Earth is facing the 6th mass extinction. 42 000+ species are at risk of vanishing and it’s urgent to involve society in this global concern. But, for the common person, the overwhelming data of this tragedy is hard to grasp without context or sense of proportion. So, we created a data fed font connected to the RED LIST of Threatened Species to provide a simple visualization: individuals disappear = letter disappears. More than a set of letters, The Endangered Typeface is an intuitive data visualization device.

ANP|WWF is responsible for various wildlife conservation projects in Portugal. Besides that, no cultural, national or regional nuances are applicable to this work. The extinction of species is a global problem.

Earth is facing the sixth mass extinction, which puts around 75% of species at risk of disappearing. A global threat that requires urgent action. But, despite the scale and time sensitive nature of such a massive threat, this subject is far for the spotlight and public debate. The main objective of this project was to build awareness and, with that, get society involved.

Earth faces the 6th mass extinction: 75% of species may soon disappear. It’s urgent to involve society in this global threat.

The Endangered Typeface is connected to the RED LIST of Threatened Species, showcasing the status of 26 species. Each letter represents an animal. The fewer individuals, the more the letter disappears. People can download the font, donate and use it to spread the word.

A limited edition of 26 numbered screen prints, one for each letter, was sold to support conservation projects. The number of posters for each letter is proportional to the number of remaining individuals.

There are 42 000 endangered species. How can the common person get past the overwhelming data?

By creating a font connected to the RED LIST of Threatened Species we are provide a simple visualization: individuals disappear = letter disappears. An ever evolving font that reflects the number of individuals of each endangered species.

When a species extinction risk changes, people automatically receive the font update by email.

The posters launched on the second phase of the campaign also use this font to provide context and a sense of proportion that anyone can decode in seconds to learn the status of each endangered species very clearly.

All donations went towards conservation projects.

The data of the RED LIST of Threatened Species is basically the context and the message of this project, while highly informing the idea. The Endangered Typeface is a data based font design with the sole purpose of taking the important but overwhelming information on the Red List and makes it digestible, providing a means to engage people with this topic.

10 000+ people already using The Endangered Typeface can get a clear idea of each species current status and spread the word.

On a limited budget, the campaign reached €1.1M+ in earned media, 3,5M impressions, 1,8M reach and made news in 17 countries.