrients from run-off (including its links to crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks), sediments and pesticide run-off.
• The remaining impacts of fishing, illegal fishing, collecting and poaching, incidental catch of species of conservation concern, effects on discarded catch, retained take (extraction) of predators, and retained take (extraction) from unidentified or unprotected spawning aggregations alter coral reef environments.
• Finally marine debris both on land and from sea sources.

Overall, the prominent stakeholders impacted by the issue are coral species and the marine life surrounding. Looking at the issue, species by species, colour by colour, form by form will communicate the death of the reef in a new way.

Possibility to Change

Understanding coral bleaching will be successful with change. To measure the success of the design solution will be reliant on evoking urgency. The solution will be illustrating trends in a new way, educating audiences efficiently, showing time, showing change, showing rhythm or sound through multiple information visualisations that work complimentary to each other. Whilst looking at the coral reef as a whole, the prospect of understanding the deaths is masked. By looking at the trajectory of the death of specified species in a coral reef habitat and furthermore relating this to time, colour and form will show a more poetic response to the issue.

Design Action

Experimentation & Visualisation

Through the visualisations of time, colour and relationships of the reef, I have developed a design action that can be used as a coastal package of sorts to be used or employed within the tourist industry of the proposed area, North and Central Queensland coast. The action will be incorporated and tied into a catalogue or information booklet prototype, tourist cards or an instillation piece by the sea or near diving. Targeting the 18-25 year travellers, both localised and international will require sensitive and engaging forms of information graphics, localised to the great barrier reef. The Information prototypes will be integrated into the system of tourism and delivered as a sort of coral reef package for all users of the reef.

The graphics will be outspread. Audiences will be able to pick up information cards sprawled in with post card stands, or tourist offices of the area. Information booklets and posters of up and coming trends, outlook reports, packaged in a practical tote bags will be offered within the tourist industry, abroad diving ships, tours and/or any other recreational practice. Products of which audiences are able to unpack and interact with can  provide a more physical understanding of context and urgency toward the issue of coral bleaching. To eradicate tourism on the reef would harm livelihoods of the area, nonetheless integrating educational systems through well resolved prototypes of which the suggested audience are willing to take on induce investment into the issue and eventually motivation for change for future generations.

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Visual Documentation Of The Brainstorming Session

Strengths

The brainstorming with the group allowed my own understandings to narrow and allowed me to explicitly begin to think about coral bleaching itself. The brainstorm allowed me to understand cause and effect, both of stakeholders, being governments and corporations affecting future generations. Alternatively, the cause and effect of human interaction and the marine species effected. By understanding the needs for conservation, the need for awareness, empathy and education of coral bleaching and the rapidity, possibilities of solutions became paramount to answer these problems; temperature, time, light, colour, life.

Weaknesses

Whilst understanding and networking through this form of brainstorming conceptually the understanding of coral bleaching was narrowed down, however it was difficult to disregard other information and filter through what was relevant and irrelevant considering the grand scale of the issue.

Strengths

Further brainstorming was conducted directly derivative of the first brainstorm. When considering possibilities I had questions the urgency of coral bleaching and its rapidity and connecting them to the stakeholders, cause and effect, possibility and facts associated. This particular brainstorm, again narrowing down short term and long term effects, all leading to the eventual death of the coral and marine life. By understanding a sense of urgency both in the long term and short term possibilities of solutions became clear. Creating empathy, communicating clarity and illustrating in an interesting toll the death of this life.

Weaknesses

I am still yet to understand how to bring these possibilities or findings into a visual or system understanding. Researching solutions, forms, inspirational work and further data is still pivotal during this phase. Experimentation with time and colour, or time and form, or time and trends is essential.

Strengths

I began to visually map out and draw connections with locations. By listing trends, locations and coral bleaching the extremity of the issue is understood. There is a clear connection between the three instances of mass coral bleaching within some of the most prominent coral reefs around the world (one being at the great barrier reef) and the trend of bleaching down the coast of Queensland.

Weaknesses

Again, I understand the processes, the networking, the issue in relation to the location of the coral bleaching, forms and time. A weakness of this type of experimentation could be making the issue broad again by bringing in international locations and international trends. I am unsure how I would interpret this. On the other hand, I could use this international analysis to provide context to the issue as a whole as opposed to Australia on its own. Resolving this confusion will be experimentation to resolve the problem.

Brainstorming Possibilities For A Design Response

Brainstorming Session

1. Who does the problem affect?

The problem affects a variety of groups from individual to organisational.

• Everyone and anyone.
• Smaller scale communities.
• Under developed populations, taken advantage of by larger and more powerful stakeholders, such as business owners or governments.
• The general public that are manipulated, under educated and masked by the truth and urgency of the issues present in climate change through media and policies.
• Future generations, these being the generations without the ability to change or prevent the actions of current generations.
• Species, marine and land, which in turn effect systems and biodiversities that even humans interact with.
• Families, the livelihoods involved in the issue, the people un-educated by the problems of their practices (i.e. overfishing or pollution) but unable to act on this.

