50 SPECIES THAT SAVE US
Scientists are only beginning to uncover just how much the vanishing of species — as a result of climate change, habitat destruction and other human interference — matters for the future of humanity.
This was a four-part series that published in Fall 2025 that included a big illustrative interactive feature that kicked off the series.
I led the design and development of this interactive feature; my role spanned research, design, and front-end development. I curated the species list alongside Dino Grandoni and designed the information architecture for individual species cards — creating custom locator maps for each featured species using IUCN Red List data, helping readers understand geographic distribution and conservation status at a glance. Link here
DESIGN PROCESS
We first started exploring the design and information architecture of the interactive, flippable species cards by pulling visual inspiration and started early mockups
Once we started illustrating, the cards starting coming to life
In addition to the interactive cards piece, there were an additional 3 stories that featured different species across the world. I designed each of these to carry through some elements from the cards feature in a way that felt more natural with the photo-based visual stories.
01: First the frogs died. Then people got sick.
02. Humans killed millions of vultures. Now people are paying the price.
03. Wolves, long feared and reviled, may actually be lifesavers
