SOS Catalog10 concepts
Redesign concepts · NOAA Science On a Sphere

Ten ways to explore 528 datasets on a live globe.

Every concept is a fully working prototype of the dataset catalog: search, filter, categorise, sort and view — on a real-time 2D ⇄ 3D globe. Each one has its own design language, three themes and three layouts.

  • 528real catalog datasets, with descriptions & thumbnails
  • 10distinct UI / UX concepts
  • 30themes — three per concept
  • 30layouts — three per concept
  • 2D⇄3Dcustom WebGL2 globe & map in every one

The concepts

Open a concept, or jump straight into a particular theme or layout using the chips on each card.

Press 1–9 / 0 to open one

Which one fits?

A rule-of-thumb view of where each concept is strongest. They all cover search, filters, sorting, categories and a 2D/3D viewer — this is about emphasis.

ConceptFind fastDiscoverMap in contextTimePresent & teachMobile

Three dots = the concept’s sweet spot.

Good to know

Real catalog, illustrative layers

The 528 dataset names, categories, themes, keywords, descriptions, coverage dates and thumbnails are taken from the public Science On a Sphere catalog. The map layers drawn on the globe are procedural illustrations generated in your browser — not the actual data.

One engine, ten interfaces

A dependency-free WebGL2 engine morphs a sphere into a flat map (equirectangular, Natural Earth or Mercator), renders day/night, atmosphere and 20+ data looks, and also draws moons and planets. Every concept shares it, plus the catalog store and a playlist that follows you from concept to concept.

Open, accessible, responsive

  • Keyboard first: / focuses search, Esc closes things.
  • Honours reduced-motion and dark/light preferences.
  • Tested from phone to wide desktop.
  • Text contrast measured against WCAG AA (4.5:1) in all 30 themes — apart from text laid directly over imagery or the globe.
  • Thumbnails and web fonts load from the internet; everything else is inside each single HTML file.