2. What are the boundaries of the problem?

• A lack of awareness, this will involve educating the uneducated.
• Lack of understanding, the vague understanding of the processes of climate change and how it effects processes and cycles on a wider scale.
• Naivety or skepticism. Groups aren’t interested or choose to denounce the importance of climate change and more particularly coral bleaching. There is no understanding of how it affects individuals personally. 

3. When does the problem occur?

• There is a sense of urgency with climate change, most noticeable in global warming trends and coral bleaching. With now three mass coral fishery deaths around the world it is only paramount that more will follow.
• This directly affects the dependency of species interacting with the area and thus the dependency of humans on the ocean. 
• There are long term and short term impacts of coral bleaching.

4. Where is the problem occurring?

• The Great Barrier reef and coral fisheries in Australia.
• Coral Fisheries around the world; The Great Barrier Reef, Australia, The Palancar Reef, Mexico, Raja Ampats, Indonesia, Grand Central Station and Chimneys, Fiji, Belize Barrier Reef, Belize, Magic Passage and Planet Rock, Papua New Guinea, Andaman Sea reefs, India, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles.
• Particularly, in the Australian Great Barrier Reef, the corals affected north and central to the Queensland coast are most impacted. The area’s that undergo over tourism or that are affected by overfishing and pollution. 
• The indo-pacific regions and small coastal communities meeting at the oceans could be analysed as a more widespread impact assessment.

5. Why is it important that the problem is fixed, what impact does it have on all the stakeholders?

The ocean is the centre all of life. An unhealthy ocean is an unhealthy life, both in water and on land.

Documenting Potential resolutions:

• Emphasising the importance of marine conservation for ALL species.
• Using factual and researched proof of coral bleaching and transforming this content from black and white to shapes, sounds, light and form.
• Creating empathy for the living species interacting with and around coral reefs.
• Increasing awareness of the issue of coral bleaching, so as to counteract the lack of education that bounds the problem.
• Illustrating the death and grave yards of past species. 
• Illustrating the death toll in relation to external systems; i.e. ecosystems, farming, recreation.
• Visualising deterioration and degradation in relation to time and colour.
• Illustrating connecting paradigms and stakeholders through lines, textures, shapes. Creating a more manageable and simplified system of making these connections and understanding the cause and effect of these networks.

Possibilities: Visual Solutions

Drafted Proposal

Coral bleaching affects marine species and habitats of the northern region of Australia, particularly the biodiversities and ecosystems that live on the 2300km of the great barrier reef. The coral bleaching affects the 600 types of soft and hard coral of the region and the variety of species that live and interact with the area. The issue is bound by the lack of education of governments, coastal communities and nautic users promoting over-fishing, over-tourism, and disposal of waste in the area, thus disturbing the natural balance within the habitats and ecosystems interacting with the ear. Eventually, these man made issues cause these reef fisheries to die. Ocean conservation is urgent and imperative in these areas seeing as the ocean is the being of all life and without it all life may perish or be harmed, from ecosystems in water to on land and including those of which humans interact with.

Future generations, impacted by the capitalistic and consumerist society of today are the main stakeholders effected in this transition period of climate change. With a tally of three mass deaths of coral fisheries around the world it is imperative to understand the trends in deaths, directly impacted by human behaviour and in turn visually understanding the deterioration, erosion and suffocation of the massacred coral fisheries. Approaching the issue in a new way may be communicated through understanding, temperature, light, colour, oxygen and so on.

Resources

Baker, A., Glynn, P. & Riegl B., 2008, ‘Climate change and coral reef bleaching: An ecological assessment of long-term impacts, recovery trends and future outlook’, Estuar. Coast. Shelf Science, Vol. 80, Pp. 435–471.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority, Australian Government, 2016, ‘About the Reef’, The Australian Government, Viewed 18th September 2016, <http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/learn-about-the-reef/reef-beat-series/reef-beat-2016-threats-to-the-reef&gt;.

Gleason, A., 2014, ‘Stefanie Posavec’s Intricate Information Design’, Trendland, Viewed 18th September 2016, <http://trendland.com/stefanie-posavecs-intricate-information-design/&gt;.

Simborg, 2016, ‘Relationships with Between Scientific Paradigms’, Pinterest, Viewed 18th September 2016, <https://au.pinterest.com/pin/573153490060844069/&gt;.

The Australian Government: Bureau of Meteorology, 2016, ‘Coral Bleaching’,The Australian Government, Viewed 18th September 2016, <http://www.bom.gov.au/oceanography/oceantemp/GBR_Coral.shtml&gt;.

Issue Mapping

Issue mapping conducted allowed for analysis into key terms and phrases surrounding climate change. Working collaboratively allowed the circulation of a broader scope of ideas from a variety of participants.

First, the group mapping of terms surrounding the issue brought extensive lists of all phrases and niche key words that could provide direction to the issue. The group discussed which words were reoccurring between each other and which ideas were more individual than others. Seemingly, generic and well recognised terms within climate change, such as global warming, emissions, pollution, were contrasted by more extreme or controversial words like death, skepticism, marine conservation or biodiversity. It was interesting to note these differences.

