Nature is Speaking
The Nature is Speaking (NiS) campaign was a global marketing initiative by Conservation International (CI) aimed at raising awareness of environmental issues and expanding its reach. Originally conceived by Media Arts Lab, the campaign was collaboratively developed with CI. It features a series of videos in which well-known actors personify different elements of nature, giving them a voice—Harrison Ford, for instance, voices the Ocean. To showcase the campaign, NatureIsSpeaking.org was launched as a dedicated platform for the videos. While initially a standalone website, it has since been integrated into the Conservation.org domain.
My Role
I played a key role in the website’s development, contributing to information architecture diagrams, sketches, wireframes, prototypes, and various design explorations. After finalizing the desktop design, I created all responsive layouts, designed the mobile navigation, and provided detailed specifications to our talented developers.
One of the major challenges was designing for flexibility—since the number of celebrity participants was unknown, the Voices and Actors sections had to be adaptable to accommodate any number of people. Once the site was live, I continued refining the design and providing developers with the necessary updates.
This was my favorite project at CI for several reasons. The excitement within the organization was contagious, especially among the web and marketing teams. Nature is Speaking was also the most high-profile project I worked on—aside from the main CI website redesign—and it offered a rare opportunity for creative freedom beyond the core CI brand.
Information architecture
The final design for Nature is Speaking stayed remarkably true to the original diagrams. While some elements were rearranged, most remained intact in the finished product.
Wireframes
The Nature is Speaking site evolved from these early wireframes, but most conceptual elements carried through to the final design.
Iterations
These images showcase a few different directions Nature is Speaking could have taken. While initially considering integrating it into the main CI website and SharePoint CMS, we ultimately developed it as a standalone site, built with Bootstrap.
Mobile UI
A simple, clean, and purposeful mobile UI was designed to closely mirror the desktop experience. The layout, typography, and interactions were carefully adapted to ensure consistency across devices while maintaining usability on smaller screens. Every element was thoughtfully optimized for touch navigation, providing a seamless and intuitive experience that aligned with the overall design language of the campaign.
CTA Solution
This approach ensures high visibility for the email CTA while keeping the video thumbnails close to the main video, maximizing user engagement and maintaining a seamless viewing experience.