While researching how designers are helping educate audiences on the effects of climate change, I discovered Giorgia Lupi’s exciting and creative interactive experience: “Plastic Air”. The data visualisation artist partnered with Google Arts and Culture in 2021 to create a digital experience in which visitors can select animated, geometric shapes on screen; revealing the amount of plastic each represents in our atmosphere.
(above) Video presents how the audience can interact with the product, triggering interactions to reveal shocking figures regarding the plastic in our atmosphere
I think it is interesting that the website and interactive installation are aesthetically beautiful; utilising a vibrant colour palette and graphic, geometric shapes to create imagery which reminded me more of an impressive abstract painting. This is perhaps, the antithesis of its grotesque and disturbing subject matter. However, Lupi explains that this is intentional:
“We actually did design the site to be beautiful, even though the problem of micro-plastics isn’t. Our ultimate goal was to raise awareness that micro-plastic disposition is happening, and at ever increasing rates. To achieve that goal, we wanted to provide a mesmerising experience which appeals to a wider audience. You can’t just tell people that something is bad and hope they believe it. You have to show them in an interesting way, and make it real.”
(above) Still from Plastic Air
(above) Data breakdown in Plastic Air
I think Lupi really successfully conveyed an issue which the audience would have previously found impossible to visualise due to the microscopic size of the plastic particles; encouraging a previous ‘out of sight out of mind’ attitude towards an environmental crisis actively damaging our bodies. To present communicate this incomprehensible data, Lupi and her team ‘reconnected’ these confetti-like shapes to everyday objects like bottle caps and cigarettes. This created a relatability for the audience; emphasising the proximity of the problem and how it directly affects each participant as Lupi discusses:
“When you actually stop to think that these common items are contributing to this type of pollution, it becomes much more urgent.”
Overall, I think that this is a really exciting example of how a designer can communicate the urgency of an issue to an audience through a visually appealing and easy to navigate product.