TraffickWatch
Human Trafficking Microsite
Design. UX. Content Strategy. Development.
TraffickWatch creates an incredible impact across the globe. We helped them create an impact online.
Situation
TraffickWatch is an interactive platform designed to help educate the general (U.S.) public on the issue of human trafficking and how the common or "ordinary" person can help fight against it. The platform is part of the charitable organization, The Exodus Road, which actively fights human trafficking every day, all over the world, specifically in the intervention space (rescuing victims in partnership with police).
Our friends at TraffickWatch had a lot of ideas and a ton of content to share but needed help to bring it all to life. We were excited about the challenge!
Challenge
Human trafficking is a really intense topic. Our challenge was to create a visually impactful website that pushed the envelope but was still safe enough for most viewers. The primary goal was to create a tool that educates, inspires, wakes people up to the reality of trafficking, and then compels them to take action. There is a ton of information on human trafficking, from statistics to stories to ways to get involved. Our challenge was to make it engaging and easy to consume while creating an emotional impact.
Strategy
Create an educational and impactful site, with several options for the visitor to get involved in the way that works best for them.
Early in our brainstorming sessions with The Exodus Road team, we discussed taking an approach of “choose your own adventure,” where visitors are encouraged to interact on the site while making it easy for people to back out if it is too intense. We drilled down to three main tracks of interaction:
- Learn the Facts: for people who feel more safe with learning about it, start with what trafficking is, where it happens, and current statistical information
- Real Stories: for people who already have an understanding of human trafficking, they could start with the stories of real victims and get a deeper look into the issue on a personal level
- Want to act: for people who are ready to take action, create a page that houses all of the calls-to-action and make it easy for visitors to get involved
While TraffickWatch is funded through The Exodus Road, the team didn’t want to make this site an e-commerce push for donations. Their goal was to create an educational and impactful site, with several options for a visitor to get involved in the way that works best for them. We broke it down into six categories for involvement and created shortcuts at the top of the Make an Impact page, for the visitor to jump to the action they’re most interested in taking. Each category has a clear hierarchy of information to make it easy for the visitor to see the suggested actions.
Takeaway
Our favorite part of the site is the opening page, where the visitor experiences this intensely emotional music paired with what appears to be six “hidden cameras” of real human trafficking and a strong message about what the visitor is about to encounter. The video footage is real and so impactful - stock footage never could have gotten this type of emotional impact across. We feel lucky to work with a team that has captured excellent video assets over the years, making a design like this possible.
