Research turned character: KIMIL is a speculative commentary character born from research into the ecological, cultural and economic importance of Mexican apiculture and the increasing pressures it faces through climate change.
There’s Much At Stake...
The research initially became a visual communication exercise: Mexican Apiculture, There is Much at Stake, a poster attempting to make the scale of these interconnected dependencies visible. In addition to communicating the issue exclusively through statistics, I began experimenting with imagery, atmosphere and emotion as ways of translating research into something more immediate.
FROM RESEARCH TO CHARACTER
KIMIL emerged from that visual experimentation. What began as the figure of a beekeeper gradually developed into a fictional commentary character: part human, part bee, part worker, carrying an exaggerated stack of pancakes and honey on his back. The character uses absurdity and humor to embody a much less humorous reality, the enormous ecological, cultural and economic weight carried by something as easily overlooked as a bee.
Design: Marcelo Guajardo Dávila
Context: Dela O Design Studio internship application, independent continuation
Methods: Qualitative research / research mapping / visual storytelling / character development
Tools: Adobe Illustrator / Photoshop / generative AI
Outputs: Research essay / poster / commentary character
Year: 2023
Visualizing information.