We believe the best storytelling isn’t about noise—it’s about clarity. One of Branson’s most memorable projects was with the late Hans Rosling, a legend in data storytelling. We teamed up to create “The River of Myths” for The Gates Notes, using a single animated bubble chart to show the incredible progress in reducing child mortality.

The shoot? Middle of the night, Stockholm restaurant. The room was covered in multicolored dots—floor, walls, ceiling—each mapped to real-world data. Every move Hans made had to sync perfectly with the graphics we’d animate later. He nailed it—even while fighting a brutal cold (his cure: warm Dr. Pepper).

Branson spent four days with Hans refining the script and visuals, making sure every element worked in sync. The result? A piece that’s been talked about in data visualisation circles for years—because it did what so many fail to do: make stats matter.

There were plans for another project, but sadly, Hans passed away before we could make it happen. His mission was to make people understand data, not just see it. That’s the kind of work we live for.