Apollo 11

Apollo 11 is one of the most recognisable events in modern history, but familiarity can make it easy for educational material to feel predictable. The challenge was not simply to present the facts accurately; it was to create an experience that could hold attention, communicate the scale of the mission and make the story feel engaging without overwhelming the reader with information.

The project therefore focused on how pacing, hierarchy, imagery and interaction could shape the way historical content is experienced rather than treating the website as a conventional archive of facts.

I began by researching the Apollo 11 mission alongside examples of educational storytelling, digital publications, magazines and documentary-style visual communication.

I also considered how different audiences might approach the content. A younger audience may respond more strongly to visual pacing and exploration, while other readers may place greater value on accuracy, clarity and efficient navigation. That pushed the structure towards a balance between immersion and straightforward access to information.

The early design work explored how the mission could be broken into distinct moments and how navigation, imagery and transitions might connect them.

Sketching helped establish the overall rhythm before visual styling became a distraction: where the experience should pause, where imagery should dominate, and where users needed clear navigation or supporting context.

Wireframing translated that narrative structure into a more deliberate screen sequence. The focus was on the relationship between content hierarchy and movement through the experience: what users see first, how much information appears at once, and how each section leads into the next.

As the prototype developed, the visual treatment became part of the interaction itself. Large imagery, typography, contrast and transitions were used to create changes in pace and emphasis rather than decorating a fixed layout.

The companion eBook used the same subject matter but required a different relationship with the reader. Instead of interaction and screen transitions controlling the pace, the publication had to create rhythm through typography, composition, image scale and the sequence of spreads.

I treated the two outputs as related interpretations rather than identical versions of the same design. The website could guide movement through interaction; the publication needed to create that same sense of progression through editorial layout.