Kickstarter

What do cars represent to you? Freedom. Speed. Desire. The automotive industry represents what it means to be an American and is a part of the American dream. Booming at the beginning of its time, the car became an industry leader in innovation and influence. It has created trends that have affected our culture and social standards and, ultimately, affects each and everyone of us everyday. Buying a car was my first big investment ever and many of my greatest memories involved a car, whether it was taking a road trip with some friends or a Sunday morning drive to church with my family.

I believe that we can more easily understand American history by looking at the car industry. That is why I have decided to create a visual narrative timeline of key themes and events that have occurred in the industry and how they have affected America and, even more, the World. Envisioning the future of the automotive industry may be a tough task, but by educating ourselves about its past, we can better illustrate its future.

I began the project as a school assignment. After spending much time researching and synthesizing information about the industry I became more inspired to continue the project further. After some ideation with friends and colleagues, I decided to create this visual. I designed it to be easily read and understood and as you interact with the timeline you will begin to pull out patterns and comparisons of key themes, ideas, and events. It will be up to you to direct your own path. Your support will help me to pay for these prints and allow me to market the visual at events, stores, or even museums. Also, I plan to continue creating these large visuals and I am open to your recommendations for future projects. Your support truly helps and your opinion really matters to me.

The visualization is high resolution and spans a whole 6' by 2' which will be printed on high quality gloss paper. The piece is aesthetically pleasing as well as simple and easy to read. The poster contains a graphical comparison of American automotive production, infrastructure, and gas prices. All three are cited and are accurate dating back to 1900. The visual also consist of 57 key events that have affected in the automotive industry, and each of these fall under 4 categories (production, technology, politics, and environment). Also, along the bottom of the poster are the 11 most influential cars of each decade. Starting from the original Oldsmobile Curved Dash and ending with the modern day Toyota Prius.