Crop Trust BOLD

Crop Trust et EPIC, c’est une histoire qui commence en 2014. Motion design, expérience 360° en Norvège (oui oui, on a fait le déplacement !), illustrations, … Au fil des ans, on a appris à se parler, à se faire confiance, à pousser les idées ensemble.

Et puis BOLD est arrivé. BOLD, pour Biodiversity for Opportunities, Livelihoods and Development. Un programme international qui s’attaque à rien de moins que la sécurité alimentaire mondiale en misant sur la diversité des cultures. Sujet immense. Enjeux colossaux. Première mission : créer 7 motion designs pour raconter le programme, crop par crop. C’est là que toute la direction artistique est née. Sept motions produites en quelques mois, qui ont posé les codes visuels de BOLD.

La DA posée, la suite logique : concevoir la plateforme. Crop Trust avait les contenus scientifiques, la vision. Nous, on avait les codes visuels tout frais et l’envie d’aller plus loin. Notre job ? Transformer tout ça en une expérience digitale qui donne vraiment envie d’apprendre.

The relationship between Crop Trust and EPIC goes back to 2014. Motion design, a 360° experience in Norway, illustrations, and more. Over the years, we built a working relationship grounded in trust and shared ambition.

Then came BOLD (Biodiversity for Opportunities, Livelihoods and Development). An international programme tackling nothing less than global food security through crop diversity. The first mission: produce 7 motion designs to tell the programme’s story, crop by crop. Those seven productions, delivered within a few months, established the entire visual identity of BOLD.

With the art direction in place, the next step was designing the platform. Crop Trust brought the scientific content and the vision. We brought fresh visual codes and the drive to go further. Our job: transform all of it into a digital experience that genuinely makes people want to learn.

The BOLD programme speaks to fundamentally different publics: primary school pupils, scientists, journalists, and the general public. The challenge was to simplify without being condescending to experts, and to remain accessible without drowning newcomers in jargon — all within a single site.

Schools – Curious students who need to learn through play. Scientific jargon out. Adventure and visuals in.

Scientists – An informed audience that wants depth, not oversimplification. They need to feel their expertise is respected.

General public – People with no prior knowledge of agricultural biodiversity, who can become genuine advocates if engaged correctly.

The requirement was not to build three separate experiences, but one modular journey where each user finds what they are looking for at their own pace.

Seed Journey was designed as a genuine narrative voyage. Eight chapters to explore in sequence like a novel, or to navigate freely via an interactive menu.

Understanding the difference between local and improved varieties, grasping the role of plant breeders, stepping into a farmer’s shoes : each chapter is an independent entry point into the world of plant biodiversity.

The visual identity follows a colour code per crop (yellow/beige, pastel blue, etc.), with tailored illustrations and design developed collaboratively between Karim and Whenzu, ensuring every page is as visually compelling as it is instructive.

To make the site accessible to school audiences without sidelining others, two interactive games were integrated.

The quiz
Straightforward and highly effective. Test your knowledge after exploring the site. Works from age 7 to 77.

In the shoes of a scientist
The more ambitious of the two games. Users (whether a primary school pupil or a researcher) step into the role of a plant breeder. Their mission: help Hassan, a farmer, achieve the best possible harvest.

Concrètement : select a specimen to cross with Hassan’s plant, then face the “Climate Machine“: a reimagined slot machine simulating the year’s climate hazards. Drought, flooding, pests: the dice are rolled. Hassan discovers whether his new variety holds up.

The cycle repeats over three seasons. Three rounds to illustrate a core message: in science, patience and rigour are non-negotiable. Innovation takes time. A lesson students retain far better through play than through a textbook.

Seed Journey was the ideal opportunity to apply EPIC’s knowledge of Rive at scale.

Rive is an interactive animation tool designed for real-time, lightweight deployment.

The result: designers control not only illustration and animation, but also the logic and interactions driving them. Designer-developer collaboration is streamlined, and the final output stays faithful to the original vision.

A rewarding proof that pushing the technical boundaries of our stack is never a bad idea.

A place where a primary school pupil and a researcher can each find something, in their own way, and leave with something to take home. That, for us, is what makes a project EPIC.