HEALTHY EATING AND MALNUTRITION
A digital, scrollytelling visualization of how disordered eating disrupts key biological systems and processes
What We Heard
People find the science behind disordered eating confusing and inaccessible, with most resources too technical or clinical to relate to. This leaves many unaware of how their bodies are affected until problems become severe.
What We Learned
Clear, relatable communication requires breaking down complex biology into simple language and approachable visuals, while navigating platform limits and accessibility needs. Storytelling that connects medical facts with real experiences helps readers engage and understand.
What We Created
A scroll-driven digital narrative through Shorthand that translates the impact of disordered eating on the body into visuals, testimonies, and accessible language. This was made in collaboration with Malavika Ketan Doshi, Revati Naniwadekar, Kimberly Blacutt, and Sage Rohrbach.
PROBLEM SPACE
The science behind disordered eating is complex, and most resources make it harder to understand, not easier
Disordered eating behaviors are often misunderstood, and the physical consequences, such as malnutrition, can go unrecognized until they become severe. Most educational resources are written in highly scientific language, making it hard for the average person to understand. There’s a clear need for alternative ways to communicate these ideas.
How might we make complex health information about disordered eating and malnutrition easier to understand?
DESIGN CONSTRAINTS
Navigating constraints in accessibility, visual communication, and technical limits
Designing for a sensitive health topic required careful attention. Each design decision was shaped by key constraints: making complex language more accessible, avoiding overly clinical visual styles, and working within the technical limitations of the Shorthand platform. Based on these constraints, we updated our design question to:
How might we design an informative and relatable experience about disordered eating, while navigating clinical language, visual complexity, and platform restrictions?
Accessibility in Language
Malnutrition involves scientific concepts and medical terminology that can confuse readers. One major challenge was translating these into language clear enough for a general audience, yet still accurate.
Accessibility in Visual Style
Traditional health and nutrition materials often lean heavily on textbook-style diagrams and clinical aesthetics. To counter this, we developed a visual style that uses abstraction and intuitive visual cues, such as simplified icons and an approachable color palette, to guide the user through the narrative.
Shorthand Constraints
Animation options were minimal, and we limited primarily to reveal-based effects for simplicity. Layout was also constrained by responsiveness across mobile and desktop, requiring careful attention to grid systems, visual hierarchy, and element placement to ensure consistency and readability across devices.
DESIGN SYSTEM
Connecting biological and metabolic systems with personal testimonies in one narrative experience
We created a narrative that shows how disordered eating affects multiple body systems, organizing the content into clear sections like hormones and growth, digestion, and temperature-hydration regulation. This structure made the medical information easier to understand and follow. We also incorporated real testimonials to bring in human perspective, helping users connect emotionally with the content. Visual storytelling and scroll-based interactions tied everything together in a way that felt intuitive, clear, and engaging.
This project will be officially published soon! I'm excited to share my work as part of a live digital experience that brings these stories and insights to a wider audience.
Reflections
One of the biggest challenges in this project was translating complex biological processes and terminology, things that felt natural to me, into visuals that others could easily understand. What helped was thinking within the constraints of scrollytelling: focusing on animation flow, visual hierarchy, and how each element would guide the reader. Fine-tuning the script early on and testing it with individuals was also key. Getting feedback helped us see where the content was still too dense and where we needed to simplify further.