Next, the initial issue mapping was then altered, with each card, participants listed the antonyms on the flip side of the listed terms. It was interesting to tally the connotations associated with the opposing thoughts during the task. Connotations that were positive, negative, controversial or confusing and then listed during this analysis. This mapping task was difficult, however inferred tones around the  general idea of the issue, which lead me to think about ideas that could possibly form a design solution.

Re-arranging the keywords and phrases followed. Selecting a group of 20 specified words and arranging them into positive and negative categories inferred connotations about climate change and global warming. Tackling the issue from these two view points questioned what immersive ideas are associated with the issue? or what destructive ideas are associated? Further, categorisation became in depth moving into, emotive, factual and disruptive groups that broke up the words. Keywords were then broken down strategically to infer distinctive connections and oppositions between the terms, being the most powerful to least powerful. It was interesting to discuss other participants interpretations of these categories and where the words fit into.

Finally, participants chose words that resonated strongly with them and summed up the whole issue of climate change. Words summarised included death, conservation, denial, debate, habitats, rising water temperatures, urgent, new-energy, emissions, biodiversity and fossil fuels. They seemed to intrinsically connect to all aspects of the issue from causes, effect, action, inaction and the results involved in climate change.

 

The issue mapping task was summed up by stakeholder mapping again and polemic or emotive contrasting. The stakeholder map connected influencers to emotional and factual keywords listed during the issue mapping. Polemic and emotive maps allowed controversial notions about climate change to be contrasted in a poetic way, such as skepticism being linked to anger or denial, or capitalism being linked to destructive, misleading, manipulative or dishonest emotion. The stakeholder mapping was thus linked again contextualising the brainstorms and resulting in a successful dynamic between understanding categorisations of the issue between authorities, organisations and individuals that influence these notions.

Scrapping the Web For Data: Twitter Advanced Searching

Specified Features and Functions

Twitter is a web based platform sporting a variety of forms and functions. When uploading, updating and sharing tweets users are able to import photographs, links, videos and share these via other media platforms. Viewers may upload posts as tweets, whilst also selecting, liking and ‘re-tweeting’ posts shared by personas and pages audiences follow. Through a selected language, waves of viral topics and discussions circulate the platform of which are categorised in twitters advanced search that highlights specified words, phrases, hashtags, languages, accounts, locations, times, dates and emotions. Material may be further categorised into top tweets and live tweets.

Users and Identity of Community

The community of users on the advanced twitter search are diverse and endless. Users may vary from individual personas or the general public, organisations, government groups, personas of authority, non-governmental organisations, demographics, diverse in gender, political, social, religious and so on.

I have categorised the users into two refined groups, individual and numerous. Individual users are those with one voice and one operation or navigation through the site. Often they may represent one viewpoint or work through and navigate one pathway. Individual users have specified unique and skewered viewpoints based on opinion and may represent a bias of data. Individual users navigate a variety of thoughts on environment, religion, politics, comedy or pop culture. These may be one or more issues and topics, whilst some are in more in depth others may simply scratch the surface. Numerous users are representations of groups. They may have two or more operators that work on the site and create the accounts image or identity based around an aim or target goal (i.e. to spread awareness, entertainment or mass media). Numerous users often work with specified issues and tasks at hand, and attempt to communicate to the wider public. Supporters of these voices are from other individuals and numerical groups.

When looking into users that are related to climate change, conservation, coral bleaching and sustainability numerical groups and organisations dominate these pathways. Organisations identified specifically for these topics present most of the data, tweets, posts and sharing.

Automated Systems: Step-By-Step

User Study: Who Talks about the issue?

1. First, using the stakeholder mind mapping and issue mapping, I draw out keywords I wanted to research.
2. An example of this could have been looking at a study of coral reef’s. The phrase is particularly broad, a noun without any connotations (positive or negative) and by entering the chosen word into the ‘phrase’ area of the search a number of results surfaced.
3. I scrolled through the variety of forms, accounts, tweets, photographs, videos and tallied whether the users are numerical or individual.
4. I recorded the results in data spread sheet.
5. I then continued this function, by looking at hashtags.
6. I recorded the results in a data spread sheet.
7. I then began looking at more controversial words such as, coral bleaching, global warming, depleting natural resources and altered biodiversity.

Active Study: Promotion of Action

1. First, I searched keywords and phrases within the spectrum of action, meaning words that promoted and active response, awareness or affirmation of the issue of climate change.
2. For example, I grew form the phrase ‘marine conservation’, typing this into two areas, hashtags and phrases.
3. Again I scrolled through a variety of sources, recording users.
4. I recorded likes or retweets inferring how aware or how shared these posts or ideas were.
5. I recorded demographics, who is talking about the issue and what areas these are these specified to.
6. By recording my results in a data spread sheet I was able to specify origins of certain answers.
7. I looked at a variety of words; sustainability, coral bleaching and marine conservation, sustainability and climate change.

Results

Twitter Advanced Search

Using the twitter advanced search I was able to see in clear view sources, organisations, research and posts in the distinct areas of which I was searching, that being ‘coral bleaching’. The groups were represented as generally positive, conservation groups hosting meetings, influential people doing influential work. It was rather interesting to note the photograph search. Here a repetition of colours and marine photography is shown. This brought me to think about how I could produce visually engaging data that communicates the destruction that is coral bleaching in an interesting way so as to stand out from the photography and generalised media related to the task.

