ABOUT

THE BRIEF

The Last Glaciers is the most comprehensive film ever produced about the relationship between climate change, mountain environments, and glaciers.

It was a privilege for Mad River to be asked to support this cause with the design and development of an online portal that would be as robust as the content it was to share and as impactful as the action it required our audiences to display.

The site had to be visually striking and communicate a sense of urgency for the situation, whilst at the same time remaining optimistic of the outcome. The primary audience is students of all ages so content needed to be visually appealing and easily digested to ensure clarity, without simplifying the scientific issues.

THE SOLUTION

It was our aim to guide users through a journey… introducing the film and the fundamental climate problem humanity faces, greenhouse gases, followed by discovering the solutions humankind must implement to lessen their affects. The site structure and navigational interfaces provided a seamless user experience.

To address the sense of urgency, we developed a bold visual language that was deployed throughout the site. The use of large typography, an attention seeking colour palette, the reportage photographic style and colour grading emboldens this urgency and transports visitors straight to the heart of climate issues, while importantly not altering the realism of the scenes. Compelling copywriting and commanding signposts are prominent throughout the site. They convey the urgency to which we must act now to help make a difference for change, at a systemic and individual level, before it is too late.

Our teams liaised with scientists at NASA, United Nations Environment Program, MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, and the Mountain Research Initiative – to realise a site with a solid hierarchy that packaged complex issues into digestible pages. Simplicity without dumbing-down information was especially important with our young student target audience in mind. Over 60 beautifully illustrated infographics help simplify and convey this information in an attractive and easily accessible format.

The website also incorporates an animated film we designed, produced, and edited about how to be a conscious consumer.