The Price Of Extinction
People go to zoos to look at animals without considering they may be some of the last people with the privilege of doing so.
Of the 16,118 animals classified as endangered, the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago protects 35 of them. We enabled a way for Chicagoans to not only see the animals, but actually save them with a limited-edition zoo pass whose price correlates to an endangered animal’s extinction rate, and whose proceeds go to fighting against their extinction threats.
To create the price of extinction, we created an algorithm that assigns a price of the zoo pass correlated to the amount of time an animal has been on the endangered list based on data from the IUCN Red List. The higher the price, the higher risk of extinction.
Each pass was uniquely designed to highlight the current dangers faced by the animal. Opening the page transformed their environment, showing them thriving. On the back of each pass, I wrote a personalized plea in each animal's unique voice, encouraging people to take action and make a difference.
The campaign launched on Earth Day. Videos on Lincoln Park Zoo’s social showed our endangered animals for the same duration as their ticket price – helping connect the idea of seeing these animals to saving them
Signage near each animal’s enclosure helped visitors go from looking at these species to looking out for them.
AWARDS
2022 AI-AP American Illustration 41 Archive Winner