The Poster

This poster captures the striking underwater topography of Gwadar, a coastal city in southwestern Pakistan known for its deep-sea port and strategic maritime significance.

The unique depth contours and underwater features revealed through this bathymetric data served as the foundation for the composition.

Tools & Data

To bring the data to life visually, I used Inkscape, an open-source vector graphics editor. The data used for this visualization was sourced from the Bathymetric Data Viewer by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which provides publicly available and scientifically accurate bathymetry data.

The design process involved careful layering, color grading, and stylization to emphasize the depth variations and transitions between land and sea.

Inspiration

A special shoutout goes to the creator of a tutorial video that inspired aspects of the visual treatment and layout — their approach helped shape the artistic direction of the final piece.

This project not only celebrates the hidden beauty of Earth's underwater landscapes but also demonstrates how scientific data can be transformed into compelling visual art.

Another Version

I created two versions of the bathymetry poster. In the first version, I used Inkscape’s for automatic contour extraction to generate the depth lines directly from the raster image.

In the second version, I manually drew the contours for greater control and clarity. I also removed one of the the outer borders and varied the outer shadow based on depth to enhance the perception of underwater relief and create a more dynamic, three-dimensional effect.