The Girl Effect is defined as “the powerful social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate in their society.” It’s rooted in the work of the Nike Foundation, which has been joined by the NoVo Foundation in a shared mission to create opportunities for girls, and for the world.

Grow Interactive, a Norfolk, Virginia–based interactive studio, was approached by advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy to work with them on designing and developing a website that introduced The Girl Effect and allowed people to participate and share. Moreover, we had to do it in a way that was succinct and moving.

With the challenge of a truly worldwide audience, we built the site with a robust HTML backup that matched deep-linked Flash content. Browser navigation, bookmarking and search-engine indexing were all retained. Papervision3D was used to enhance the presentation, providing a uniquely recognizable transition from section to section without making The Girl Effect message unapproachable.

This site and video draw attention to an important issue in an effective manner. The typography strikes just the right tone and avoids the pitfalls of a photographic approach, which can have a numbing effect.