Our Place in Space

This is a project I did to develop my skills in creating mockups and ideating in regards to space related physical products. I had been thinking about doing a coffee table book for a while but actually started off wanting to do something a bit more complex and user oriented. 

I initially wanted my focus to be around scientists or astronauts in space and the struggles they are facing. I was thinking about how I could improve the UI for specific tools or programs they were using to do labs, or how astronauts could be helped by a design which was specifically made for microgravity. I started thinking about different types of labels and buttons and screens and everything from A to Z, but then I realised that this type of project would take an immense amount of time to produce and that it would probably not be worth as much without user testing. Unfortunately, I don’t know too many astronauts (or even physicists) to properly test my designs, so I chose to save those projects for later when I’ve broadened my network.

Instead, I focused on something I knew I could create- a coffee table book. 

I’ve been working in the magazine industry for many years and have a lengthy experience when it comes to editorial strategy, so I thought it would be a fun idea to combine that skill with my interest in space and my wish for a nice looking book. 

I started off imagining how I wanted the book to look.

When it comes to coffee table books, the cover is one of the most important aspects. I knew I wanted it to look different from other space books, and be a little bit cryptic and mysterious. I love being nerdy about my hobbies but I don’t like it when the products related to them are too “on the nose”. I believe in minimalism and letting the viewer interpret the work more freely.

I made a variety of different sketches, and I was initially quite pleased with the version above where it’s very mysterious since it’s just text on a solid colour. I personally loved it, but I thought about the other people who were interested in space and why they would want a coffee table book related to the subject. I quickly came to the realisation that if it was too mysterious, it would not be interesting. It might work if you have a very distinct logo, but otherwise the item is there to be part of someone’s home, their personality and their love for whatever hobby they might have. It needs to be able to be both subtle and descriptive at the same time. 

That’s why I thought of this very zoomed in image of Jupiter for the front, and Pluto for the back. You can clearly see that it’s some type of celestial object, but the only thing differentiating it from looking like a patterned background is the small amount of black space you see at the top or bottom of the cover. When I tested these designs and showed both my first sketches and the final ones, they all agreed on the fact that they like the latter ones more. 

The inspiration for why the back of the book is upside down comes from the fact that there’s no up or down in space. My idea is that half of the book is written upside down, so that there’s essentially no beginning or end. You can start whichever way you’d like. The reason for why I chose different planets than our own, even though the title is “Our place in space” is because I thought about how interesting it is the way we regard what “we” are and where we are. I like the fact that we can extend our thoughts to our place being so much larger than we could ever imagine. I also wanted to put Pluto as a cover simply because I love the irony of it. 

As for the contents of the book, I wanted it to contain basically everything that has to do with space.

Ideas I have are:

• Interviews with people working in physics or astronomy

• Simplified infographics

• Debate articles

• Information about historical figures 

• Texts about rockets and other machines and tools we use for the benefits of human endeavour 

• QR codes with a link to a website connected to the book where you could learn more, connect to other space enthusiasts and watch videos of the interviews in the book

I also wanted to discuss and write about different kinds of helpful information regarding the hardships of science for various reasons, such as why women in STEM are such a minority and how to change that, imposter syndrome when it comes to studying science related subjects. I additionally wanted to discuss how to deal with stress and anxiety since I’ve learned that the vastness of space is a trigger for many people.

The goal of this book is to be like a nerdy, emotionally intelligent friend you can receive all sorts of physics and astronomy related answers to. This is the finished result: