Design and data viz at scale for the world’s leading body in climate science

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the world’s leading climate science organisation, convened under the auspices of the UN to gather and assess the current science. At the end of every assessment cycle, lasting five to seven years, the three IPCC Working Groups each publish a report of its findings. These are accompanied by a Summary for Policymakers, a carefully crafted document, agreed upon by all 195 government representatives. 

Throughout 2021 and 2022, we worked with Working Groups I and III to produce their respective contributions to the milestone Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). Working Group I reviews the science around the causes and impacts in The Physical Science Basis and Working Group III focuses on Mitigation of Climate Change, including how we can reduce emissions of greenhouse gases caused by human activities. It also provides an update on global climate pledges and emissions goals.   

For both reports, we conducted a non-technical proofread of several million words, to ensure consistency, clarity and accuracy across chapters, and to align the text to the IPCC style. This involved working very closely with the Technical Support Units of both Working Groups over a period of several months, to clarify and solve points of language, usage and style.

While the proofreading was underway, our team designed hundreds of figures, charts and graphs for the main chapters of the Working Group III report. We used data and sketches supplied by chapter authors to produce a consistent set of quality figures in the IPCC brand colours and fonts. Each report was then typesetted over several months, chapter by chapter, using inDesign templates we had previously created, following the IPCC’s distinctive styles.

Meanwhile, we worked with Working Group III to create the charts for the Summary for Policymakers. This is perhaps the highest-profile element of each report, as it provides an overview of the key findings and evidence, drawn from the 17 separate chapters. There are 9 complex figures in the Summary for Policymakers, each with its own set of authors with whom we worked to bring the data to life.

To start, we immersed ourselves in the IPCC findings and data. We then worked closely with the chapter authors to define the messaging of each figure and how best to communicate it. Each figure went through five rounds of iterations. After each meeting, our designers produced new drafts – each one reviewed and repeatedly revised by the chapter authors and delegates from UN member countries. After approval from the authors, the figures had to pass government approval too —  a series of conversations over two weeks, between government representatives from around the world and the chapter authors.

Each figure was created as a delicate balancing act: they had to convey highly complex data sets, while being clear enough for the wider public. The figures are never conceived to be policy-prescriptive – rather they present the evidence to policymakers who can then use the findings accordingly.

While Soapbox has created its fair share of data visualisation and typesetting, this was one of the largest and most complex pieces of design and editorial work we’ve ever undertaken. The result was two substantial reports – both several thousand pages in length – consistently designed and clearly communicated, which we hope contributed to make this essential data and evidence more accessible.