Timeline:
3 weeks
Tools:
Adobe XD, Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects
Far Out is a weather app that helps users engage with data from Mars in an exciting and interactive way. The app helps you keep up to date with photos and weather conditions on Mars showing a daily glimpse into life on the ‘Red Planet’.
The challenge
In 2018 NASA launched InSight (a robotic lander). Its mission has been to collect and transmit data on the interior structure of Mars, providing images and daily weather updates. This amazing wealth of weather data is free and available online but is displayed as a JSON data file. Which is not user-friendly or engaging for the viewer.
Insights
Many people are completely unaware that we receive Martian weather data from the InSight mission daily.
Although the data is widely available to the public (provided by NASA) it’s displayed in a format that is not visually engaging and difficult to interpret.
Users need the data to be presented in a more accessible and interactive way.
The solution
Taking the hard to read raw data file and transforming the information into something new and interesting, creating a visually engaging interaction. Helping to fuel curiosity in one of Earth’s closest neighbours!
Branding
The Far Out app uses a bold and exciting colour palette, drawing inspiration from Mars and its famous nickname ‘The Red Planet’. The logo features Mars and its two moons Deimos and Phobos
Type design
The inspiration for the geometric typeface came from the shape of the solar panels on the InSight lander.
Digital Experience
The app provides daily weather updates and images of Mars from the InSight lander. All in one convenient place! As well as providing NASA educational resources to help users learn.
The Far Out text generated within the app responds to the weather updates sent from Mars. It forms new and interactive patterns based on changes in temperature, wind speed, direction, and atmospheric pressure generated each day. Users can play with the weather variables to see how the text is displayed.