Climate Change

User Study 

This user study began very broad, a simple representation of any topic that is stimulated by the phrase ‘climate change’. Essentially the issue is rather broad and interaction with this issue is apparent.

Action Study 

 

The demographics of users who are thinking of the issue of climate change range from Europe (Italy, UK), Australia, USA (Texas, Colorado, New York, Seattle or Washington) and South Africa. A majority of users from this short study reside in the USA.

Marine Conservation 

User Study 

The next search rule summarised all users in relation to ‘Marine Conservation’, whilst users are followed and posts are seen, it is interesting to note the decrease in sharing by retweeting on a number of tweets, such as the relation to increasing marine protected areas or marine conservation education.

Action Study 

People interacting with marine conservation here  are again generally ranging. Re-appearing locations in the USA show some consistency in activity with climate change and marine conservation on a deeper level. Some new appearances can be noted in Canada, Ghana and Germany. Again, referencing international understanding.

Sustainability 

User Study

When studying users of sustainability data showed an increase in interactivity with followers of posts, slowly showing more re-tweeting and engagement in the issue. Much of the retweeting occurred in response to an actions. The term sustainability is very broad, results referencing ‘digital privacy’ or building can be seen in the imagery, skewing the data. In the future phrases in reference to sustainability will need to be more explicit, like ‘sustainable energy’ or ‘marine sustainability’.

Action Study 

Here I didn’t look that far into the location of the users seeing as the first automated system  results showed skewed or irrelevant data. Although, understanding the term sustainability was well known.

Coral Bleaching 

User Study 

Finally, I progressed into a more explicit search, looking at coral bleaching. It is evidently a more controversial issue sparking the more retweets of all of the phrase studies. Twitter posts ranged from the ‘worst coral bleaching events’ or ‘coral bleaching caught on film’ again referencing controversies that spark the interest of the audience. However when moving deeper into the date of posts, the amount of posts and conversations about the issue was significantly less than the other phrases searched.

Action Study

Australia became significantly repetitive in this twitter archive, particularly to note the location of bleaching in Queensland and the amount of users discussing or sharing the issue. Again users in the USA, UK and Europe were also present during this search.

Future Directions

• Moving forward I will be collecting data from Australia explicitly. This study proved a general understanding of the issue, however I will be looking at more locally and nationally based demographics and particularly based around coral bleaching, ocean acidification, raising temperatures and the effect of these on the biodiversities of selected regions.

• Shows understanding through a variety of demographics and activity hand in hand with the key words. Internationally or globally the words aren’t all understood. How can these all be linked together? or how can a study of one location such as the great barrier reef become relevant to a wider and more international audience?

• Looking closer at data surrounding dates may be beneficial to provide more research into the urgency of the issue, thinking about ways to communicate the extent of coral bleaching.

• I will be thinking of ways to record and categorise the data more poetically, possibly extracting data in relation to colour, or all data in relation to action verses inaction, or emotion verses fact.

• Finally, I may search stakeholders and interpret data from the phrases in a connection to the specified stakeholders.

 

 

Approaches to Design for Change, Design-Led Ethnography

INTERVIEW

Audience Age 18-25 | Persona, University Student

Have you heard of climate change?

Yes, a lot of controversial viewpoints, from false and factual opinions.

When you hear that term what comes to mind; i.e. phrases, ideas, key words, opinions, stories?

According to this knowledge of it, is a legitimate believer, however also influenced by the information available to me and unsure if this information is completely trustworthy of not. There is a sense of skepticism involved.

Can you recall the last time climatic issues became apparent to you?

Much of what is known about climate change comes from the media; news, articles, Facebook sharing and posting, as well as other forms of social media sharing (twitter, online news platforms and so on).

Do you remember an experience, hearing a friend talk about it, on tv, or a personal encounter regarding it? How did you feel?

Its hard to pinpoint an exact occasion or moment. The best thing that could be referenced is when I went to the Great Barrier Reef when I was younger, approximately ten years ago. The landscape and diversity of the coral reef is a strong tourist attraction and understandably so, because of its apparent beauty, coral colours, marine species. Hearing the recent developments and the issues concerning the UN and Australian government cover ups, it would be interested to go back a see personally the developments.

How do you engage with these environmental issues? What could be more available to you to help you engage more? 

Essentially I am intrigued and concerned at the same time. Intrigued for the future and future generations, to see these climatic changes overtime. Then, whilst I m concerned that this should be an issue and that this is a legitimate issue it is a large issues. It is hard to understand what I could do as a single person in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes, I feel it’s not prominent and not regularly accessible to me as an issue to understand. At the same time much of this may be due to accessibility. If there were more accessibility to programs, interactive, actively contributing and seeing the changes in what contributors are actually doing. To do and see the results would allow audiences to feel more rewarded and impactful. I have had friends that collected rubbish up in the Whitsundays and who say that this practice, although is small reps the rewards of the practice. Something like this might help audiences see there is ongoing work to be done.

