Data Manifestation

Australian Koala Endangerment Matchboxes

For this brief I aimed to explore the data surrounding the 2019-20 bushfire season in Australia, specifically looking at the impact on native wildlife. While millions of native animals were harmed by these bushfires, I chose to focus on koalas, one of the world’s most iconic and loved species that was already sliding towards extinction. Recognisable as a symbol of Australia, I have utilised the koala to represent the Australian bush and allude to the wider impacts on our environment as a whole. 

With some background research on the way human induced climate change has had a direct impact on heating our environment, I aimed to create a design that was a usable, everyday object, that advertised the koala as the beloved Australian icon it is, while also placing the blame back in the hands of the human.

1 burnt matchstick = 500 koala lives lost to the bushfires. Matchboxes represent an individual bioregion, ordered from least to most burnt area (HA).