The UK will be hosting the 26th UN Climate Change Conference in November 2021. The conference moves to a different country every year and they have attained huge annual significance within the climate change movement.
2021’s event will attract around 30,000 people to its host city, Glasgow – the largest political summit the UK has hosted in recent history. It is billed as a critical follow-up to the Paris meeting of 2015 which for the first time set out clear targets for the 196 states that attended. Since Paris there has been a global awakening to the issue, but now serious decisions need to be taken and this conference will be the platform.
Our task has been to create a branding system for a series of events throughout the year, culminating in the conference itself. The brand identity has to appeal to a vast array of different audiences, from climate change activists, to businesses, to the press and to governments – and must demonstrate the UK’s commitment to taking a global lead in tackling climate change.
Most of the previous conferences haven’t boasted particularly strong visual identities. We were determined to find a solution that was memorable, distinctive and inspiring – and expressed the agreed positioning of ‘hope with a sense of urgency’.
After an extensive design exploration, a route that began as a marbled green and blue sphere became the clear favourite. The swirling coloured globe illustrates that the climate has no borders, alludes to currents and weather systems – and is intentionally beautiful. It deliberately avoids directly using recognisable country shapes and is designed to fascinate people, wake them up and compel them to take urgent action to save our precious planet.
Working with world-famous animators at The Mill in London we’ve created a globe that both spins and swirls, as shown. Key stills from this then become the symbols that are used across a suite of launch literature and backdrops. The animations will feature in different forms across all digital media.
Leading up to the conference there will also be a nationwide series of events across the country, which will use a related branding approach, as shown below
We will be working on and extending this brand identity throughout 2020 and 2021 – and pushing the Cabinet Office team to ensure that all materials used at each event will be as sustainable as possible. We will post updates here as new designs become ready to share.
Credits
- Globe animation: The Mill
- Additional copywriting: Nick Asbury
- Website: Engine