When Stephanie Hartono, a third-year high school student in Games and Interactivity / Bachelor of Animation, began her internship at Design Factory Melbourne (DFM) working at the Victorian Hydrogen Hub (VH2) in Swinburne, she didn’t know much about hydrogen.
“At first it was a little intimidating and a little challenging, considering I had no knowledge,” he says.
“Hydrogen is a chemical element that can’t be seen with the naked eye, so I had to find a way to represent it creatively in an attractive way.”
After completing his internship three months later, he has “visualized hydrogen” through an engaging comic book, helping to raise awareness about how this green energy technology could shape the future.
‘When the water splits‘tells the story of how hydrogen can help deal with the growing threat of climate change. Hydrogen is a renewable energy source that potentially reduces the associated carbon emissions to zero.
In the comic, the narrator explains the process of electrolysis. In order to create hydrogen, water is added to the electrolyte, which is divided into hydrogen and oxygen. As oxygen is released into the atmosphere, hydrogen is stored, transported, and used in different ways.
Visualizing the future
Dr. Kim Beasy, a researcher on the social impact of hydrogen technology on VH2, says her research shows that the community, and young people in particular, “don’t really know what hydrogen is all about.” .
“Creating materials to show clearly and concisely what hydrogen is and how it works is really important. Hydrogen will be part of Australia’s efforts to decarbonise and we need a community that understands and supports it,” he says.
“It’s great to see such engaging and easy-to-understand materials that help young people understand the future of hydrogen that they will inherit.”
The DFM team, which specializes in the early stages of innovation and exploration, worked with Stephanie to understand how to visualize and target different audiences to share visual information about hydrogen.
VH2 community facilitator Amelia Iverson says DFM saw the importance of iterating and testing different visual identities in targeted demographics.
“We wanted to use a cross-cutting approach to this project and leverage Stephanie’s skills and abilities in visual arts and animation to translate the complex material on hydrogen technology. It was absolutely up to the occasion.”
Stephanie says the internship took her out of her “comfort zone” and allowed her to grow professionally, while also creating something meaningful that can help the environment.
“I tried to make the graphic narrative visualize hydrogen in a simpler way, while still being simple and clear in its delivery. I hope it can help those who see it to be more aware of hydrogen and be kind to our planet “.