Pop-up Infographics

For my project, I plan to design a series of 3–4 pop-up infographics that report on interrelated global issues. Topics I plan to research include, but are not limited to global warming, biodiversity, earth’s water supply, and the food pyramid. Each poster-sized (~20˝ x 30˝) pop-up will be interactive, allowing the user to experience each canvas with their hands. Every spread or canvas will be more than merely a surface; the paper structures will represent, resemble, and serve as the content. The two major components of my project will be graphic design and paper engineering. Through my project, I hope to bridge the two disciplines by using of paper as a medium. This exploration is especially important to me, as graphic design and paper engineering have always been keen interests of mine outside of academia.

In order to deconstruct my process, I will research the different paper engineering techniques so that I can uncover specific cues in each global issue in order to help shape each function. For this to happen, each specialized form will represent its respective issue’s content in sophisticated and abstract way. I hope to explore and push the limits of the laser cutter since die cutting is not a feasible option. For example, it will be extremely difficult to align a printed page with the laser cutter, however, that is a challenge I hope to overcome. I am extremely interested in materials that fold and retain structural memory as transforming a plane from 2-dimensional to 3-dimensional has always been a phenomenon to me. I would like to combine this never-ending fascination of folding with my sense of graphic design in order to transform the traditional infographic canvas. Manifesting this idea into a physical representation will take a wide range of experimentation with materials, tools, processes, and research.