Instagram Stories Green New Deal

Curiosity is one of my greatest strengths. During my internship at Univision, I identified a gap in how we were reaching young, Spanish-speaking audiences with complex news. By teaching myself After Effects on the fly and partnering with journalists, I turned a dense, 14-page policy into a fast-paced animation series. This project is an example of how I jump in to solve problems, transforming a complex topic into something easy to understand in just 15 seconds.

Scaling political literacy for young audiences

The challenge

As a Graphics Fellow at Univision, I worked alongside journalists and animators to create multimedia solutions that pushed the newsroom toward a new era of digital storytelling. My specific goal was to design an engaging way to reach young audiences on Instagram Stories. This presented a unique set of constraints: I had to condense complex political topics into a coherent sequence while accounting for the platform’s 15-second individual limit and the fact that most viewers lose interest after 7 or 8 stories.

The solution

I developed a modular story sequence titled "Te lo explico?" (May I explain it?) specifically for a Gen-Z, Spanish-speaking audience. I designed a consistent visual theme and a narrative structure that allowed the content to be personalized for different topics. Given the fast-paced nature of my internship, I piloted the model with a breakdown of the Green New Deal, creating a framework that Univision could reuse for future election coverage. Since our primary audience is Hispanic, the entire experience was developed in Spanish to ensure the message remained clear and culturally relevant.

The process

Researching

I began by identifying the most frequently mentioned terms in presidential debates, such as the Green New Deal and Roe v. Wade. My research showed that most existing media coverage was heavily polarized. My goal was to develop impartial, educational content that focused strictly on the proposals and their real-world implications.

After analyzing the 14-page Green New Deal proposal, I collaborated with journalists to summarize the text into a concise narrative that maintained the original meaning while using language that resonated with a younger audience.

Sketching

With the narrative finalized, I developed sketches to map out the visual elements for each story. Working with a social media specialist, I established a 7-step structural framework designed to keep users engaged from start to finish:

Introduction: Establishing the theme ("Te lo explico?").
Definition: Defining the core topic clearly.
The Core Issue: Highlighting the primary problem (e.g., Global Warming).
The Proposal: Explaining the suggested solution.
Broader Impact: Connecting the topic to social factors like education and jobs.
Diverse Perspectives: Summarizing arguments from different political leaders.
Call to Action: Using interactive surveys and links to drive deeper engagement.

Initial narrative mapping and storyboarding.

Prototyping

I used Adobe Illustrator to design the high-fidelity frames for the "Te lo explico?" sequence. This was a highly iterative phase, where I worked closely with the audiovisual and editorial teams to refine the visual hierarchy and ensure the text was optimized for quick reading on mobile screens. Some of the screens can be seen below.

High-fidelity frames optimized for mobile legibility.

Animating the sequence

I imported the high-fidelity assets into Adobe After Effects to bring the stories to life. Under the mentorship of the audiovisual team, I applied motion principles to ensure fluid transitions while respecting the strict 15-second time limit per story. I carefully balanced the visual hierarchy, ensuring that the text remained legible and the animations felt impactful without overwhelming the audience.