How GIFs can help us build back better

Since the outbreak of Covid, climate experts and campaigners have been calling for no ‘going back to normal’ and a ‘green recovery’. For me it feels like an important moment for ideas like a ‘Green New Deal’ — so I was excited when this became a focus of our work.

Glimpse wanted to support the growing movement to ‘build back better’, and explore how creativity could be used to help explain some pretty complex ideas in as simple a way as possible.

We were inspired by the work of IntoAction, a movement of designers, illustrators, animators and artists in the US. They create and openly share GIFs, that build cultural resistance and community power around key issues affecting their country and world.

So in May we set up ‘Build Back Better Studio’ and a Glimpse GIPHY account. We wanted to bring key concepts into the mainstream, creating highly shareable content that enabled people to express their emotions and have fun.

With so many NGO’s pivoting their work to recovery campaigns, the opportunity was there to create brandless content that could be freely shared by anyone, on any platform. All organisations need to do is search ‘bbbstudio’ or related terms (eg. climate change, green jobs) on GIPHY keyboard on Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook.

It’s been energising to create stuff that can be shared across a whole movement. I feel like with the scale of the challenges we face, this is a much needed approach. More than ever we need networked campaigning — where people openly share ideas, creativity and learnings.

I love seeing how free creative content can have a life of its own, and be shared far and wide. To-date BBB Studio assets have been shared by over 50 organisations.

We’ve been responding to NGOs requests, and most recently published content linked to the creation of a National Nature Service. The campaign launched last week, with nature groups calling on the government to provide new green jobs and training through nature recovery work.

Whether it’s a seal in specs, or mice on the telephone — the National Nature Service is a great example of our approach of making topics super playful, colourful, simple and shareable, helping messages go further and have more impact.