Summary

• Sometimes climate change is masked but the media circus surrounding the issue. The core of climate change, over-populations, emissions, global warming and all key dangerous contributions are overridden by the suspect of the issue.

• People understand the conspiracy more than the issues, but want to be more involved in a sense.

• With better understanding an interactivity with the issue will allow audiences to be more involved and engaged in the issue.

• Climate change is a problem resulted from many broader and larger issues in human activity, it is difficult to pin point. Sometimes the varying ideas may cause confusion. How as a designer can I make this issue more crystal clear?

• Audiences aren’t emotionally invested.

Audience Age 12-16 | Persona, High School Student

Have you heard of climate change?

Yes.

When you hear that term what comes to mind; i.e. phrases, ideas, key words, opinions, stories?

The seasons, green house gases, the sun, burning of fossil fuels and that the world is getting hotter this is global warming.

Can you recall the last time climatic issues became apparent to you?

When hearing about it, it would have been last week. I learnt about it during science. Outside of learning about it I don’t hear much else, not really through media or anything like that. It is an issue, because we are burning and using resources which is affecting the atmosphere.

Do you remember an experience, hearing a friend talk about it, on tv, or a personal encounter regarding it? How did you feel?

I am concerned about the next generations, concerned about what the world will be like as we grow. It was interesting to experience the hot days in winter and the changing warm weather, it is quite bizarre. Whilst we are using up natural resources, its disappointing. But all in all, I’m not sure how I feel about it, I do care, but the impacts and my understanding of climate change make me unsure. It is a large issue, but I’m not sure what I can do.

How do you engage with these environmental issues? What could be more available to you to help you engage more? 

Essentially, to learn about the issue more I would ask and talk to teachers or talk to peers. More active programs for the youth to maintain waste and pollution. More media coverage and documentaries to educate people. More teaching requirements during school that could allow the youth for greater understanding. Whilst I learn about it in science, I’d like to see it incorporated in other subjects like geography, history, english, learning about sustainability in woodworks or impacts of agriculture in food technology. Or, more social media campaigns with greater and diverse sharing experiences because I haven’t really encountered any.

Summary

• There was a vague overtone to the interview, the interviewee was generally not sure or uninterested in the interview.

• However there is a clear understanding of what exactly climate change is and some of the obvious impacts that the interviewee had learnt during school.

• During this interview climate change was and is apparent, the idea of scepticism was never mentioned as compared to persona one.

• The interviewee wanted more awareness more readily available and reaching the youth at a more mass scale.

• Climate change is masked, but global warming is more well known.

PROBE

Probe Instructions

A variety of two age groups are represented in this probe. Both groups are students, the first between 18-25 and the second 12-16. Each audience was proposed with a question or phrase to consider. Thoughtfully suggesting where their answer may lie on the scale of two responses. By drawing points along the scale, the audience represented how they felt or reacted in accordance to the issue of climate change. 

Summary

• The university student had more affirmative and definitive answers with clear insights into their views, a clearer understanding of climate change.

• It is interesting to note the sense of urgency from both perspectives. The young adult suggesting rapid increases and sense of grand scale within their answers. Although, the child suggesting affects of human activity contributing to climate change as an issue of the future.

• Both audiences have a positive, proactive understanding of climate change and issues surrounding this such as depleting natural resources, extinction of species, erosion, deforestation, marine biodiversity and so on.

• Political and scientific understandings were rather contrasting, with the adults finding it completely restricting, whilst younger audiences find it active. A sense of bias could be noted here.

• Overall, both audiences had similar answers. Further probing could look into older generations and the elderly, contrasting opinions and understandings of these two spectrums.

The Republic of Everyone

“we help you bring brand, sustainability, and creativity together to make doing good, good for business”.

Mission

The republic of everyone is an design studio of interdisciplinary designers and professionals that strive to reinforce sustainability, community and design that promotes and better world. The republic of everyone works together with a range of clients from large corporations to small non-governmental organisations, only providing work that will design for a better climate and sustainable resolutions in the contemporary world.

The republic of everyone works with a number of clients involved in the conservation of the globe including the non-governmental organisation; world wildlife fund (WWF), to governments, corporations such as MIRVAC, Accor, country road, Gore-Tex, the Australian Red Cross or Veolia. Whilst the studio works nationally within Australia with a variety of clients. The studio is also international, setting up office in Mexico and England.

Fight for the Reef: Campaign for World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

‘Fight for the Reef’, was two designed campaigns over two years created to draw attention to the issues of shipping and dredging  in reef waters, bringing awareness to the affects of these human activities on the reefs. The campaign results in a petition submitted to UNESCO with over 500,000  signatures and messages of support. Through the development of concept, design and collateral, television advertisement and digital design to successfully promote a balance between development and the environment.

