Coral Manton

A project exploring the energy use of the internet in collaboration with The Eden Project Cornwall. Graphic Design by Intercity and Illustrations by Poppy Crew.

The Looking for The Cloud project has been developed in response to the increasing energy demands of the Internet. Using terminology like ‘The Cloud’ stops users of online services really thinking about the physicality and energy usage of the internet beyond our own devices. Our aim is to get general users of online services to think about how the internet uses energy – and therefore has a carbon impact contributing to climate change.

The Internet and Cloud Computing are inventions that have changed the way we live. These technologies made vast improvements to living standards, communication and our understanding of the world around us. However, as we have increased our use of the internet the energy demands have become much greater, leading to the Internet becoming a significant contributor to climate change. We believe that the Internet can be completely sustainable, and many companies are working towards this goal. The aim of this project is to educate people about the technologies behind the internet and raise awareness of the energy required to power our digital lives. Our aim is to promote a more sustainable future for the internet and ‘The Cloud.’

Looking for The Cloud is an augmented reality children’s book which invites readers on a quest to explore how the internet works and how we can make it more environmentally sustainable. Readers can hold up your phone or tablet’s camera to the pages of the book and join in the adventure through fun chatbot characters and pages that come to life with a 3D virtual experience.