We Are Åpenhet: Simon Mélizan
At Åpenhet, we're driven by the belief that data should be accessible, transparent, and impactful. Our team is the heart of this mission, each member bringing unique skills and perspectives. In this article, we introduce Simon Mélizan, a designer whose journey from architecture to data communication exemplifies our team’s diverse set of perspectives on communication and design frameworks.
7/24/2024Simon Mélizan began his design journey studying interior architecture, and then architecture proper, which he says is not merely focused on aesthetics but on how people experience and interact with spaces.
“One of the first things you learn in architecture school is the question of how do people experience space, and how can you control that experience using what you have in your toolbox as a designer. This could be light, compression or release of space, volume, layout or program (use), and perhaps multiple programs, and how those programs interlink. So it’s interesting I ended up in UX/UI design, because in many ways it’s really just a digital application of how you might design buildings.”
But it wasn’t just the applicable design skills that led Simon to data communication. During his dissertation he was introduced to a professor who was connected to the emerging architectural research agency, Forensic Architecture, who “envelop, employ, and disseminate new techniques, methods, and concepts for investigating state and corporate violence.” Through his dissertation, Simon explored how architectural research frameworks and design skills could be applied to environmental issues at a macro-scale, and was for the first time introduced to the possibilities of applying architectural frameworks outside of traditional practice.
“I was looking at the then emerging ‘frontier’ of deep-sea mining and how cartography powered by open-source data could be used to bring attention to a very un-transparent race for resource extraction. I proposed a remote-sensing map that tracked the activities of research vessels that often hosted scientists exploring areas of the deep sea for the very first time, whilst simultaneously also hosting (and often funded by) deep-sea mining interests”
After university, Simon continued to expand this framework of architectural thinking, collaborating with INTERPRT, a research agency that pursues environmental justice through spatial and visual investigations whilst he worked in an architectural practice.
Aside from Architecture, Simon's interest in climate change led him to co-found the ClimateCulture Film Festival in London, furthering his drive to work for social and environmental impact. The CCFF focused on dissecting climate change systemically, and providing the audience with concrete links to take collective and systemic action. In the years that followed, alongside ClimateCulture, Simon would make a shift to UX/UI design, eventually finding the opportunity to work with Åpenhet.
“Åpenhet felt like a natural progression from everything I’d been doing up until that point. Wether through architecture, research, or climate communication, an ongoing thread in my work has always been how to guide people using design, with genuine social impact being the end goal.”
At Åpenhet, Simon applies his expertise in web design, UX, and UI to make data transparent and accessible. "It's about taking a user on a journey through this often complex structure in a way that feels effortless and enjoyable," he says. This involves not just design thinking but also storytelling, ensuring data is communicated in an engaging and impactful manner. Simon’s vision aligns perfectly with Åpenhet’s mission. He sees the potential for design to transform how data is used for advocacy, analysis, and engagement.
“We’ve worked with some amazing clients at Åpenhet who have data that is incredibly impactful for the world, from OECD research that is used to influence public policymaking, to groundbreaking research on modern slavery globally — I’m proud to help these organisations increase the potential impact of their data by making it more accessible, usable and scalable to their target users.”
He acknowledges the challenges faced by smaller organisations, who often bootstrap proprietary tools to manage and communicate their data.
“I think that tools for the communication of data are behind what they could be, we have some big giants whose products that are very much geared towards the needs of big businesses — communicating business data to employees and shareholders. So for organisations who have a different type of data, data that is much more important for our society, they are having to work with these tools that are not fit for purpose — we want to do something about that.”
And indeed this is very much something Simon and the team at Åpenhet have been working on — a tool that empowers even small organisations to make their data even more impactful, through better communication, better management, and scalability. Through our unique expertise and experience with public policymaking, international research organisations, and of course, design and communication, we are building a tool that truly is fit-for-purpose, a tool that is geared towards data-for-impact.
To hear more about what we have in the pipeline, follow us on LinkedIn!
