TED2025: Humanity Reimagined

Visual storytelling for a TED2025 talk on food waste innovation, translating complex science into clear, impactful visuals under TED’s strict design standards.

Scope:

  • Visual identity of the talk & presentation design

  • Illustrations

  • Infographics

When our co-founder Jenny Du was invited to speak at TED2025: Humanity Reimagined, it became a dream project. Her talk explored how nature-inspired innovations can tackle global food waste, highlighting Apeel’s plant-based technology that extends produce shelf life without plastic or refrigeration.

I developed the visual identity of the talk, including presentation design, supporting graphics, illustrations, and infographics, as well as a cohesive visual language. My goal was to use simple but impactful visuals to put information in a relatable context for the viewer, translating complex science and data into clear, emotionally resonant storytelling. Working within TED’s strict design standards required minimal use of Apeel’s own branding, so I created a visual language that subtly echoed our aesthetic while keeping the focus firmly on the content, ensuring it took the spotlight it deserved.

Fun Fact: Jenny gave the talk on my birthday – best gift ever ☺︎

Photo: Jasmina Tomic / TED

This talk reached a global audience of millions, sharing a powerful message of hope and innovation, captured in Jenny’s own words: “We’re optimistic that our one small innovation using common ingredients inspired by the ancient wisdom of plants is playing its part in having an impact, reinventing the food system, and helping it create abundance for it.”

The full talk will be publicly available on YouTube in August 2025.

Photo: Jason Redmond / TED

Press:

Helena Bowen // Speaker Coach, Speechwriter

“Your slides are so well-designed and the colors are beautiful - I love them!”

Jenny Du // SVP External Affairs & Co-Founder, Apeel Sciences

“Alena is our creative master mind, so all of the credit really goes to her, while the rest of the team supported with data!! :)”

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