This project was designed to create a Story from Data. The data chosen was that of how many whales were still being hunted after the ban of 1982 by the IWC. The research and creative designed for this was difficult because the severity of the situation needed to be stressed, but in a way that interested the user with out repelling them.
The Whaling Wars website was designed to be light and to the point. The colors reflect those found in the waters that the Whales are hunted in. Details such as the water time line were created to understand the flow of the page. To gain certain information, the user must select a time from the surface of the water, they then can choose which country to inspect, and then from there the deep truth of how many whales killed that year is finally revealed.
By using hover states, it helps the users find more information about the statistics on whaling and how they are broken down. In those breakdowns, information then becomes broken up into differentiating colors and labeled with correlating information. The hover states are applied in such a way that the user will discover it before leaving the page.
Later in the project, the ability to compare two types of whales was added. This became a realization after researching for days an noticing a definite pattern occurring. When finding out why one whale was being hunted more than another, it made the numbers and charts less statistic and more of a crushing blow to humanity.
Every number is Whale with a Story.
— Thank You for Watching
Massachusetts College of Art and Design // Spring 2017 // Information Architecture 2
