79 at a Time: A Comet’s View of Humanity is a prototype that synthesizes two texts into a cohesive interactive experience. The primary text, an excerpt of an episode of the podcast The Anthropocene Reviewed that discusses Halley’s Comet, is complemented by the lyrics of the final song of the 2017 Broadway musical Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812. Throughout its pages, the prototype expresses the ideas of humanity, connection, and perspective explored in both texts.
In order to emphasize the text’s focus on changes in perspective, the prototype utilizes exaggerations in scale and abstraction in its imagery. On each page, there is at least one instance of abstracted imagery that becomes clear through the project’s interactive elements. Additionally, this idea of perspective is demonstrated through the depth created by the project’s secondary text. Based on the content of the texts, the visuals are strongly influenced by astronomical design, and can be seen in the prototype's navigation, typefaces, and color palette.
