We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer river about their original and creative poster design work. river is an award-winning communication designer, that makes our world a better place with their original poster works.
river ("River") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work SpaceTime Coordinates poster. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
River : This design project helps us relate to the solar system itself and find our place in the universe. We might all just be space dust in the big picture, but this project gives us a chance to grasp our own individual humanity and ephemeral time on earth. We all are part of the universe, so let's make it count!
River : I wanted everyone to be able to discover the solar system on the personal human scale, using a birthdate, historical or individual achievement.
River : I will soon release a new Kickstarter campaign of a wearable design based on the same concept. I also want to work on new colors / styles for this design and possibly new forms.
River : It took me a few months, from finding the most visually pleasing view of the solar system, to researching how to make the most accurate model possible and to the creation of the script that generates each personalised solar systems based on a given date, using data from NASA.
River : I've always loved anything space related, there is a zen quality I find in contemplating pictures of the universe, it helps me relax when I'm anxious, helps me put things in perspective as well.
River : The design is produced and sold by me. It's been launched as a Kickstarter campaign in August 2015, and raised 83 660 Euros from 1 514 backers. Production started in November 2015 in the USA. More than 1600 posters have been printed.
River : I recently got obsessed by the idea of seeing a specific date within the solar system.
River : yes, The Present by Scott Thrift was a major inspiration to this design. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scottthrift/the-present
River : Anyone who is interested by space, astronomy or science in general. Adults and kids.
River : After extensive research of the subject of time and space, I came up with this name which is really is the definition of a peculiar point in time and space. So, it was just fitting.
River : Illustrator and Javascript.
River : The personalisation of each design, using a particular date.
River : I collaborated with the great developer Martin Vézina who created the script using the data from NASA to generate an Illustrator file. He created an amazing interactive Solar System. https://open.nasa.gov/data-stories/solar-system-simulator/
River : Well, this design would have been absolutely impossible without technology! From the work of NASA, to the work of individuals scientists and developers who worked on calculating the exact velocity of each planet and their orbits.
River : This design is based of the data coming from NASA, in order to get the most accurate planets positions and up to date data.
River : Mainly to find a developer who would be able to create an Illustrator script that would calculate the placement of each planets given a date.
River : Given how popular this project has been on Kickstarter, I figured it had a fair chance to win.
River : I've learned that I should give myself more time when calculating a fulfillment estimate. I had to work non-stop for months, with hardly any break at all, in order to meet the deadlines.
River : This schematised design of the solar system use data from NASA's JPL for accurate planets' placement. The four dimensions (x, y, z, t) are used to represent a particular location in time and space. x, y, z are set to the heliocentric view that I've found the most visually pleasing. The orbital paths are illustrated in gradient lines, illustrating the counterclockwise direction of all the planets. Their sizes as well as the distances between them are schematised in order to make all the orbits and objects visibles at this scale.
