Asif Hossain

Tire Wear Particles | Case Study

Visualizing Sub-Micron Weathering, Hypothesized Internal Domains & Coupled Chemical Exchange in Aquatic Ecosystems

Illustration of a tire shedding particles

Info

Researcher
Professor Navid B. SalehCivil, Architectural and Environmental EngineeringUniversity of Texas, Austin
Art Direction & Visual Design
Asif Hossain
Year
2026

Project Overview & Context

Modern tires keep global mobility moving, but road friction constantly sheds microscopic Tire Wear Particles (TWP) into our waterways. Created in collaboration with Prof. Navid B. Saleh, this 2-part infographic series translates complex environmental chemistry into a cohesive visual system—connecting the macro environmental lifecycle of TWP with a laboratory blueprint for testing sub-micron chemical exchange.

Challenge

  • Bridging the Scale Gap: Guiding the viewer seamlessly from everyday highway traffic down to 100 nm nanoparticles within a single unified layout.
  • Visualizing Unproven Hypotheses: The internal pore connectivity of weathered tire particles is not yet established. We had to illustrate hypothesized internal domains clearly enough to show how chemical coupling could work, while signaling that these mechanisms require direct lab testing rather than presenting them as settled fact.

Target Audience & Goals

Built for environmental scientists, journal editors, and grant reviewers to grasp complex chemical weathering hypotheses and experimental testing protocols at a glance.

Design System

  • Warm Editorial Palette: Replaced sterile academic white backgrounds with warm cream and ochre surfaces so the dark carbon-black particles pop with immediate contrast.
  • Dual-Tone Chemical Coding: Sky Blue represents external contaminants (PFAS, PAHs, PCBs) moving into the particle; Vibrant Orange represents tire-derived additives leaching out.
  • 3D vs. 2D Hierarchy: Reserved textured 3D porous cutaways strictly for the hero TWP spheres to expose their internal architecture, keeping surrounding context in flat 2D vectors so it never competes for attention.
  • Wayfinding: Numbered charcoal badges and directional arrows guide the eye cleanly across non-linear grids.
Macro-to-Micro Lifecycle infographic of Tire Wear Particles
Macro-to-Micro Lifecycle: Anchored at the bottom by a literal asphalt road crumbling into debris, a 5-step grid traces rubber's origin, steps down a 500 µm to 100 nm particle spectrum, contrasts surface exchange against internal weathered coupling via a central "VS" split, and maps real-world aquatic food-web stakes.
Lab Testing Blueprint infographic for sub-micron chemical coupling
Lab Testing Blueprint: A two-column split pairing a 6-phase anatomical hero sphere on the left with a 3-panel experimental framework on the right (1. Release, 2. Uptake, 3. Reciprocal Effects)—supported by 5 experimental control cards that give researchers a direct checklist for lab validation.