Why did we do this?

One day, a former Discovery colleague arrived with a beautiful and challenging initiative to develop in the technology team, connecting the world with Antarctica, which, in addition to generating a lot of enthusiasm in the team, raised many questions about that distant place. In addition to being ambitious, the challenge had a very high social spirit: Connecting the entire world to conserve this place on the planet, which is key to human survival.

What was the challenge?

This project’s main challenge was understanding the impact of this area of ​​the world on us as a species. The natural dynamics of this continent are diverse, such as the transition from day to night or the animal species that inhabit it. The project sought Latin America to raise its voice to create ecological awareness and join a global community with great activist references to preserve Antarctica.

Opportunities

From its beginnings, this project offered a lot to learn and disseminate from many angles:

• Awareness: the primary purpose went beyond just converting numbers for economic benefit.  
• Interaction: To capture users’ attention, we wanted to create an attractive, eye-catching interface that captivates viewers.
• Message: At the end of the experience, the mission concluded with creating a global community with the support of world figures such as Leo DiCaprio, Robert Swan, and Greta Thunberg.

Design solution

Through the development of this project, many things were revealed about Antarctica, such as the annual cycle that consists of 6 months of day and 6 months of night; that is, one day in the rest of the world is equivalent to one year in Antarctica. From this phenomenon, a fun navigation metaphor was born that we constructed as follows:

The site would be live for an entire year, and as the year progressed, it would transition from dawn to total night, supported by content that had a unique tone for each season. Additionally, the website would have a real-time Antarctic time zone and ambient sound. The mission was for us all to be part of the continent.

Design Understanding

Defining an experience strategy for the end user during the design process was essential before developing any interface.

Understanding the leading managers of this business change was key to laying solid foundations for the experience solution.

Define a new design approach that addresses the pains of users and the company while offering new and attractive value in the market.

What I learned from this project

Digital products can significantly impact us beyond turning numbers and being profitable. Projects like this make us think and become aware of our world, understand it, and take care of it.

By directing, researching, and building this project, I realized the change we can promote through digital initiatives and with a deep sense of society.

Being part of this global initiative filled me with a strong sense of responsibility for the environment in which I live and gave me tools to understand the world from another perspective.