What We Do
WHAT: Annual report
WHO: The Energy Foundation (EF)
WHY: Every year the Energy Foundation produces a single communication piece—their annual report—to update the handful of foundations and donors who make their good works possible. For five straight years we’ve helped EF create these provocative reports. This year’s highlighted the foundation’s investments in petroleum alternatives such as switchgrass, corn husks, and other sustainable crops. We designed a die-cut hole on the cover to reveal what could potentially be the country’s solution to car-based global warming pollution.
WHAT ELSE: Prospectus, fact sheets and PowerPoint presentation
WHAT: Event brochure
WHO: International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
WHY: Trying to convince the whaling industry and the International Whaling Commission to put down their harpoons and pick up a camera is no easy task. But when IFAW hired us to produce a piece they could use to nudge the commission on the concept, we were up to the challenge. We designed this folding brochure to look and feel like it came from the Japanese, whose whalers happen to be the greatest offenders when it comes to 21st-century whale slaughter.
WHAT ELSE: Campaign strategy, print ad and media planning
WHAT: 12 state-specific brochures
WHO: Greenpeace
WHY: Faced with a current administration that refuses to take action on global warming issues, Greenpeace created a grassroots campaign that targets the decision-makers sitting in Congress.
We created 12 regional brochures that Greenpeace’s national campaign staff will distribute to potential volunteers and interested parties who can see global warming already affecting their lives. Galvanizing local residents in the targeted districts, this campaign puts members of Congress in the hot seat, encouraging them to support global warming solutions.
WHAT ELSE: Web site, logo, postcard, and business cards
WHAT: Brochure
WHO: Tides Foundation
WHY: When talking with people about financial planning, delicacy is often required. We employed a seed-to-tree concept in the Tides Foundation’s planned giving brochure that was distributed to top supporters.
The brochures included a packet of Redwood seeds on the inside cover, complete with planting instructions. Imagery of trees and seeds throughout the piece evoke the idea of future growth and a natural cycle—similar to the cycle created by thoughtful planned giving.
WHAT ELSE: Additional follow-up brochures
WHAT: Annual Report
WHO: Environmental Defense Fund
WHY: When one of the top environmental organizations in the country picks you to redesign their annual report, you don’t say no.
We partnered with the Environmental Defense Fund to produce an annual report that offered a snapshot to the outside world and a nod to the hundreds of thousands of members who help them fight the good fight.
Part year-end celebration and part fiscal responsibility, their report was more good environmental news than bad.
WHAT: Fund-raising brochure
WHO: The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
WHY: The Hewlett Foundation wanted to produce a concise 16-page brochure describing how philanthropists can play a greater role in global-warming solutions. When we sat down to design this piece, we decided to use mile-high satellite images juxtaposed against the human’s-eye view of some of these climate problems and solutions. Policy and technology can only go so far to solve global warming. That’s where the generous philanthropists of the world come in.
WHAT: Organizational brochure
WHO: The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD)
WHY: CBD wanted to produce an eye-catching piece that celebrated their victories in protecting America’s flora and fauna. We used the Charles Darwin sketchbooks as the design theme for the brochure, commissioning an illustrator to create artwork in the same sketchbook style for each protected species. As the brochure unfolded, it told a short story about each species and ended with a fund-raising envelope for recipients who wanted to further support CBD’s important work.
WHAT ELSE: Strategic planning, tagline, brochure, membership materials, press folder and fact sheets
WHAT: Event program
WHO: The Goldman Environmental Prize
WHY: We used elegant design and photography to illustrate the exceptional achievements of the Goldman Environmental Prize winners. These ordinary people from around the world were just doing what they thought was right for their communities, and in the process accomplished extraordinary things to protect our shared planet. This program told a short story about each one of the six prize recipients and their good works.
WHAT ELSE: New York Times ad and newsletters
WHAT: Annual report
WHO: Ploughshares Fund
WHY: Ploughshares has been in the business of spreading peace and security around the globe for 25 years. So when they set out to produce their annual report, they decided to include some ‘peace heroes” from their extensive list of grantees. This square-formatted design included a foldout timeline of the good works that their donors and grantees were able to achieve through the years. Unfortunately, in an increasingly nuclear world, another 25 years of generous giving to the Ploughshares Fund will likely be necessary.
WHAT ELSE: Additional annual reports and anniversary logo
WHAT: Report
WHO: The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT)
WHY: The ICCT is a group of scientists and policy makers dedicated to cleaning the fuels that power the world’s transportation sector. This first report in a series was designed to hold a lot of charts and graphs, but not to look like the typical white paper. The objective of the report was to demonstrate China’s reduced sulfur emissions, and also to serve as a template for all future ICCT reports. The circular graphic was designed to create motion and contain images related to the report’s subject.