UWI Seismic Research Centre field apparel
Tshirt Designs for the agency that monitors earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis for the English-speaking islands of the Eastern Caribbean.
The UWI Seismic Research Centre monitors earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis for the English-speaking islands of the Eastern Caribbean. The Seismic Research Centre (formerly the Seismic Research Unit) of the University of the West Indies grew out of a Colonial Development and Welfare (CDW) project established in 1952 with the objective of monitoring volcanic activity in the Lesser Antilles and of providing a trained group of scientists in the West Indies who could react quickly to volcanic emergencies.
The Trinidad-based Centre became part of the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture (ICTA) in 1957 and was absorbed into the University of the West Indies in 1962, although some funding from CDW and its successor organizations remained until 1972. Within the UWI structure the SRC is placed within the Centre Administration, with the Director of the Centre reporting to the Pro Vice Chancellor Research.
Today, with a network of over 50 stations, the SRC remains the authoritative source for information on the status of earthquake and volcanic activity in the English-speaking Eastern Caribbean.
Everything Slight pepper was commissioned to develop field gear for the UWI SRC staff to use accross the Caribbean in community workshops, field work and at industry focused workshops.
There is a general absence of graphic or well-designed identities out there for this type of company which bridges science and eduction. The closest we found to SRC were either highly scientific (raw data) presentation of facts or agencies focused solely on engaging scientific conversations. The first doesn’t appeal to layman audiences and the latter had strong campaigns but less of a feeling of academia conducting scientific research. Through research and feedback provided from consultations with the client, it was established that it must taken into consideration that SRC’s primary focus is not solely communication with the public but also equally shared with being THE authority in the field of Seismology in the Caribbean.
The SRC logo in itself has limitations as a stand alone communication tool to convey the dual purpose similarly a 2 in one shirt. The visual language loses effectiveness if the science is too artsy, especially when worn in an academic capacity, such as at site visits or workshops. On the flip side, the visual language loses effectiveness in an outreach context when it is too scientific especially when dealing with children. It was decided that the best design solution would be to split the t-shirt design along the roles they needed to serve.
ESP-developed secondary logotypes specifically for the t-shirt series
Graphic interpretation of a seismograph
Graphic play using the 3 established symbols currently used in SRC material
UWI Seismic Research Science Tshirt
For field work use amongst within the scientific community eg. field trips, seminars. The design speaks directly to the field of seismology with a single crisp graphic. The hazards are de-emphasized but still represented via type.
UWI Seimic Research Outreach Tshirt
For outreach fieldwork wherein connections need to made with a layman audience, particularly young aundiences. The design is less formal and and includes all the familiar symbols. The elements are presented in an interactive way which we hope would act as a catalyst for meaningful conversations.
Dr. Rob Watts (SRC volcanologist) taking a break after setting up the GPS rover equipment at Brimstone Hill Fort. Statia is in the distance. Source: UWI Seismic Research Centre on Facebook
