Responses by Africa.

Background: The Odyssey of Wilson was created ahead of the 2025 UN Ocean Conference to raise global awareness about the long-term impact of plastic pollution. By reimagining the journey of Wilson, who’s made of 80 percent plastic, as a 450-year drift through ocean history, the project turned a familiar character into an environmental metaphor. Our target audience ranged from environmentally conscious individuals to the broader public, especially those unaware of the scale and timespan of ocean degradation. The site made complex scientific data feel accessible, emotional and human.

Design core: The heart of the site is a timeline that lets users follow Wilson’s physical decay alongside the environmental decline of our oceans, supported by more than 140 illustrated data points about the state of marine life and ecosystems.

Favorite details: We’re especially proud of how we turned raw, often overwhelming scientific data into a deeply human story. Watching Wilson slowly degrade over centuries—in parallel with rising sea levels, coral collapse, ocean acidification and other environmental shifts—helps people grasp the lasting impact of plastic in a visceral way.

Challenges: Transforming a massive amount of scientific research into a clear, cohesive narrative. We weren’t merely building a data visualization project; we were building a data dramatization platform. That meant carefully curating information, interpreting it creatively and framing it emotionally—all without compromising scientific accuracy. With such a multidisciplinary project, we definitely learned how to collaborate more effectively across fields, bringing together scientists, creatives, and technologists to speak the same storytelling language.

Navigation structure: The interface was designed to feel like time travel. Users scroll through 450 years, witnessing key moments in Wilson’s journey alongside real-world ocean events. The timeline serves as both a storytelling device and a data structure: intuitive, immersive and built to reflect the passage of time visually and narratively.

Technology: While the site didn’t aim to break boundaries with back-end tech, one thing worth highlighting is how we used AI as a creative support tool. We created more than 40 visual versions of Wilson across time, plus more than 140 illustrated data points. To keep up with the volume and maintain visual consistency, our design team integrated AI frameworks during the image creation process—always with hands-on direction and refinement. It was a blend of vision, craft and tech that helped us bring the story to life at scale.