Climate Designers
Style Guide
OVERVIEW
Climate Designers strives to look and sound different from other environmental / sustainability brands & organizations.
Rather than alarming warnings full of doom & gloom, or guilt-tripping people to “do less harm,” we seek to rally designers to joyfully collaborate with us in building a hopeful & thriving future.
DESIGN FOR DESIGNERS
We are a global community for designers of all kinds. Most of our audience would not primarily consider themselves environmentalists, so the standard “environmental branding” we’ve seen elsewhere does not appeal to them.
When looking for inspiration, seek the kinds of aesthetics many designers are drawn to, like; minimalism, bold typefaces, colors that pop.
The visuals we want to produce should project a sense of optimism, hope, forward-thinking. Aim to create something that designers see and quickly say,
“Wow! This is cool. I wanna be a part of this!”
LOGO
Use for print and digital
BADGES
Free for use on portfolio websites of individual designers or small studios.
TYPE
Our main typeface is Archivo Black Regular. It’s simple, bold, and pretty dope.
If you need a separate style for body copy, use Freight Sans Pro, which is what is used on this site.
Avoid using any other typeface in your designs
Avoid using italics on images
Always flush left/rag right
LET’S TALK ABOUT LEADING
This.
Not this.
COLORS
Don’t worry about RGB or HTML codes, just use bright colors!
Either use gradients or solid colors.
We love gradients!
Ooo, this one is nice.
Subtle, chill.
Watch out!
Again. We…
love…
bright…
colors!
IMAGERY
Do not use cliché images like trees, polar bears, the planet. #yawn
Using images of people helps others see themselves taking climate action. Avoid static images of the environment and technology in favor of people living in a joyful, positive future we are creating. Whatever images you use, strive for them being uplifting and positive.
A few resources to get you started:
Pexels
Picnoi
The Gender Spectrum Collection
Unsplash
Avoid adding additional, unnecessary graphic elements to designs; social media images, banners, etc.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Here are some examples for different ways these elements have been combined to add variety, while maintaining an overall consistent look & feel. We’re always aiming for a balance of uplifting, clear, and elegant — not too serious, not too goofy, not too cluttered.
CLIMATE DESIGNERS SOUNDS LIKE…
We established our unique messaging pillars to set us apart from other climate movements. Review our document so we are all consistent with what we are saying and how we are saying it.
CHAPTERS ON IG
Setting up an Instagram account for your Chapter is another great way to get more people interested in taking climate action… people who live in your city or region.
CHAPTER NAMES
The appropriate use of Chapter names is as follows:
Climate Designers LOCATION
Example: Climate Designers Bay Area
USERNAMES
Try and stick with the naming convention of the Chapters.
Example: Climate Designers Boston
With the handle @climatedesignersboston
BIO TEXT
Use the template below:
Bringing Climate Designers to CITY/REGION. Engaging with you on ways we can take climate action in our CITY/AREA. We are a chapter of @climatedesignersorg. #climatedesigners
Example:
Bringing Climate Designers to Boston. Engaging with you on ways we can take climate action in our city. We are a chapter of @climatedesignersorg. #climatedesigners
HASHTAG
Use our primary hashtag #climatedesigners. Use other relevant hashtags after.
PROFILE PIC EXAMPLE
Your profile pic, labeled “Chapter Thumb”,
is located in your Dropbox folder
QUESTIONS?
Shoot Marc a DM on Slack