CNN · Editorial Features · November 2025
A tiny ant.
A story with a big reach.
Development partner for CNN’s Editorial Features team, bringing video, interactive maps and animation together in an immersive story about the red fire ant’s arrival in Europe.
- Hired by
- CNN · Editorial Features
- My role
- Development partner
- Year
- 2025
A story told through more than words.
The article follows the spread of the red imported fire ant, from its origins in South America to its arrival in Europe. Reporting, photography, video, maps and animation help explain how such a small insect can have such a large impact.
My role was to bring those different pieces together on the web, building the experience in close collaboration with the designer Woojin Lee.
One story. Many ways to tell it.
This could have been a standard CMS article, but the result would have been very different. We wanted an immersive story, and interactive articles like this one draw far more interest from readers.
Working closely with the team.
I was the designer’s main technical point of contact. She worked with the editors and writers to shape the story, while we worked together on how the design and multimedia would come to life in the browser.
The wider team included reporting and video reporting, writing, editing, motion design, photo editing, visual editing and data analysis. My part was to turn those contributions into one working experience.
The same story on every screen.
The challenge was making the storytelling work just as well on mobile as on desktop, thinking through how each part should adapt to a different screen.
I synced animations with the scroll and added movement to the flat designs, bringing the individual pieces to life while keeping the story easy to follow.
Room to bring the design to life.
Where interactions and motion hadn’t already been defined, I had the freedom to shape them. I added subtle entrance animations as elements came into view, giving the experience those extra details beyond the static design.
From the build to going live.
My responsibility covered the technical side through to publishing the finished article live on the CNN’s platform. We also coordinated with the advertising team on tracking and analytics requirements, making sure those needs were included in the delivery.
One of many collaborations with CNN’s Editorial Features team.
Hired directly by CNN to work remotely as a development partner for the Editorial Features team.
All projects shown are the property of their respective owners.
