Interactive Pandemic Prevention Experience

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is the world’s leading wildlife and endangered species conservation organization. In early 2021, WWF engaged NJI to develop interactive website content that uses scientific data to create a sense of urgency to address long-standing conservation challenges that may help prevent future pandemics. Zoonotic diseases—such as COVID-19—that emerge in wild animals and cross over to humans are increasingly common and often preventable.

We began our process with a thorough review of scientific materials on zoonotic disease spillover to clearly understand the scope of available data and content. We then proceeded along three individual tracks: audience planning, narrative development, and design treatment. Our overarching goal was to compose a visual narrative that would resonate with global audiences.

Establishing clear audience goals enabled us to take a purposeful approach to channel strategy, content development, and user experience design. We anchored the user experience with a visually impactful style combining aesthetic elements of the disparate materials that WWF had produced globally, and we developed individual scenes to highlight specific elements of the narrative and associated goals.

To bring the story to life and facilitate a smooth progression through the narrative, we built the dynamic webpage with innovative JavaScript featuring WebGL, which supports interactive 2D and 3D graphics without plugins, and custom SVG animation. Smooth in-page transitions turn images and scroll scenes seamlessly into streams, focusing viewers’ attention on one feature at a time, minimizing distractions, and maximizing impact.

The immersive digital experience is visually enthralling, packed with data, and organized around central themes for global audiences. Alluring animations capture the imaginations of viewers and inspire them to explore and engage with the content. WWF can now deploy an interactive approach to storytelling around the world to encourage conservation efforts.