Create change. Create waves.

Artwork by Didilanoli.

The ocean connects us all — it provides oxygen, water and food, and makes life on earth possible. It protects us from the worst impacts of climate change, but this is also causing ocean heat waves, which are threatening communities, marine life and entire ecosystems.

As part of the United Nations’ Ocean Decade, we are excited to partner with The Ocean Agency for the second consecutive year on #CreateWaves, a campaign using creativity to help raise awareness about the critical impacts of climate change on our ocean and planet.

We’re calling on creators around the world to show what the ocean means to us all. Together we can create a visual show of support to inspire greater ocean protection from world leaders.

Will you join us?

#CreateWaves with your ocean self-portrait

Incredibly deep and endlessly transformative, the ocean is as unique as you are. Create your own ocean-inspired self-portrait, to show the world your connection to the ocean, in a positive, unexpected and authentic way. We’ve included seven key ocean facts below to get you inspired.

When you’re done creating, share your artwork on social with the hashtag #CreateWaves and tag @AdobeGenCreate for a chance to have your design seen. We’ll display the portraits at Fall 2022 events and make support for ocean protection personal and unignorable.

Whether you’re creating on a smartphone, tablet, or laptop, you can use our free Adobe Stock collection to design your ocean portrait. Or personalize one of our three ocean-themed Adobe Express templates (one, two or three) that you can use for free.

Artworks from the #CreateWaves 2021 campaign will also be used to launch the first digital Ocean Decade Exhibition, in partnership with the Florida Aquarium. The exhibition will feature animated digital displays, activations for visitors to create and share their ocean portraits using Adobe Express, and engaging educational activities using Ocean Kits, developed by The Ocean Agency and Adobe.

Want to learn more about ways to take action to protect our ocean? Visit GenOcean for stories of people, science and daily actions you can take to help.

Seven facts everyone should know about our ocean

1. The ocean makes our planet habitable.
   Our ocean couldn’t be more important — it makes life on Earth possible.

2. The ocean regulates the climate and weather.
   The ocean has been protecting us from the worst impacts of climate change.

3. Humans are entirely dependent on the ocean.
   It doesn’t matter who you are or where you live, we all rely on a healthy ocean.

4. The Ocean is home to the vast majority of life on Earth.
   Life evolved in the ocean, and it’s still where most animal life on Earth can be found.

5. Over 80 percent of the ocean remains unexplored.
   We still haven’t visited over half our planet — and it could hold some planet-saving secrets.

6. Our world is shaped by the ocean.
   The ocean works at such an epic scale that it can be key to solving our greatest global challenges.

7. There is only one ocean.
   The ocean is our planet’s life-support system. If it fails, we don’t have a backup.

Read more in The Ocean Agency’s Creative Toolkit for raising ocean awareness here.