Digital Experience Rebuild
Operation ajax
When a unique, award-winning digital graphic novel faced extinction due to outdated tech, RSM rebuilt it from the ground up for the open web — preserving and expanding its creative depth, educational value, and powerful historical storytelling for a new, global audience.
But despite its success, Ajax was dying.
Built in a custom 32-bit Unity engine for iOS, the app’s tech was no longer supported. RSM was tasked with recreating and relaunching the project. But this wasn’t just a platform problem — it was a challenge of creative preservation and envisioning a new future for the project.
Rebuilt the Experience
Replaced Unity with scalable web architecture for modern browsers
Animation Pipeline
Customized Adobe Animate CC system to faithfully match original transitions, motion, and visual flow
Update
Engine
Headless CMS to allow fast, flexible content updates without relying on developers
Artistic Precision
Collaborated closely with original creators to match visual tone, timing, and interactivity down to the frame
Added Analytics
Designed and implemented Google Analytics throughout the experience to provide critical insights into reader behavior and engagement
Recognition
Why It Matters
Operation Ajax is a groundbreaking digital comic exploring the CIA's covert role in Iran’s 1953 coup. Released in 2011 on iOS, it was unlike anything else in digital media: a richly animated, deeply layered interactive experience, crafted with painstaking visual detail and sophisticated audio accompaniment. It won wide acclaim and raised awareness about hidden but important stories of global history.
