Soil Life: Information Design
A Biogeochemistry PhD candidate at UC Davis envisioned a website that would educate the public on the importance of soil health in combating climate change. I collaborated with her and a programmer to design how the website would function and look, as well as designing several illustrated diagrams to teach about soil processes.
When I came on board, the logo and a few icons had already been designed, so I developed the color palette and then focused on designing illustrations, infographics and the site’s pages.
Art direction and design: Elisa Massenzio
Designed using Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Sketch.
As well as designing web pages for the Soil Life site, I developed the style for a series of informational graphics that would be featured on the site, and used as teaching materials in schools and workshops.
Soil Life is partly based on the idea that “we will conserve only what we love; and we will love only what we understand,” and thus part of the move to reverse climate change must come from people’s desires to protect the nature they understand and love.
Science literature is often dense, unclearly laid out and difficult to understand. The aim of these designs was to make complex soil science information accessible to a wide range of audiences who are interested in the natural sciences but are not experts. By spreading this information, Soil Life’s audience will grow to understand, love, and protect the soil, which is critical for fighting the climate crisis.
