Background.
At the beginning of 2020, I collaborated with scientists at the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (Northern Alberta Chapter) to create a factsheet to inform members of the general public about how ecosystems naturally store carbon – and thus are a great tool to fight climate change! This is an important message to get out, because for nature to do its job, we need people to stand up for its protection. In Alberta, the provincial government had recently made a decision to close and privatize 37% of the provincial parks. It was more important than ever to express to Albertans the value of parks and protected areas.
To empower Albertans to show their support for the protection of natural areas, I also produced two sticker designs for CPAWS. The goal was to create a funky, fun design that would look good on a water bottle or laptop!
The Product.
The Process.
We started the project with a kick-off meeting to talk about goals, visual identity/branding and audience. From a science communication perspective, the target audience is the single most important thing for me to understand! Knowing who I am speaking to, I can make smart decisions about how to present the information.
Next, we co-developed the text for the factsheet so that the information was presented in an accessible, general public-friendly way (my expertise!) while maintaining accurate scientific content regarding climate change and protected areas (CPAWS’ expertise!). By collaborating on this part of the project, we were able to bring both our strengths to the table and maximize the impact of the factsheet.
It was then time for me to put my design brain to the task and create the design and illustrations. I drew on the visual identity established in CPAWS’ Finding Common Ground report to create a factsheet that would complement these other outreach materials. The visual elements in the factsheet were also a great way to hide some “easter eggs”: for example, I tucked a caribou into the forested ecosystem to show that protecting natural areas not only helps store carbon, but also provides important habitat for threatened species! These little details can really help bring a product to life while increasing the impact of the messaging.
Finally, we finalized the factsheet through feedback and revisions. I always love to hear what clients have to say to help fine-tune the product, as it’s an opportunity for me to learn. For this project, we needed to make sure that all the statistics presented were described accurately, but without getting too technical for a general audience. We had a great back-and-forth to make sure the final product was the best it could be!