Future Forests

UX design works
| The Goal

Based on the paper “The Global Tree Restoration Potential" by Tom Crowther in 2019 and other information provided by the lab, we designed a playful approach for people to receive more information about climate change and what positive impact one newly planted tree could have. The design is made for a 65’ screen which will be placed in an exhibition like a table, as well as IR tracking devices, with which visitors can play and interact seperately yet simulataneously.

Through them and a lot of researching, we gained more information about the topic of climate change and trees. We wanted to focus on the following five key points.
  • Facts and Figures
  • Carbon Sequestration
  • Biomes
  • Projects
  • Worldwide

Subsequently covering key messages encouraged by the Crowther Lab for us to cover which are:

  • Forests play a huge role in regulating the climate
  • The climate is changing - if we continue business as usual, the area of the world’s forests will shrink.
  • Increasing forest cover will be a critical tool in combating climate change. (We estimate 0.9 billion hectares can drawdown 2/3’s of anthropogenic carbon in the atmosphere.)
  • There are many other benefits to a forest - it’s not just about carbon drawdown but also air filtration, water cleanliness, wider biodiversity.
  • There are many ways for citizens to get involved - restore, fund, invest responsibly.
| Ideation & Brainstorming
conceptsketch
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| Prototyping
Our Prototype includes three layers, the globe, the projects and the questions. Through this we could implement different information over some simple interactions and provide a lot of knowledge at once. Those layers are made visible through three different tokens which are represented by a globe, a tree and a cloud.
First digital prototype; it shows the different token on the side of the table as well the globe, which is always visible on the screen. Every token has it’s own purpose but mainly works the same. While people may place the token in various spots on the screen the information will adapt accordingly. They can approache the table in every state and still have access to everything, there is no beginning or end.
design works
We chose a globe, a tree and a cloud to represent the three layers figurativly. For the globe, a globe fited perferct as the visitor can hold the world in its own hand and “play god” through changing the worldview. For the projects, a tree represents the many trees which have and will be planted by people helping reforestating certain areas. For the questions, a cloud betokens the CO2 as well the data collected through the Crowther Lab stored in the cloud.
design works
The token are the first introduction to the three layers. An integradet sensor tracks the devices on the screen through a camera installed on the ceiling. Because of this connection, information can be shown on the display and visitor have a chance to play and learn something new.
design works
If the globe-token will be placed on the screen, information about the given map will appear next to it. Those information show the average temparature, average CO2 in the atmosphere and aswell stored in trees worldwide. Bars curved around the globe make those numbers more relatable. By rotating the token, the map on the globe can be changed and the bars will change accordingly. There are three different maps available
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The bars around the globe represent three different information about the currently visible map. Red stands for the average temperature worldwide in C° (celcius), brown for the average amount of carbon stored in the forests in gT (gigaton) and the light blue shows the average CO2 in the atmosphere in ppm (parts per million). It is possible to zoom in at the different maps to look at various region more precisely.
design works
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If the tree-token will be placed on the screen, information about NGO’s in different biomes appeare. As it is an addaptive layout it is not important where visitor choose to place the token. By rotating the tree-token people can browse through the projects. Following the red line to the globe one can find the place of the projects on the world. Every project and its diverse biom is illustrated in an isometric view. By sliding the bar on the bottom of the illustration, visitor can slide through time and see the difference the work can make. Around the illustration are a QR-Code linked to the NGO’s website and various pictures which show the current situation in those areas. By clicking on them they grow and visitors can have a better look at it.
With the third token, the cloud-token, placed on the table, visitors gain access to knowledge through questions in a playful way. They can learn new things about the climate and tree, correlated to their own way of living. By rotating the token people can browse through different questions. It is not important where to start. Peoplecan enter their answers with a bar and afterwards tap on the “show answer” button for the result. Every question is providing information about the important topic of reforestation and should guide people in a playful way.
design works
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