Project - Caring with Courage: Celebrating nurses worldwide

Overview

The International Council of Nurses wanted to challenge the world's perception of nursing. Their brief was clear but ambitious: create a platform that would show nurses not just as caregivers, but as innovators, problem-solvers, and leaders transforming healthcare globally.

The challenge was capturing the extraordinary nature of everyday nursing work—from detecting diseases in rural Zimbabwe to training future generations in San Francisco—while creating an experience that would resonate with diverse audiences from healthcare professionals to the general public.

Our Approach

We took a video-first, human-centered approach to storytelling, organizing the platform into five thematic chapters that showcase different dimensions of nursing excellence: Advancing, Empowering, Shaping, Innovating, and Caring.

Rather than presenting statistics and policy papers, we focused on intimate, day-in-the-life documentaries that follow real nurses in their communities. This approach transformed abstract concepts like "healthcare innovation" into compelling human stories of courage, dedication, and impact.

What we did

• Next.js
• TypeScript
• Video Integration
• Scroll Animations
• Cinematic Design
• Mobile Optimization

The Five Chapters

1. Advancing

How are nurses pioneering global health?

Stories of nurses at the forefront of healthcare innovation, developing new approaches to patient care, disease prevention, and health system transformation. These are the clinical leaders and researchers pushing boundaries.

2. Empowering

How can indigenous midwives better support their communities?

Focusing on nurses and midwives working in underserved communities, this chapter explores how cultural competency and community-based care models are improving maternal health outcomes and building trust in healthcare systems.

3. Shaping

How are nurses transforming the future of care?

Profiles of nurse educators, policymakers, and advocates who are reshaping healthcare education, policy, and practice. These leaders are influencing how the next generation will deliver care.

4. Innovating

How are nurses accelerating their profession?

Showcasing nurses embracing technology, developing new care delivery models, and finding creative solutions to resource constraints. From telehealth pioneers to digital health entrepreneurs.

5. Caring

How can we look after caregivers?

An essential chapter addressing nurse wellbeing, mental health, and the support systems needed to sustain a healthy nursing workforce. Featuring stories from Zimbabwe and San Francisco.

Featured Stories

Detecting NCDs in Zimbabwe's Rural Villages

Following community health workers and nurses who travel to remote villages, bringing essential screening and care for non-communicable diseases. Their work shows how nurses extend healthcare systems into the hardest-to-reach communities.

Training the Next Generation in San Francisco

Day-in-the-life documentary of nurse educators creating flexible pathways into healthcare. The story explores how innovative training programs are addressing nursing shortages while maintaining rigorous standards.

Design Approach

The platform uses bold, magazine-style typography with large-format imagery and video to create an immersive, editorial feel. Each chapter opens with striking visuals and powerful quotes from nurses themselves.

Scroll-driven animations reveal content progressively, creating a sense of narrative momentum. The design adapts seamlessly from desktop to mobile, ensuring the cinematic quality translates across all screen sizes.

Technical Implementation

Key technical considerations included:

• Video optimization: Multiple formats and resolutions to ensure smooth playback across devices and connection speeds
• Lazy loading: Strategic loading of video content to maintain fast initial page loads
• Smooth scroll: Custom scroll animations synchronized with video playback and content reveals
• Accessibility: Proper video captions, keyboard navigation, and screen reader support
• Performance: Next.js optimization ensuring fast loads despite heavy media content

Impact

"Nurses live in the problem spaces—they are the ones who can come up with the solutions."

This quote, featured prominently on the platform, encapsulates the project's mission. By showcasing nurses as innovators and leaders rather than just caregivers, Caring with Courage successfully challenges outdated perceptions and elevates the nursing profession.

The platform demonstrates how digital storytelling can shift narratives around entire professions, using the power of human stories to drive understanding, respect, and policy change in global healthcare.