The Charismatic Critter Club (CCC) is a project by Jules Ho, an Environmental Science and Illustration student at Brown University and RISD. Rejecting the notion that STEM and art are disparate fields, Ho leverages a playful blend of Pokémon, Tamagotchi and Japanese kawaii aesthetics to create engaging illustrations, comics and zines that encourage people to be more interested in learning about the various critters of the world. The CCC specifically focuses on making "un-charismatic invertebrates" and other often-overlooked creatures adorable and relatable, thereby inspiring conservation awareness and fostering a deeper connection with biodiversity. This is why Ho’s work is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Life on Land and Life Below Water.
The CCC’s current project is playfully titled The Charismatic Coral Club and looks into the charming lives of corals underwater. This particular project sees her creating infographics that explain the lifecycle and physiology of vibrant yet elusive coral life. Ho anthropomorphizes corals, using the pareidolia effect to her advantage by making the corals appear to have human-like arms, legs and faces that allow them to share their stories in easy-to-understand language that appeals to all ages. “We have mouths to eat the food we catch,” says one coral, “we have tentacles to catch food, and 'hands' called COENOSARCs that hold us together,” says another. “We hold hands like this!” they proclaim together.
In an Instagram reel, Ho shares that she hopes The Charismatic Critter Club (CCC) will be able to: ease accessibility to marine biology education, bring awareness to “uncharismatic creatures” with kawaii designs, challenge the scientific diagram with play and invent creatures that highlight biodiversity. This work becomes that much more important when we consider how the world’s biodiversity has fallen by an astounding 73 percent since the 1970s, with human activity that leads to habitat loss being at the frontlines of its cause. It is agreed upon that around 1 million species are at risk of extinction today, and yet conservation efforts have been biased towards conserving only “cute” animals, creatures that fit a certain aesthetic criteria that humanity deems to be favourable without much consideration of the roles they play in the wider ecological web of life. Hence, the importance of initiatives such as the CCC that help to humanize and accentuate “uncharismatic” beings no matter their size and appearance.
Aside from infographics and creative character designs, Ho also creates illustrations that further aid people in their quest to empathize with wildlife. One such project is The Riverine Awareness Project, a series of four watercolour pieces that bridge her personal experiences with the animals and naturally occurring phenomena in the world’s river ecosystems, connecting them as easy-to-understand symbolism and metaphors. For example, her piece And Home is Downstream uses her childhood—one spent moving from place to place with no real sense of home—to reflect on how river trout are equally as lost. They are a migratory species that has had their need to swim upstream to their home rivers or natal streams for survival and reproduction severely impacted by environmental stressors and human-made physical barriers.
Jules Ho’s Charismatic Critter Club masterfully proves that the path to strong public conservation awareness isn’t through data alone, but through delight and wonder. As her pieces weave science, storytelling, and irresistible aesthetics, she is not only educating but also fostering empathy, transforming overlooked creatures such as coral polyps and river trout into relatable characters with stories worth saving for audiences of all ages. In a world quick to prioritize 'cute' species, the CCC champions ecological democracy: a belief that every organism, no matter how small or strange, deserves a place in humanity’s collective imagination, as they already have their place in the larger planetary ecosystem. A call that humanity must first learn to see the world’s biodiversity not as a resource, but as a community of kin.
Find out more about The Charismatic Critter Club (CCC) by Jules Ho and their initiatives by checking their website www.dazzlingfish.com or Instagram, @charismaticcritterclub.