Design

• Video Campaign

• Collaborated with google maps underwater in creating App

• Press and Media

• Social Media

• Advertisements

• Web Design

Advertisement

See it, Save it, For the Great Barrier Reef

The great barrier reef, fast becoming an environmental issue of our time, put at risk from coal megaport, shipping, dredging and climate change. The campaign maintains pressure on the Australian government to preserve the iconic sight and list it as a world heritage site. Through the collaboration of the studio, WWF, the grumpy sailor, underwater earth and google, the team creates a dynamic, motivated, and positive advertisement. The campaign introduces design collateral, collaborated with google maps underwater app to give a digital reality experience to the user to completely understand the diversity of the reefs affected. Users become interactive, being able to select areas of the reef to protect and experience.

Collaboration with Google underwater created a digital experience with users to fully experience the reef. Design collateral being cardboard underwater goggles allows users to access the Reef app, log in, select an area of the reef to view, insert the smartphone into the goggles and escape on a certain digital journey. The interesting, novel and transitional use of package design transcends boundaries of interactivity and user experience. Whilst the sustainable use of print encourages users to embark on this experience. Through the app users may also draw the line on areas of the reef to maintain, by selecting the area and becoming owners of the space marked with a profile image. The users develop and community through this digital realm, motivated greater awareness of the impacted reef because of human activity, waste and climate change.

Nonetheless through the development of design collateral, systems and campaigns the organisations involved put the Australian government on probation from UNSECO, increasing urgency to maintain and protect the reef. A resounding win for the health of the reef.

Resources

The Republic of Everyone, 2014, ‘Fight for the Reef’, The Republic of Everyone, Viewed 21st August 2016, <http://republicofeveryone.com/work/vote-for-the-reef/>.

Fight for the Reef, 2014, ‘Fight for the Reef’, Facebook, Viewed 21st August 2016, <https://www.facebook.com/FightForTheReef/>.

Felicity Wishart, 2015, ‘Fight For the Reef’, Fight for the Reef Organisation, Viewed 21st August 2016, <https://fightforthereef.org.au/>.

The Republic of Everyone, 2016, ‘WWF See it Save it for the Great Barrier Reef’, Vimeo, Viewed 21st August 2016, <https://vimeo.com/157964289>.

Stakeholders Involved in Climate Change: Unpicked and Interconnected

 

Whilst roughly mind mapping any and every stakeholder involved and contributing to climate change, what became apparent are categorised groups of stakeholders and relationships between all of these. Whilst categorisation of effects, technologies, influences and groups within map two, these could be further broken down and connected between each other in map three. Whilst all stakeholders are individual, the maps illustrated ways in which each could be connected using cause and effect, defining climate change as an issue economically, nationally, internationally, globally, culturally or scientifically accounted for.

Image Research

Global Temperature Change (1850-2016)

Visualising data of temperature change shows the variations globally in a clear and concise manner, audiences are able to analyse changes within temperatures represented on the graph. The information is visualised on a radial scale of which contrasts overtime of temperature are present.  This image is a purely factual organisation of temperatures, without any present bias.

Extinction of Birds Campaign: WWF

A campaign design for the World Wildlife Fund aims for conservation of bird species. Unlike secondary sources, the imagery of the bird factor illustrates specific statistics related to the extinction of birds. The use of orange contrasting and bringing urgency to the overtone of the imagery.

Global Temperatures Visual

Imagery of the globe, specifying the exact locations of temperature change with thermographic techniques. The results of this visualisation are very specified and realistic to the changes of temperature. Accordingly, as presented in secondary sources and reports, global warming is apparent overtime and internationally relevant. This source, again, illustrates previous reports found in secondary resources.

Global Warming: The Debate

Global warming, the debate extract social responses and understandings of the issue of climate change, looking into scientific, media and public representations of global warming. This imagery interprets perceptions of Global warming on a variety of scales and nonetheless targets skeptical and conspiracy as alluded to explicitly in the secondary sources. The imagery shows the contrasting opinion toward the issue.

Typography: Shakieb Orgunwall

Simple typography, “we are living in an age of global warming and human coldness”, suggesting an emotional aspect of global warming with minimal type. This quote by Shakieb Orgunwall extracted as a pull quote intrinsically links human activity and climate change together, deepening understandings of the issue.

Photography: The Coral Grave Yard

The Coral Grave Yard is an extract of a photographic serious by Michael Slezak of which the diver and photographer documents the changing coral reefs. The imagery shows the eventual death of reefs and absence of marine species. The contrasting colours of the greys and browns surrounding the bright blue coral shows this change. The absence of all life becoming shockingly apparent to audiences. Unlike secondary sources, photography allows audiences to interpret and develop emotional attachment to the death of this life. 

Deforestation

Another information visual, graphically configured figures and representing them in a clear way. A data visualisation like this allows easy to access and interpret information to a wide variety of audiences. Although, this visualisation is rather text heavy, of which could be better presented.

Information Visualisation: Coral Bleaching

This serious of data visualisations by Stefania Guerra conceptually showing coral reef bleaching. Through the use of delicate lines and specified colour combinations the data takes on artistic form almost representing the delicate corals themselves. The shapes and lines overlap and interact across the page. This is one of the more interesting, refined and organic references to coral bleaching.

Five Years of Drought

A delicate visualisation of drought in California. The use of warm colours and textured form imitating heat. The imagery and key are balanced and considered. Without much research into droughts, it is insightful to see impacts of natural disasters attributed to by climate change represented visually. The demographics and spread of droughts in California is simple and direct to understand.

