Lowell Observatory
Visual System, UX Design and UI DesignTeam: Trivium Interactive
Client: Lowell Observatory
Translating the universe into something you can touch, hear, and feel.
Lowell Observatory is a research institution and public observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, where visitors explore astronomy through telescope viewing, stargazing and the Astronomy Discovery Center.
We didn't want visitors reading about invisible light, civilizations or sound data. We wanted them dragging, tapping and recording their way into it. I designed the visual experience for how 100,000+ annual visitors experience astronomy hands-on at the Discovery Center These four interactives show the range.
Lowell Observatory is a research institution and public observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, where visitors explore astronomy through telescope viewing, stargazing and the Astronomy Discovery Center.
We didn't want visitors reading about invisible light, civilizations or sound data. We wanted them dragging, tapping and recording their way into it. I designed the visual experience for how 100,000+ annual visitors experience astronomy hands-on at the Discovery Center These four interactives show the range.
Send Your Message
Record your voice or photo to send a message into space. On confirmation, the screen becomes a transmission. A second screen broadcasts messages live to the room, so consent had to be built into the flow itself. Visitors opt in before anything of theirs goes public, all within ADA standards.
Decoding the Drake Equation
Six variables multiplied together to estimate how many intelligent civilizations exist in the galaxy. I broke it into single-tap, plain-language questions so the equation builds itself. Magenta highlights the math vocabulary doing the heavy lifting; teal carries the big numbers and the call to action.
Mixing Wavelengths
Visitors drag handles across a single image, like the Sun or a nebula, to see it in X-ray, infrared, ultraviolet, or radio instead of visible light. I built it as one continuous image with embedded controls, so the shift happens in real time instead of flipping between tabs.
Sonify the Universe
Astronomers turn image data into sound. Hand-drawn speech bubbles pose questions before a single instruction appears. Drag a finger across a nebula and the image becomes clear as it plays back as pitch and tone.
