The virus and the vaccine by ABC News Digital Storytelling team

In a pandemic, it's critical that the community understands the nature of the threat to make informed decisions. But too often, science communication is impenetrable.

In this piece we combined feature writing and science journalism expertly with a technically innovative and beautiful presentation style to help ABC News audiences understand one of the most important stories of our time.

The editorial aim of the piece was to simplify extremely complex immunological processes and create an accurate but accessible article that brought the concepts of the virus and the vaccine to life. To do this, we began by researching extensively and we engaged in a detailed storyboarding process.

The illustrations and animations were painstakingly crafted and presented to the audience with conversational language for a seamless (dare we say, fun) editorial experience.

The piece was extremely well received by the audience and was also highly praised by members of the science and medical community for presenting these hugely complex processes in a way that was accessible to the public without watering-down its concepts.

"The best explanation I have ever seen. Interesting and easy to follow, the visuals backed up the words beautifully, and I learned a lot. Plus there was a lovely thread of lightness and humour. Thank you for keeping us informed in such an entertaining way."