Paris Climate 2015 Campaign

Finally, the campaign for the Paris Climate Summit 2015, designed and well balanced. Natural and organic illustrations with experimental type attempting to address the factual report of Paris Climate Summit in a new way.

Coral Bleaching: Scholarly Source Analysis

When researching the impacts of climate change on the environment, a locally evident issue within Australia became present. Coral bleaching and the diverse ecosystems impacted by these changes resulted in my scholarly analysis of two scientifically published  reports on coral bleaching, fisheries, marine life and ecosystems affected by changes in temperature and pH in coastal communities. Obtained by Science Mag, ‘Chemically mediated behaviour of recruiting corals and fishes: A tipping point that may limit reef recovery’ and Elsevier’s research into ‘Impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on coral reef fisheries: An integrated ecological–economic model’ detail chemical responses to climate change in these environments.

The article, ‘Chemically mediated behaviour of recruiting corals and fishes: A tipping point that may limit reef recovery’ is a scientific report conducted and written by authors, Danielle Dixson, David Abrego and Mark Hay. The study conducted is a written report statistically analysing the causes of effects of climate change, using the authors scientific expertise, understandable to this type of published report, verifying the quality of such information. The writers are factual and completely unbiased writing at a scientific standpoint and published for a forum of scientists to use, understand and build upon. The motive for the report is used to understand the diverse effects on coral reefs, the chemistry behind trends and changes in the biodiversity of these. The article highlights the many factors of change; overfishing, disease and pollution that drives coral bleaching and promotes reef degradation which not only affects coral species, but also a number of fish communities. This study shows that maintaining herbivore species richness in coral reefs, is essential as it has a positive effect on corals, which are the foundation species of their ecosystem. The factual representation of data and study makes an article like this hard to debate. 

The second resource studied, ‘Impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on coral reef fisheries: An integrated ecological–economic model’. This is an article written collaboratively by Ann Speers, Elena Besedin, James Palardy and Chris Moore. The collaboration with the various researchers proves a scientific expertise within the article, with a variety of findings and resolutions to the hypothesis studied in this report. The overtone of the article is again a factual, scientific, statistical and well researched documentation of climate change, with visual and graphical supports. This document suggests the total values researched between of the changing coral reefs may combine to a figure large enough to influence the international discussion on CO2 emissions. The document is unbiased and rigorous in its formatting, i.e. abstract, hypothesis, data, results, discussions and conclusion. These address the key issues mentioned in the abstract, with a suggestion of solutions in the discussion. The writers within both scientific articles remained unheard, of which allow the data, results and conclusions drawn from the report to speak to audiences and infer its meaning through clear results. The article studies a correlation between economics and plans to infer climate change, suggesting national and international climate change policies that rely on estimates of the economic losses to help evaluate policies that will reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Evidently, the diverse effects of environmental changes on coral reefs and involved fisheries cause rapidly changing and murderous effects on these ecosystems. As one of the most evident results of changing climatic conditions, moving forward it may be imperative to research these systems in further detail, analysing visually statistical reports and how these are continually changing overtime; from past, present and future.

Resource

Dixon. D, Abrego. D & Hay. M., 2014, ‘Chemically mediated behaviour of recruiting corals and fishes: A tipping point that may limit reef recovery’, Science Mag, Vol 345, Issue 6199, pp 892-897. 

 Speers. A, Besedin. E, Palardy. J & Moore. C., 2016, ‘Impacts of Climate Change and Ocean Acidification on Coral Reef Fisheries: An Integrated Ecological- Economic Model’, Elsevier, pp 33-43.

Climate Change: Secondary Source Analysis

The Great Barrier Reef: A catastrophe laid bare.

Slezak, M.

The article ‘Great Barrier Reef: A catastrophe laid bare’, is written by Michael Slezak, an author of the news platform, ‘The Guardian’. The source is written by a third party collaboratively for the news platform and although may be considered somewhat unbiased. The article highlights the effects of climate change in clear correlation with the results of the current environmental issue of coral bleaching along the perimeters of the Great Barrier Reef. The source gathers first person accounts of a diver in the reef, quoting, “the smell of death on the reef”, which can be considered a biased statement by a persona that may not be scientifically equipped to constitute the idea of death within the reef. This particular article is a mixture of fact and opinion, with the interview of a driver through the reef, whilst also referencing a study that recorded the bleaching around Lizard Island through photographic documentation over the past year. Seemingly, this is the first time the author has written about the bleaching project conducted by Richard Vevers, although the this is not the first time the guardian has covered the issue of climate change within their news platform. Whilst the article is semi-biased, the ideas and work conducted by Vevers is understandable as the issue is increasingly present in todays environment.

Resource

Slezak, M. 2016, ‘The Great Barrier Reef: A catastrophe laid bare’, The Guardian, Viewed 28th July, 2016, <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/07/the-great-barrier-reef-a-catastrophe-laid-bare>.

Biodiversity steering committee ends three years of work ‘disappointed’

Kao, E.

