How Good Design Helps the Earth: A Guide for Green Brands
Design is a powerful vehicle for social, environmental, and emotional transformation. This is something I truly believe, and this principle lies at the heart of Branch and Bay Design Studio. I love art and design’s ability to move people to action.
Through great communication, strategically placed elements, and messaging that speaks to your target audience, a design can drive change in our communities, and by extent, the world!
Read on to learn more about how prioritizing great design for your business or organization can help the earth.
Good Design builds trust
At the foundation of your brand, you need to build trust with your target audience. That is, if you’re hoping to create a more sustainable world, you need your supporters to get on board. Well-designed visuals help build that trust. A functional and beautiful website, or a consistent set of brand elements in your logo suite, communicates your professionalism. People might get a little sketched out if your website looks like it was made in Microsoft Word (no judgement!) Meanwhile, a thought-out digital home for your brand will earn you a positive reputation from your dream eco-supporters.
I know when I’m initially curious about a brand, I head to their website. If I see that it’s a bit messy or dated, I don’t feel as excited about learning more. However, if I see a website like Intersectional Environmentalist’s (my faves!) I am ready to hop on board. Keep things consistent across print and digital and you’ve created a reliable experience for people. That’s the first step toward making a difference for the planet.
Good Design Resonates With Your Audience
While not only looking professional, great design that considers the wants, needs, pain points, and dreams of your audience will truly resonate and get people to join your mission. You don’t have to do this in a sales-y or skeezy way. Just exercise some empathy and jump into the minds of your target supporters. What colors and fonts would resonate with them? What kind of communication style do they like? What do they need to see and hear from you?
I took these principles into account when working with Woody Warehouse Plant Nursery. We worked together to design a visual identity suite that could appeal to their diverse coalition of native plant lovers. From environmental restorationists to garden center owners, our brand strategy and design needed to resonate across backgrounds and backyards. We tapped into a shared love of the landscape to create a vintage-inspired outdoors themed brand. Now, Woody Warehouse is set up to expand their reach into new markets, and their well-crafted brand will help get them there.
Good Design Considers the Planet
We must consider the planet in the full design process, from creation to print and beyond. A brand that lives out its values will attract even more aligned customers and donors. This is what I strive to do at Branch and Bay Design Studio, and is a growing philosophy in the design world. Climate change, habitat destruction, and pollution touch all of our lives. The best thing we can do as eco brands is consider sustainability in our design process as well. Your medium is the message!
There are many great practices to integrate like printing on FSC-ceritified paper, working with printers who use sustainable practices, trying alternative packaging materials, looking into green web hosting, etc. A green graphic designer can take you through these options and help you explore ways to reduce your project’s impact! And if you’re looking for an expert to help, Branch and Bay Design Studio is here and ready to assist you!
Good Design Raises Awareness
It’s not just the way that we design something that matters. The actual content and message of our work is just as important! A big part of why I love art and design is its ability to move hearts and educate minds. Things can be beautiful and deeply meaningful. Well-designed social posts, posters, campaigns, and everything in between can help share your message of environmental advocacy and actually encourage viewers to take action. I personally love the Giddy Group’s work New England Forestry Foundation’s social media pages. Their content is educational, beautifully designed, and encourages audiences to go out into the forest. Great design can do this!
This is why I love working exclusively with brands that are making an environmental and social impact. Whatever we create together is going to help contribute to a larger goal to make the world a better place.
Good Design Imagines What’s Possible
Art and design are imaginative forces for good. Through these mediums we can envision what is possible in a future where everything goes right. The role of a green creative specialist is to help you imagine a better world, one where the environment is treated with care, and every person is given dignity and respect. Good design lets us stretch our creativity to build strategic solutions to environmental and social injustice. Together, we can envision more resilient futures and bring them into being. This is the larger purpose behind my work. Reality can feel like it’s at odds with what we’re working toward. But we have the power and flexibility to change this. When I’m designing a website for a green brand, coming up with exciting campaigns that educate people, or building a brand strategy to connect with eco-conscious audiences, I’m working with my clients to bring a little piece of our imaginations into the real world. That is sure to make an impact.
Designing a Shared Future
As you can see, there are so many fantastic benefits to using great design in your business or organization’s branding, communications, and campaigns. What exactly is great design? We’ll dive deeper into that in a future post! For now, know that a solid brand is built upon a cohesive, consistent, and visually organized design that considers its audience. If you’re interested in learning more, you can check out my free Green Brand Starter Kit! Inside, you’ll find information and exercises to help you get started with your brand.
Thanks so much for reading! I am grateful as always.
That’s all for now,
Sarah
No AI was used in the making of this blog.
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