Graphic Systems
Digital Tides
/// Overview
A graphics system for a World Bank documentary series on a decade of internet in the Pacific islands. One yellow line holds the titles, names, data and maps together.
/// The Challenge
The World Bank wanted six short films about a decade of internet investment in the Pacific: young people, small businesses and remote islands getting online. The brief asked for type that felt digital, even futuristic, but the films were about people and the ocean. The graphics had to carry names, places, maps and hard numbers without turning the islands into a tech ad.
/// The System
I built the package around one line: a thin yellow stroke that ends in a small wave. It underlines every name, closes every number and draws the borders on the maps. A heavy word next to a light word gives the titles their voice, and the same lockup turns into chapter cards. Yellow is the only color the graphics add; the footage brings the rest.
/// The Process
I started with five type routes in Illustrator, each tested on a title, a name and a location card. The client chose one, and from it I drew the logo and the line, then grew the system into supers, data callouts, chapter cards and maps across the films. I designed and animated the whole package, including the maps in After Effects. The Stories and film covers at the end are my own extensions of the system.