Designing a Visual Language for Endangered Species

For this studio project, I designed a set of graphic symbols for the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. The goal was to make conservation data easier to scan, compare, and understand.

The IUCN Red List identifies more than 47,000 species across all taxonomic groups that were threatened with extinction in 2025. Endangered species are often communicated through emotional photography or large statistics, but I wanted to focus on the structure behind the crisis.

The system needed to show how endangered a species is, whether its population is increasing or decreasing, where it has disappeared, and what its current status means.

I started by sketching symbols that could work together as one coherent family. I looked at books about logos, symbols, and typefaces to find a visual direction that could move from softer forms to sharper, more urgent shapes.

The symbol set is based on two main hierarchies: threat level and population trend. Threat levels include Extinct, Extinct in the Wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Near Threatened, Least Concern, Data Deficient, and Not Evaluated. Population trends include Unknown, Stable, Decreasing, and Increasing.

After several weeks of sketching, I translated the strongest ideas into Adobe Illustrator. Some early forms already communicated the right feeling, but the system needed more coherence. I refined the rhythm, balance, and overall visual atmosphere until the symbols felt like one family.

The final symbols were then applied to two contexts: a newspaper and a redesigned IUCN Red List website.

The newspaper was aimed at academics, activists, endangered species enthusiasts, and readers who want to understand conservation issues without reading long scientific papers. The editorial direction was inspired by information-rich newspaper and magazine design.

The second application was a redesigned IUCN Red List website. This concept focused on how the symbols could help experts and general visitors scan, compare, and understand complex species data more quickly.

Together, the applications show how the symbol system could work across editorial and digital formats. The project explores how graphic design can make endangered species data more accessible, structured, and visually engaging.