The Emotional Power of Hyperlocal Data

Season 2: Episode 7 – Gabrielle Merite

What convinces someone to commit to climate action? Why isn’t the terrifying data enough for some? Politics? Religion? Geography? Culture? Do we need better design? All of the above. Scientist and information designer Gabrielle Mérite explains why if you want to help convince people to act on the climate you want to connect to their culture and community, and maybe not mention the word climate at all.

Listen to this episode on: Spotify, Apple, Google and other places you get your podcasts

About our guest

Originally from France, Gabrielle Mérite is an information designer specializing in empathetic data visualizations for truth-seeking, ethically driven organizations. Deeply passionate about social justice and humanity’s responsibility for one another, her work breathes life into numbers so people can genuinely feel their importance. After receiving an M.S in Biology and working for several years as a scientific journalist, she exchanged words for illustrations, to communicate analytic findings visually, with honesty and compassion. Since then, she has worked with ethically-driven and creative organizations like the United Nations, UNICEF, Pentagram, and WeTransfer, to help uncover truths and share them with intention.

On the web

gabriellemerite.com

twitter.com/data_soul

Music in this episode

Theme music by Casual Motive

 

Climate Design Assignments

At the end of each episode, we ask our guests what their ideal climate design project would be. They have four weeks with a class full of design students. We translated their response into a project brief that you can use for your class.

 
 
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What Soil Can Teach Designers

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Clouds, Grid Systems, & Climate Resiliency