This article presents guidelines for developing a critical documentation practice; a generative approach to documenting design research which emphasises drawing out the interplay between design practice and literature/precedents, to build a ‘credible evidence base’ for scholarly reporting. The guidelines are targeted at design researchers – particularly students and designers new to scholarship – conducting design practice as a mode of inquiry. Read MoreExhibition
The Urban Field Naturalists’ Guide to Lesser-Known Pollinators is an exhibition using storytelling to bridge the gap between environmental science and human experience of the natural world. Curated by Zoë Sadokierski and Andrew Burrell (Spec Studio, UTS School of Design), the exhibition features visualisations, assemblages of design objects and digital augmentation… Read MorePage screen books
A ‘contextual portfolio’ which documents an ongoing research project in which I design scientific-looking diagrams based on science fiction novels. This reveals the design research, thinking and practice behind two diagrams based on Nevil Shute’s 1957 novel On The Beach and George Turner’s 1987 novel The Sea and Summer. See… Read MoreWriting
Species on Stage: Transformative Tales for Troubled Times was an early iteration of what is now Survival Stories, a collaboration with the Australian Museum led by Dr Zoë Sadokierski (School of Design, UTS) and Dr Jenny Newell (Manager, Climate Change Projects, AM). The collaboration explores ways to encourage adult audiences to… Read MoreDesign
Natural Things in Early Modern Worlds is a collection of essays (written by international historians) and original visualisations (created by Katie Dean and myself) which explore the relationships among natural things – ranging from pollen in a gust of wind to a carnivorous pitcher plant to a shell-like skinned… Read MoreWriting
A paper presented at the Research Through Design conference in Delft, The Netherlands, 19-22 March 2019. The full paper is available to download via this FigShare link. My presentation slides include diagrams that are not in the paper, Dropbox link here (PDF,… Read MoreExhibition
Margaret Atwood’s Maddaddam trilogy is set in a near-future post-apocalyptic age, in which anthropogenic climate change and bio-engineering have catastrophically altered the earth’s ecosystem and inhabitants. As Atwood tells it, humans are directly responsible for mass extinction of plant and animal species, and have unleashed genetically modified creatures… Read MoreWriting
Digital Culture Talk, National Library of Australia 9 December, 2014 Event blurb: How we read has been evolving since the advent of the internet and mobile devices now mean a good read is never more than a tap away. Rich media, e-books, new channels and other technological… Read MoreExhibition
End Game, Part One: Possible Cost of Complacency is the result of conversations Todd McMillan and I had while tinkering in a research studio at UTS. Todd was pairing excerpts from science fiction with photographs taken on a recent trip to Antarctica, while I created collages based… Read MoreExhibition
Gallery blurb: ‘End Game’ is an ongoing collaboration between Todd McMillan and Zoë Sadokierski through which the artists attempt to understand widespread apathy toward environmental issues. The prints in ‘End Game Part 1: Possible Cost of Complacency’ (June 2017) explored nonchalance towards human-induced climate change. No less ambitious or bleak, ‘End Game Part 2: Sleep Well’ focuses… Read MoreExhibition
For about three years I made almost daily ‘visits’ to a troupe of wild monkeys in the Nagano region of Japan, via a live webcam that updates every minute. When I needed a moment of calm at the computer, I would tune into our primate cousins soaking in an… Read MorePage
Zoë Sadokierski is a designer, writer, creative producer and Associate Professor in Visual Communication at the UTS School of Design. Her practice-based research investigates ways visual storytelling can communicate the complexity of climate change and biodiversity loss. She is a former president and founding member of the… Read MoreDesign
This project was a collaboration with researcher Rebecca Huntley and co-designer Gemma Warriner. Rebecca comissioned us to design a series of short gifs to accompany her podcast on how climate change will effect the ingredients for spaghetti bolognese. The podcast was part of ABC Radio National’s Future… Read MoreWriting
What I have come to realise is this: electronic books can do certain things that print books cannot, and therein lies their value. Enhanced electronic books are changing our definition and expectations of books. Read MoreWriting
(Another Book) After Ed-werd Rew-shay Written, illustrated and designed in one week by Zoë Sadokierski. Printed on the Espresso Book Machine in about 5 minutes, at McNally Jackson bookstore. 52 Prince Street, NYC. 68pp paperback, A5 (148 x 210mm) Mono interior, colour cover… Read MorePage screen books
This book documents my research at the MoMA Library looking at, among other things, Edward Ruscha’s artist’s books. Through writing, thumbnail sketches and photographs, I explain how I accidentally became obsessed with Ruscha’s Twenty-six Gasoline Stations, a photobook that follows Route 66 between Oklahoma and Los Angeles. In response to… Read MoreWriting
Analogue Bodies,Vol. 1: Feet and Teeth is a collection of essays about feet and teeth by Tom Lee, materialised as an illustrated book by Zoë Sadokierski, using archival images from the public domain. The original edition is a set of five hand-bound books which were exhibited at the Emerging… Read MoreExhibition
Books On Demand is an exhibition of illustrated books produced using print-on-demand services. Also exhibited are some of the prototypes and experiments created through my design process. Print-on-demand services allow anyone with a computer and credit card to quickly and cheaply self-publish a book. The process is simple: the publisher… Read MoreWriting
In a novel that addresses the aftermath of a highly visual catastrophe, photographs communicate in ways that words alone could not. Read MorePage screen books
A z-fold book created as an ‘exegesis’ explaining the research aims and design process behind an installation at the UTS Library. The installation was a collaboration with my colleague Kate Sweetapple. We were commissioned by our university library to ‘activate’ the central stairwell, inviting students and staff to think about… Read MoreWriting
The article aims to illustrate ways authors have experimented with typographic devices to literary affect, and to encourage more experimentation with word-image interplay as a storytelling device. Read MoreExhibition
In this exhibition, I took a single short story (Sundays, by Katherine Danks) and ‘expanded’ it using three different graphic techniques: photography, illustration, experimental typography. The three different versions of Sundays were presented as individual books. Viewers were invited to read each book, then reflect on how the typographic,… Read More
