Heat Uses Thermochromic Ink to Remind Us of the Effect We Have on Our Surroundings

Heat is an extraordinary design project by French graphic designer and graduate of the esteemed Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne, David Loy, that araises awareness about the acute nature of global climate change trends and forecasts by combining scientific reports, photography, and modern printing technology. Loy, who created Heat as a diploma project for his graphic design studies in 2018, in his work, focuses on the connection between print and screen and has since graduation also spent time interning at the Zak Group and working as a teaching assistant for Hong Kong Design Institute as well as a graphic designer for Pentagram, among others.

Raising awareness for a challenge, we face as humankind, with beautiful design and crisp execution

“Daily, through our screens, we see accumulations of information overload about climate change. Our visual landscape is full of climate disasters, political debate, and global warming impacts. It gave me the unusual sensation that it had become almost commonplace”, David Loy explains to It’s Nice That when asked upon his inspiration behind the project.

With an aim to raise awareness for the alarming reports which were originally published for the scientific community, that not only state the current state of climate change but the estimated future acceleration figures, Loy created a publication that brings together these factual figures together with the visual imagery from the National Geographic Archives.

Daily, through our screens, we see accumulations of information overload about climate change. Our visual landscape is full of climate disasters, political debate, and global warming impacts. It gave me the unusual sensation that it had become almost commonplace.

The book is divided into sections that carry the viewer from scientific responses to those to deny climate change, to factual reports of current and future situations, as well as solutions and possible strategies of how governments and individuals can act to help the crisis. 1500 images from the National Geographic Archives are spread across the pages of the book at an accelerating rate, to mimic the urgency of the topic at hand. The content and layout are arranged by code Loy made in collaboration with Pierry Jaquillard. The last, but certainly not least, impressive feature to support the concept is that the back cover of Heat is printed using thermochromic ink which reacts to heat, and therefore human touch. A clever and beautiful way of reminding how even the smallest of gesture or action can have an influence on our surroundings, and climate. Whether it’s positive or negative, is left upon us to decide and act on.

Follow David Loy on Instagram for more design inspiration.