A few months ago, we at SPOTTERON created beside the COSEA Citizen Science App a new Project Design for TRANSEATION, a marine science project funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme.
The main goal of the TRANSEATION project is to show how man-made structures can effectively protect the health of marine ecosystems. These so called hybrid blue-grey infrastructures represent a new approach to managing ecosystems in our oceans and coasts.
About TRANSEATION - visualizing the core concept
TRANSEATION already had a project design – but the team wanted a change. The previous graphic visualisation showed a network structure. Building on this, the project team wanted a livelier, more natural graphic representation. Our task was to make the project design more organic, while incorporating the theme of blue-grey infrastructures.
Neues Projektdesign von SPOTTERON
Previous project design (left) and new, organic project design (right) by SPOTTERON for TRANSEATION
Drawing a concept of Blue-Grey Infrastructures
Blue-grey infrastructures are not something most people can easily picture. The challenge was to find a way to represent them that is abstract yet understandable. We intentionally avoided literal representations – partly because these systems are still under research and development, and partly because the aim was to convey the idea rather than a fixed physical form.
Human-made structures and organic structures for marine design orientation
We developed a system and designed structures: organic structures (structures resembling sea plants and corals) and human-made structures (constructed, pattern structures), as well as marine organisms (fish, jellyfish, corals) that appear between and around the structures. All illustrations and drawings were hand-drawn by us and coloured in the predetermined, partly new project colour palette.
Structures visualising the core concept of blue-grey infrastructures
The structures have an essential design function: they illustrate TRANSEATION's approach of connecting marine life with human-made structures, which can indeed benefit marine species – provided their needs are taken into account during planning. TRANSEATION's main goal is to explore how human infrastructures can not only avoid harming nature but actually help preserve and protect it - and also benefit society as a whole.
Creating a full-use Project Design and Project Design Guide for the Project
As the process continued, we developed a visual design language for the project.
What should headlines look like? How might potential infographics be designed? What should TRANSEATION's overall visual identity be? Additional graphic elements and surfaces complete the overall look alongside the structures.
Design Templates of FactSheets & Posters, and Final Outcomes
A consistent icon style was developed, along with templates: posters, a fact sheet template, and a template for an infographic document. These templates can be filled and updated directly by the scientists themselves. For future conferences, we also designed a roll-up banner ready for print.
How do you like our implementation? We are truly delighted to finally share this project design with you and would like to warmly thank TRANSEATION for the great and appreciative collaboration! If you have any questions about project design creation or are interested in working with SPOTTERON, we are happy to hear from you!