The article ‘Biodiversity steering committee ends three years of work ‘disappointed’’ was published by the  South China Morning Post in May 2016. Whilst China has some of the most rigorous and compelling projects and plans targeting climate change, global warming and biodiversity in their country as compared to the rest of the world, it was interesting to uncover the news agency platform and the surrounding issues the article covers. Author, Ernest Kao, a writer for the Herald, writes in an non-biased overtone, the article highlights the concerns and sort of discussion within the Biodiversity Action and Strategy Plan (BSAP) professors, members and leaders. The author writes in the context of current events and quotes the various concerns of professors like Jim Chi-yung without commenting or critiquing this primary reference, suggesting the reliability of the writer to be unbiased. The way in which the author has conducted the article is well noted, leaving the reader to decipher their stance for themselves based on experiences in BSAP. It is interesting to note the BSAP’s summary for the extension of protected areas as a means to support the enriching of urban biodiversity, with statistical support for the number of votes, 2,444 submissions of the plan, members and followers of the group are increasingly aware and concerned about issues of biodiversity in Southern China.

Resource

Kao, E., 2016, ‘Biodiversity steering committee ends three years of work ‘disappointed’’, South China Morning Post, Viewed 28th July 2016, <http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1948862/biodiversity-steering-committee-ends-three-years>.

Indigenous rangers on the frontline of coral bleaching in remote Australia

Wild, K.

The article ‘Indigenous rangers on the frontline of coral bleaching in remote Australia’, derives from the news and service program ABC, a highly recommended and reliable source of authors with diverse opinions of which must be noted within the article written and studied by the National Reporting Team’s Kate Wild, in July 2016. This source covers another spectrum of opinion on the issue of coral bleaching studied, that being, the indigenous societies views on the highly coveted issue in the Australian environment. To be commended is the study and report of indigenous opinion on climate change, highlighting a variety of standpoints in the issue, from influential minority groups. The way in which the article is written in is quite biographical, reporting on stories and memories of the indigenous in a none biased way. Personal and eye witness accounts provide a deeper insight into the issue, commenting “I never seen the coral turning to white” or “we need scientists to comer here and do research in the crocodile islands”, quoted by Michael Mungula, an indigenous leader in the Yolgnu area. The article could be considered more interview based, suggestive of indigenous concern, trustworthy in a sense when considering their rich knowledge, appreciation and inextricable connection to the land and its developments.

Resource

Wild, K., 2016, ‘Indigenous rangers on the frontline of coral bleaching in remote Australia’, ABC News, Viewed 28th July 2016, <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-11/indigenous-rangers-on-the-frontline-of-coral-bleaching/7557646>.

State of the Climate 2015

Blunden, J. & Arndt, D.

The State of Climate Report is a 2015 study of climate change in a factual and statistical manner. The study is conducted by the American Meteorological Society and edited by Jessica Blunden and Derek S.Arndt. The report is a researched and experimental conducted source of information, completely sourced and documented in a professional anyway and given access to the general public. This allows the source of information to be reliable and non biased. The 300 page report is written and published year by year as a summary of climatic events, processes and statistical changes during that year. Much of the information acquired is visualisation data and graph forms highlighting events of climatic concerns across the world, temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, river discharge, water storage, soil moisture and more across a number of studies and sources collaborated into one annual review. This article of information is rigorous and well researched across all platforms and a reliable source to consider as support for statements and ideas in climate change, global warming and the adverse effects of this following biodiversity and coral bleaching. The professional body to publish this source provides a sense of support when considering the common opinion found within other articles and news platforms, that being that negative and problematic harmful effects of climate change in the environment.

Resource

Blunden, J. & Arndt, D., 2015, ‘State of Climate in 2015’, American Meteorological Society, Viewed 28th July 2016 <http://www.ametsoc.net/sotc/StateoftheClimate2015_lowres.pdf>.

Australia senator Malcolm Roberts calls climate change a UN conspiracy

BBC Network

The BBC article ‘Australia senator Malcolm Roberts calls climate change a UN conspiracy’, is written and published by the BBC platform in August 2015. Whilst the article is published by BBC itself it does not list one specific author suggesting the collaborative body of professionals that may have covered this story. Altering slightly from the other articles studied the report references the idea that climate change could be considered a ‘conspiracy’. This could be considered both a marginal and common view as climate change is a recurring story covered within the BBC news network, but also marginal in the stance of the political persons commentary. Allegations of Malcolm Roberts suggesting ‘United Nations is using climate change to lay the foundations for an unelected global government’, completely suggesting this rigorously studied and proven issue within the environment is political biased as opposed to a realistic issue. The writer of the article does well is remaining an unheard voice within the report, clearly revealing the opposing opinions and statements of Roberts, without any influence on what is being recited. Again, this type of article allows readers to decipher without providing an overarching propaganda deeming the author unbiased and editorial.  The coverage of the storage is well supported referencing the idea of conspiracy of a variety of fronts other than climate change.

Resource

BBC, 2016, ‘Australia senator Malcolm Roberts calls climate change a UN conspiracy ‘, BBC News, Viewed 28th July 2016, <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-36972449>.