The purpose of this project was to design a long-form feature article for both print and web (mobile and desktop versions). The initial phase of this project was to first choose an article to work with. I chose “The Gene Drive Dilemma” from New York Times magazine written by Jennifer Kahn. My job was strictly layout and so I do not take credit for any content within the final designs.
When it came to beginning my designs, I knew I wanted to focus on really big things versus really small things. The article talks about how Gene Drive technology can be inserted into mosquitoes to eliminate Malaria. Although the Gene Drive can be used to eliminate many other diseases, Jennifer Kahn strictly focuses on mosquitoes and malaria throughout the article so that’s what I had to work with. The really big versus really small things concept came in as a play on how such a small thing (such as DNA in mosquitoes) can have such a huge impact on the world.
Throughout the article I chose to include images of mosquitoes under microscope to emphasize this point. In addition I included a very large, heavy drop cap at the opening of the article with a small mosquito sitting on the side of it. All of these decisions were made as an analogy of how such a small thing can have such a large impact on the world.
For the feature opening pages I chose an image of two mosquitoes at a very large size and so I chose to make the title for the article “The Gene Drive Dilemma” much smaller in comparison. I also made a decision to track out the letters in each word for the title to visually show the process of genetic engineering through typography. This analogy is based on the idea that genetic engineering is essentially pulling things apart and putting them back together, this is why I chose to pull the letters apart.
When translating the print design into the Desktop and mobile applications, I chose to keep many of the same graphic elements such as the drop cap and pull quotes for consistency. The goal was to design the online versions of the article so that the reader knows it is the same article just at a glance. I did make changes to the online versions of the article however, because digital applications allow for more interactivity. For this reason I chose to add a clickable photo gallery to the online versions of the article and have all images related to the article live in one place. This gallery walks the user through how malaria is contracted and how it infects the human body.
For the mobile version of the article I chose to include subpages for both side bars. This means that if the user wants to read the full sidebar they can navigate away from the main article to get more information on sub-topics. On the sub-topic pages I have included a button which takes the user back to their place in the main article so they can easily navigate back to where they were within the long-form article.
I also created short animations for the hero sections of the digital versions of the articles. I used After Effects to animate the text to swarm in and buzz around like insects to add a nice surprise for the reader.
In addition to the print and digital feature articles, I also designed an interactive online game to show the user how difficult it can be to make decisions in regards to Gene Drive technology in the real world. The concept of the game is to put the user in the scientist’s shoes and present them with difficult decisions to make, not knowing exactly what the results will be.
The characters in the game were designed in a cartoon style to make the game more approachable and the tone of voice chosen is slightly cheekier than the article so that it appeals to all types of users. The game prototype can be found here.
Incorporating the game within the article was a challenge because the tone of voice of the game is cheekier than the tone of voice in the article, and placing it just anywhere might undermine the seriousness of the subject matter. For this reason I chose to place the game at the end of the article, with the call to action “Try your hand at making the tough decisions made by genetic engineers every day.”
By placing the game at the end of the article, I am allowing the user to fully absorb the severity of the situation and the seriousness of the article before presenting them with a safe place to try their hand at making the very difficult decisions that need to be made in regards to the Gene Drive technology.