Open Source Science and Space Science

The Open Science Hardware Foundation is an organisation advancing the adoption, development, policy, and conversations around  open source instrumentation to accelerate science and benefit society. Open source science hardware—that which enshrines downstream freedoms for reuse, study, modification, and dissemination—has seen growing adoption in various fields of research. However, the development and use of open source hardware for space research is currently limited. They convened an online workshop in July 2023, where 30 participants representing academia, citizen science, hardware makers and hackers, artists, and those from NASA and UNESCO laid out the landscape of space related hardware development.

There is a recognition amongst researchers working on policy and research reports regarding the role these document can play to positively affect policy and create material change. While the wealth of information within can be truly transformational, massive blocks of text and long documents are in and of themselves barriers to engagement. People, specially those in positions to enact policy recommendations, have busy lives, reduced capacity, and shortened attention span. And they may also experience visual impairments. In short, to ensure that the most people read and engage with the results of research, the work cannot be just a wall of text.

Cooked Illustrations was commissioned to elevate the report using our unique methodology combining design, illustration and storytelling.

 The client provided us with the finalised report text, a communication strategy, and a profile of who the intended audiences were. We were given creative freedom to develop the visual identity of the high impact report.

 For this project, the Cooked Illustrations team decided to develop a new visual style inspired by the work of the late Chris Reccardi. The decision to create this new in-house style for this project delivers on the promise that information displayed in novel ways has a higher chance of staying longer with audiences

 The results are a full illustrated report and a collection of illustrations for the client to use in their communication strategies.

 The final document was delivered in multiple formats, both close-source and open source to the client. All of which are available here.