Welcome to the bio-age

Communicating futures of the Bioeconomy

What

Visual essay

Collaborator

Chatham House

When

2025

How do you make complex systems research accessible and engaging to decision-makers?

Chatham House's Sustainability Accelerator approached us to explore new approaches to communicating their research on the bioeconomy. The challenge: translate dense, interdisciplinary analysis into formats that resonate with diverse audiences. That could be anyone from ministers to policymakers, industry leaders and engaged generalists.

The bioeconomy encompasses innovations across agriculture, manufacturing, energy, and the built environment, and operates at scales from cellular biology all the way up to international relations.

So to make these connections graspable, we wanted to play with forms of visual explanation that go beyond a whitepaper.

We developed an interactive visual essay to cut to the core messages without losing the nuance

Starting from their major research report on strategic collaboration in the bioeconomy, We treated this as an experiment in visual languages for communicating futures. We developed a modular illustration style that uses layering and colour to help communicate connections between different layers in the system. The collage allowed us to depict physical objects - like satellites and 3-D printed homes, as well as their interconnectedness with life at different scales, from microbial cultures to well managed forests.

We structured the essay to be scannable for mobile readers while maintaining depth for those wanting more detail, and contextualising data within visual ‘mood boards’ to bring it to life as a feeling.

As part of our ongoing collaboration, we also developed visual assets for The Rift, Chatham House's new research cycle exploring collapse, uncertainty, and renewal in climate transitions. We created a visual identity that captures the tension between disruption and possibility.

Research and writing: In collaboration with Chatham House Sustainability Accelerator team

View the interactive report here.

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