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Redesigning the Anthropocene

Frankie Stevenson

Profile picture of Frankie Stevenson

I am a creative storyteller, exploring how design can shape our understanding of complexed information and data. Much of my work focuses on ways of storytelling the climate crisis. The Anthropocene allows us to form as a global community, and my work aims to curate conversation and community around this.

Using medium as message I am able to curate intrigue, conversation and hope around the change we can make regarding our climate. Alongside this I am currently hosting a series of conversations with practitioners regarding their ecological projects and the interlinks of environmental science and design.

I am a creative storyteller, exploring how design can shape our understanding of...

Redesigning the Anthropocene is an ongoing exploration into design's ability to curate accessibility and curiosity into environmental data. Through a variety of storytelling methods; such as publication, print and video, ‘Redesigning the Anthropocene’ looks at challenging how we view the climate crisis. Using medium as message, I am able to act in collaboration with nature, through methods of print such as; using hand-made seaweed inks and using the medium of cyanotype, once used to document plant species in 1843, I am able to employ natural processes such as the UV light and water plants need to grow. Exploring themes of collaboration, conversation and community within this project I am able to expand how I approach storytelling briefs, allowing my work to hold senses of empathy and consideration.

The Climate Crisis impacts us all, in a varying scale we are united as a community. I have been able to appreciate the importance in understanding data which is unaccessible to the public, this project aims to showcase the power of communication design in environmental data accessibility.

Final work

  • This image contains three cyanotype dyed publications, one is a hardbound thick book and two are definitions booklets printed solely on scrap fabrics.
  • Photographed spreads of fabric dictionary booklet.
  • Photographed spreads of fabric dictionary booklet.

The IPCC and Me

Forming into a series of outcomes ‘The IPCC and Me’, explores physically interlinking art, design and environmental science through manipulating a current PDF document on the impact of the Anthropocene. Using Cyanotype within both the hardcover of the publication and spreads of the 'Dictionary' booklets, UV light and Water are used to replicate natural processes. The design holds a jagged feel, replicating the unease of the climate crisis, and the font is 'Climate Crisis' an open sourced type based on IPCC data.

Whereas, ‘Nervous and Afraid’ explores outcomes through conversation, the conversations first formed through a series of recorded conversations with practitioners regarding their ecological projects, and designs impact on data accessibility. Latterly, this developed into a double ended concertina exploring the interlinks within each conversation. Printed using natural inks of seaweed and charcoal the concertina served as a physical representation of the natural conversations opening up and developing as time progressed.

  • Image of a concertina publication unfolded.
  • Image of concertina publication from above
  • Image of concertina being manipulated and pulled out of shape.
Blue dyed fabric with white text on it

We Design - To Curate - Thought - Conversation - Community - Accessibility 

This manifesto was curated through a series of workshops with my peers, exploring the power of communication design.

Within my project I wanted to ensure these values remained within the development of my work.

The typeface used was developed through melting and moulding heat-safe beach plastic, in order to amplify the use of sustainable methods of tactile working within this project.

Research and process

  • Image of seaweed before being turned into a powder.
  • A series of swatches from the hand-made inks.
  • Process imagery of screenprinting with natural inks.
  • Set-Up for melting plastic
  • Image of Manifesto exposing in UV light
  • Image of prints drying in dark room.

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Redesigning the Anthropocene

Redesigning the Anthropocene is an ongoing exploration into design's ability to curate accessibility and curiosity into environmental data. Through a variety of storytelling methods; such as publication, print and video, ‘Redesigning the Anthropocene’...

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