Communicating Our Connection to and Responsibilities for the Living World
In early 2020, we began a transformative journey with The Center For Humans & Nature (CHN). We didn’t know how profound the journey would be and how much it would impact our organizations. The timing was right: The Center moved from its downtown offices to its forever home in Libertyville, Illinois: close to its Founder’s boyhood home.
Contributors and editors for CHN knew it for publishing thought-provoking, interdisciplinary pieces about our connection with nature, and CHN wanted a broader audience to extend its reach and community. The branding had to change — from the messaging to the whole identity system.
Messaging Development
We began a creative process with Brand Foundations: beliefs, values, and personality to retain the past and create a visionary identity and message. We surveyed people from high school to retirement age, board members, editors, and more to understand their connection to nature and their perception of the Center.
Our messaging included a new positioning statement, beliefs, values, key messages, descriptions, and audience-specific reasons to believe and key messages. This framework laid the foundation for new website copy and marketing, inspiring different ways to think about their mission.
Identity Design System
The new logo system uses humans’ and nature’s colors, and the mark has an organic texture to pay tribute to the previous wood-cut logo style. The mark could be many things to many people: a tree, a river, a fingerprint — what do you see?
