- Fig 01 / Information Architecture
Decision: Give every party in the case its own tab, the accused included
Result: Visitors weighed the whole story, and the site's advocacy gained credibility
Documentary, Advocacy, & Identity
They Killed Sister Dorothy
Bluecadet created the companion website for a documentary film about Sister Dorothy Stang, an environmental and social activist murdered in the Amazon rainforest. The website aimed to complement the film's narrative and deepen public awareness of the environmental and social issues it presented.
Overview
- 01 / Problem
- "They Killed Sister Dorothy" documents the 2005 murder of an American nun who defended the Amazon, and the trials that followed. Its companion site had to hold the horror of the killing beside the forest she died for, and move visitors to act.
- 02 / Design Challenge
- As Bluecadet's Lead Developer, Russ designed the interactions and built the site, working from the visual designers' mockups.
- 03 / Approach
- A seven-tab cast list gives the killers, the rancher and the defense the same weight as the nun and her brother. Backgrounds alternate between the forest and the crime, and the navigation ends with "What can you do?"
- 04 / Outcome
- The site won HOW and Communication Arts honors, per the case study. The film and site "helped keep international attention" on the case until the 2010 convictions, a contribution no one can measure.
Process + Evidence Plates
The THE PROSECUTION tab — the tab strip fully legible — THE PROSECUTION · THE BROTHER · THE PROJECT · THE RANCHER · THE DEFENS[E]. The seven-tab cast list is this project's defining decision — THE NUN · THE BROTHER · THE KILLERS · THE PROSECUTION · THE RANCHER · THE DEFENSE · THE PROJECT. It gives the killers, the rancher and the defence the same structural weight as the victim. The persistent navigation is consistent across every screen: ABOUT THE FILM · TRAILER · NEWS · SCREENINGS · LINKS · FILMMAKERS · MUSIC · CONTACT · WHAT CAN YOU DO? — that last item is an advocacy call, not a film-site convention. - Fig 02 / Graphic Design
The THE PROJECT tab — "As a response to the massive rainforest destruction…" — the tab that turns the story into a cause. The seven-tab cast list is this project's defining decision — THE NUN · THE BROTHER · THE KILLERS · THE PROSECUTION · THE RANCHER · THE DEFENSE · THE PROJECT. It gives the killers, the rancher and the defence the same structural weight as the victim. The persistent navigation is consistent across every screen: ABOUT THE FILM · TRAILER · NEWS · SCREENINGS · LINKS · FILMMAKERS · MUSIC · CONTACT · WHAT CAN YOU DO? — that last item is an advocacy call, not a film-site convention. Decision: Alternate backgrounds between the forest and the crime
Result: Neither the violence nor the rainforest overwhelmed the other
- Fig 03 / Content Strategy
The home state — THE NUN tab open: "For 30 years Ohio-born Catholic nun Dorothy Stang worked with the poor in the Amazon. But in the last years of her life her attention turned to the destru[ction]…" The persistent navigation is consistent across every screen: ABOUT THE FILM · TRAILER · NEWS · SCREENINGS · LINKS · FILMMAKERS · MUSIC · CONTACT · WHAT CAN YOU DO? — that last item is an advocacy call, not a film-site convention. The seven-tab cast list is this project's defining decision — THE NUN · THE BROTHER · THE KILLERS · THE PROSECUTION · THE RANCHER · THE DEFENSE · THE PROJECT. It gives the killers, the rancher and the defence the same structural weight as the victim. Decision: End the navigation with "What can you do?"
Result: Viewers left with a way to act, not just a story
- Fig 04 / Content Strategy
The synopsis, and it is the hardest paragraph on the site: "On February 12th, 2005, a 73-year-old nun from Ohio was shot 6 times and left to die on a muddy road deep in the Amazon." 125 words — the densest text recovery in the archive, and the film's whole premise in two sentences. Decision: State the facts of the killing plainly, without sensationalizing
Result: The site treated a real death with the gravity it deserved
- Fig 05 / Content Strategy
The THE BROTHER tab — "David Stang shared a close bond with his older siste[r]…" — the family's voice given its own tab. The seven-tab cast list is this project's defining decision — THE NUN · THE BROTHER · THE KILLERS · THE PROSECUTION · THE RANCHER · THE DEFENSE · THE PROJECT. It gives the killers, the rancher and the defence the same structural weight as the victim. The persistent navigation is consistent across every screen: ABOUT THE FILM · TRAILER · NEWS · SCREENINGS · LINKS · FILMMAKERS · MUSIC · CONTACT · WHAT CAN YOU DO? — that last item is an advocacy call, not a film-site convention. Decision: Give the family's voice its own place in the story
Result: The personal loss stayed visible alongside the legal case
Recognition
HOW Magazine
- Design Annual Feature
Communication Arts
- WebPick of the Day