Featured Project: Venture Climate Alliance
- Services
- Strategy & Positioning
- Identity & Visual Systems
- Website Design & Development
CHICAGO December 1, 2023 — The Venture Climate Alliance is a network of the world’s preeminent Venture Capital funds who’ve pledged to leverage their influence to support companies focused on improving the health and wellbeing of the planet.
One Design’s identity system for the Alliance distills the letterforms of the VCA acronym to their geometric essence, creating a highly variable graphic system intended to evoke the progressive spirit of the organization, its members’ promise to society, and the agile approach they’ll take to achieve their goals.
The visual identity system was designed around a refined but dynamic logo and wordmark -- specifically crafted to stand out in small sizes when surrounded by other logos on a website, or in a brochure.
The "VCA" is flexible and can accommodate many forms, symbolizing the changeable nature of the fight against climate change, and our need to employ many tools to match that fight.
The website was the most visual communication platform for the brand at the time of launch. As such, it was designed to make a statement for first-time visitors. The hero frame featured above was interactive. The user could change the shape of the VCA with their cursor.
The website's primary focus was to promote the VCA's mission and vision while elevating downloadable PDFs so that interested members of the community could learn more. These were given very strategically visible treatment.
With the brand being expressed through many different forms of communication, the palette must stand out or stand back, depending on the application. The primary colors of violet, brown, and white provide sophistication, while the pop of orange adds expediency and interest.
The identity system takes inspiration from classic Swiss design, using minimalist graphics, a modular grid system, and an asymmetrical layout.
We developed the visual language to establish VCA as a brand putting the spotlight on important climate issues, incorporating an element of urgency. In this example the V and A form a type of spotlight on the C when they are transformed.
The brand was developed when the alliance was just getting off their feed, but we knew that various strategic brand expressions were imperative to communicating VCA's mission over time. We developed a series of annual brochure covers to pressure-test the identity system and provide samples of designs VCA could pull from when needed.
VCA is an alliance of groups and partners from all over the world, member packets were created to unite them all under a single mission, vision, and goal.
Other applications, such as pins and bags, provide an opportunity for the community to promote not only the brand but also their commitment.
