OUR OLD FAMILIAR GLOBE IS GONE
About the Project:
The past three decades have been the hottest on record. As a species, we are already moving and adapting, adjusting our definition of hospitable land. As leaders from every nation gathered in Paris for the UN Framework Convention on Climate they were tasked not with how to carve up empires, draw new borders, or negotiate the end of another world war, the goal of the summit was more fundamental: to stave off global collapse. With this special digital-first feature story we look at the problems and examine some of the solutions to our shared global crisis. Taking a more conceptual visual approach to the storytelling we created an immersive presentation that showcases still photography and short motion clips along with data visualization and narrative text by Tony Dokoupil to create a unique experience for MSNBC.
My Role:
How do you tell the story of the California drought when it had been done so exhaustively in the media already? Was there more to add to the already saturated public discourse? With the narrative, Tony took a broader perspective using the drought as a jumping-off place to examine global issues surrounding climate change. For the visuals, I felt the literal/photojournalism version of the story had been done very well already and many times over for that matter. So, with the photographer John Francis Peters we collaborated and conceptualized a new approach for several months as he traveled around the state searching for something new to add. He called regularly and sent photographs to me in New York as he went. We refined the project and our visual voice through those conversations. In the end, we settled on a figurative approach, conceptually defining the visuals on the simple structure around the four elements (earth, water, fire, and air). I worked closely with the design and development teams in New York on the storytelling structure, flow, and visual direction of the project and the editorial, marketing/sales, finance, and social media teams to implement a project strategy.
Involvement
Executive Director / Creative Director
Client
msnbc.com
Credits
Photographs by John Francis Peters
Written by Tony Dokoupil
Design Direction by Meagan Choi + Peter Chao
