Bachelor of Design + Digital Media, Year 3 Student project
Bachelor of Design + Digital Media
My project recontextualizes the Golden Records through an exploratory design lens. The objective was to distill and visually communicate the complex contents and history of the Golden Records in an engaging, accessible, and thought-provoking way.
I aimed to create an artifact that allowed greater understanding of humanity’s attempts to communicate with extraterrestrial life through an interactive publication, prompting reflection on humanity’s essence and its place in the universe.
To achieve this goal, I integrated diagrams and archival imagery, such as newspaper clippings of the Voyager mission, to provide context around the images. The publication draws its design inspiration from NASA documents, adding a layer of credibility and trustworthiness, grounding the publication in its true historical and scientific context. The design elements found in NASA documents, such as monospaced typefaces and technical diagrams, create a visual language that aligns with the period and style of the original mission. This design choice not only reflects NASA’s dedication to space exploration and efforts in communicating with extraterrestrial life, but also reinforces the historical context for the reader. The innate low-quality
images on the Golden Records are retained to preserve their authenticity, while supporting images are made to look scanned, enhancing their contextual relevance.
By making the complex contents of the Golden Records more understandable and visually compelling, the project allows for greater appreciation of this unique artifact. Social media is also used to play a role in ongoing efforts to engage new audiences with this historic mission, with the modern logo aiming to bridge the past and present.
