01 / CONNECT
Habitats become tangible.
Species portraits and landscape photography link broad ecological ideas to plants, animals, and places visitors can recognize.
Case study / Environmental interpretation
Los Padres
National Forest
Wildfire. Ecosystems. Water.
Understanding a connected landscape.
- FORMAT
- Three interpretive panels & a forest map
- SUBJECTS
- Ecology · Wildfire · Riparian habitats
- DESIGN
- Interpretive graphics & visual storytelling
The project
See the forest.
Understand
the connections.
This Los Padres National Forest series explores the relationships between ecosystems, wildfire, and water. Three interpretive panels introduce habitats and wildlife, visualize vegetation succession after fire, and bring attention to the life supported by riparian environments. A companion forest map adds geographic context.
Large species imagery invites a closer look. Landscape photography connects each subject to a recognizable setting, while illustrated sequences make change over time easier to follow.
A visual language rooted in the forest.
Soft sage backgrounds, deep green headings, warm cream fields, and dark earthy borders unify the designs. Organic edges and wildlife images extending beyond their frames give the series a natural character, while consistent footer elements connect the panels as a family.
02 / EXPLAIN
Change becomes visible.
Side-by-side forest and chaparral sequences show how the wildfire panel translates ecological processes into a visual narrative.
03 / ORIENT
Give the story a setting.
A detailed forest map brings trails, terrain, and destinations into the same interpretive experience.
Original project artwork
One forest.
Many connected stories.
Explore all four supplied designs. Select a panel or the map to view the original artwork at a larger size.
Artwork in context
Learning begins
with the landscape.
These mockups explore how the supplied wildfire and water panels could be encountered at a chaparral overlook and along a creek. Settings and installations are visualizations, not documentation of an existing installation.
Continue exploring
A different place.
Another story to reveal.
Explore the coastal waters, estuary, and watershed of Arroyo Burro.