Coral reefs are vital, vibrant underwater ecosystems which are facing continuous deterioration due to human interference. In recognising the complex and often gloomy nature of the subject, the goal of Coral Rescue was to create an educational resource that is both comfortable and comprehensible in order to foster understanding towards this pressing issue.

Kozak (2020) tested and verified three hypotheses: that illustration triggers memories and makes content more memorable; illustration elicits emotions and makes experiences more pleasurable; and illustration accelerates perception of content.

Additionally, when photos and artworks were compared for emotional responses, the number of pleasant emotions triggered by artworks increased compared to those triggered by photographs of the same subject, while unpleasant emotions decreased in the same way (Yang et al, 2019). For these reasons, illustration was deemed a suitable medium for making the intricacies of coral decline more accessible and emotionally comfortable for a wider audience.

Explainable and promotive illustrations outperform decorational illustrations (Luo & Lin, 2017); in other words, illustrations in a learning context cannot be used in isolation—another form of communication is necessary to explain them.

Guided by this information, I explored different formats which support the combination of illustrations paired with written communication. The website format emerged as the most effective, as it limited the scope of vision, which prevented overwhelming the user, and provided interactivity, which maintained attention. Additionally, this was the most preferred format among users due to its convenience.

The website was then refined through the incorporation of motion and interactivity to make better use of the medium and create a cohesive final product.