The task for this calendar project was to choose a cyclical event and find a way to graphically document it. Having spent a winter in Alaska a few years ago, it was hard not to notice the lack of sunlight in those months and the stories of the summers inverse effect. In the winter, the sun would barely rise above the horizon line before it set again. In the summer, the sun seems to just circle the sky without ever dipping below the horizon. In contrast, equatorial nations never experience the seasonal signifiers that are solstices and equinoxes.
This accordion fold book is designed to better understand the stark contrast in the amount of daylight the Earth receives as we move up and down it’s lines of latitude. Each page represents a line of latitude and depicts one calendar year, from equinox to equinox. The hours of daylight per day is expressed vertically and is represented in yellow. The book can be enjoyed page by page, viewing the Earth’s sunlight reception five degrees of latitude at a time, starting with the North Pole on page one, moving towards the equator, and finishing with the South Pole. The book can also be unfolded completely and viewed all at once. This view offers another way to look at and understand the way sunlight is dispersed on the globe’s surface. The “sun waves” towards the North and South poles are highly dramatic and levels out as it approaches the equator. Along the way you will also see major city names placed in the upper right hand corner of the page. This gives the audience a stronger sense of where on the globe this page represents and another way to relate to the information.
3in x 5in x .5in (closed)
3in x 190in (unfolded completely)
Typeface: Gotham
Tools Used: Illustrator
3in x 190in (unfolded completely)
Typeface: Gotham
Tools Used: Illustrator
