Responses by Gladeye.

Background: Into the Amazon was created to bring the National Geographic magazine feature and accompanying Disney+ documentary to life in an interactive, immersive way. It’s aimed at environmentally conscious readers; documentary viewers; and students who have an interest in climate change, biodiversity and the Amazon rainforest’s future. The experience was designed to deepen engagement with the story beyond print or video, encouraging exploration and advocacy through interactive storytelling.

Larger picture: The website serves as a digital companion piece that extends the article’s narrative with rich visuals, animated infographics and behind-the-scenes footage. It enables users to interact with the material, explore maps and data, and gain a more immersive understanding of the Amazon’s delicate balance and the climate tipping points it represents.

Design core: The site’s core features include cinematic video integration that draws users into the story immediately; WebGL scroll-based animations and parallax effects for an immersive narrative; dynamic data visualizations and climate threshold indicators; and a clean, editorial style that blends bold typography with high-impact imagery. Stylistically, the site uses visual storytelling cues inspired by print design while taking full advantage of interactive web formats, enabling users to feel like they’re exploring the Amazon themselves.

Challenges: Balancing technical performance with visual richness while maintaining scientific accuracy was a key challenge. The site uses high-resolution video and interactive animations, so ensuring smooth performance across devices required tight optimization and custom development solutions. We collaborated closely with the amazing editorial team at National Geographic as well as scientists and researchers at the National Geographic Society to achieve this balance.

Time constraints: With a tight timeline, we had to parallel-path design and development from the outset, often building features before final assets were available. This required us to work with flexible systems and a modular, component-based approach that could be easily adapted as content was finalized.

Navigation structure: We chose a linear, scroll-driven structure to mirror the feel of a documentary or long-form article. The content is divided into thematic sections, which users journey through sequentially, guided by immersive transitions and prompts. A key narrative element is the story of the water cycle, which inspired the addition of an endless looping scroll as an Easter egg.

Special navigational features: The interactive map is a central navigational feature that gives users control over their journey, offering an intuitive, nonlinear way to explore the Amazon’s diverse ecosystems through beautifully designed cartography.