Earth Week & Beyond
Referencing global insect designs, I created a graphic for Earth Week 2019 that took on a life of its own.
Click each image to view them in their original context.
CONCEPT
At The Xerces Society, we often referred to invertebrates as “the little things that run the world,” in reference to the ecosystem services they provide—like pollination, decomposition, enhancing soil health and water quality, and more. They’re present in every ecosystem across the planet.
Fittingly, a key aspect of our community outreach programs at the time was that invertebrates are accessible—they’re widespread, easy to find, and many people have the opportunity to connect to them.
This is a huge asset to conservation, per the Jacques-Yves Cousteau quote-turned-environmentalist-truism, “People protect what they love, they love what they understand and they understand what they are taught.”
So, getting people to connect meaningfully with invertebrates is a vital part of the work. Additionally, we were hearing—and developing!—an increasing amount of reports of insect declines across the globe. Emphasizing the importance of insects and other invertebrates was a necessity (even more than usual).
In order to convey these concepts for Earth Week 2019, I chose a rather on-the-nose design that was bright, crisp, and eye-catching. With painstaking masking, I layered images of insects into the land masses, making sure to select species from the location where they were placed on the map. I blended two underwater photos into one for the oceans, and dusted the globe with paintbrush clouds.
I created a collage showcasing what could be lost if insect declines continue. This image made the cover of the journal Conservation Science and Practice and accompanied a report by my colleagues on the need to take action.
Click images to view in their original context.
ENDURING DESIGN
In addition to being well-received by internal stakeholders and our social media audiences, the Earth graphic’s conceptual foundation made it an enduring asset for The Xerces Society.
Data about global insect declines kept pouring in. Throughout 2019 and the first portion of 2020, we emphasized this ecological crisis in fundraising efforts, social media and blog content, and other digital and print media. It came to influence other designs I created during this period to showcase the sheer breadth and depth of insect diversity—per the request of senior leadership—including an image that made the cover of the journal Conservation Science and Practice.
When Earth Week 2020 and the fiftieth Earth Day came around, we thought it was only fitting to use the impactful globe graphic again—with updated verbiage about fighting insect declines. Plus, COVID was raging, so being strategic with staff capacity was necessary! It provided a win-win for us during a challenging time.