Visual Investigations

Motion Design, Visual Journalism

I completed some of the most impactful reporting of my career while on the Visual Investigations team at the New York Times. It was a challenge artistically because the goal of a VI (Visual Investigations) graphic is to be clear and minimal as possible. No frills, very little color, just information. It was a really helpful exercise in boiling motion graphics down to their most basic function, to direct the eye. My work on the team fell into to 3 main categories:

Step By Step

I used surveillance and social media footage to piece together a chain of events on January 6th, breaking down exactly what happened. I highlighted who was involved, and where the main action took place.

Maps

A large part of visual investigations is maps: showing the exact path vehicles or natural disasters take and showing change over time via satellite imagery. This particular gif is about a new nuclear facility in Iran.

Identification

Much of my reporting in this team centered terrorism and global unrest. In such cases, there are often ring leaders and people of interest. I used minimal graphics to identify people in partial visibility situations.