(B4) MEASURING SEA LEVEL - RESEARCH

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SATELLITE ALTIMETRY
  • I started looking at how sea level was measured to see if I could generate some diagram based designs from the research. 
  • There is a range of ways to measure sea level, the most effective is via Sattelite altimetry which, has almost full global coverage. This works by the altimeter of the satellite releasing a pulse that measures the time it takes to travel from the tip of the satellite to the target surface, in this case, the ocean. 


Chelton, D.B., J.C. Ries, B.J. Haines, L.L. Fu, P.S. Callahan, Satellite Altimetry, Satellite altimetry and Earth sciences, L.L. Fu and A. Cazenave Ed., Academic Press, 2001

  • The image above is data collected from the Jason-1 to 3 satellites over the years that has noted trends and changes in sea level. Much of the data is presented like this with a typical line graph, I have looked at a lot of these graphs and 'data', to see patterns and repeated symbols.
  • The diagram that shows the total sea-level change is quite difficult to understand as it is far more technical than a standard line graph.
  • As a designer though, I see the colours. Red means increase and blue decrease, these colours have various connotations and can be used to translate the impact of the diagram to an audience.
  • The people reading this book will have some understanding of the information discussed but, potentially not the greater scientific level needed to read these. 
  • I think I want to experiment with more stuff like this and how the data can be stripped down and simplified into a design. 
  • This will also fit the narrative of the book as it is not written from a scientific standpoint, rather by someone who has read a lot of this research and has chosen to speak about it. 
TIDE GAUGES
  • Another common means of measuring the sea level is via tide gauges. This is a very popular method and probably the most recognisable. These are scattered across the world inhabiting ports and harbours. 
  • This is the first sort of attempt to use the data captured by Jason-3 to create a diagram based design. I keep trying to be experimental with my typography however, it just looks clumsy and not considered. I also do not like the obviousness of the graph so far. 
  • Penguin wants this book to stand out from other books that have a similar context. I think this design so far would blend in with a typical old school science textbook. 
  • I have all the resources here to help me come up with a solid idea but, I am really struggling with it. 
  • Unfortunately, I was the only member of my peer group to attend so, I set up a critique meeting with Bradley to discuss my ideas and research. The idea being, that I would talk out the problems I am having with the designs for this and figure a way around the block. 
CRITIQUE WITH BRADLEY
  • As I thought, Bradley agreed that my earlier responses were far too illustrative for the narrative of the book and that a more minimalistic diagram approach would work better. 
  • I explained that I was struggling to bring the design together without being illustrative which he suggested that I try focusing on the colours and shapes presented in the diagrams, especially the data from Jason-3 rather than the tide gauges. 
  • He also made a good point about me trying to look at the cover as a whole rather than just the front which is something I know I haven't really considered yet. 

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