Working towards a healthy climate

How can more people gain access to secure, reliable, and affordable energy without exacerbating air pollution and the carbon dioxide emissions that cause climate change? How can world leaders help lift the next billion people out of poverty while conserving the natural resources needed for our survival?

These are the questions that the ClimateWorks Foundation seek to answer. Founded in 2009, ClimateWorks is an international network that works to increase public understanding of climate change and to reduce carbon emissions. Over three years, Hyperakt worked with the foundation to translate its complex information into clear, policy-oriented design.

Hyperakt helped ClimateWorks define their visual voice across a half-dozen print publications spotlighting thinking from the world’s leading experts. Our graphic approach centered around visualizing Climate Works’ ultimate policy goal: to make our world a better place to live in. We designed a brand language that mirrored this utopic vision: clean, efficient, sustainable and equitable.

Role: Art direction, design and illustration

Designed at Hyperakt. Creative direction: Deroy Peraza; Design and illustration: Wen Ping Huang, Eric Fensterheim, Aymie Spitzer

We used line drawings as a defining feature of ClimateWorks’ brand and communications, creating blueprints of ideal, sustainable cities and technologies. These illustrations combine architecture from around the world – merging train stations in Germany, skyscrapers in China, domed mausoleums in India with bus lanes, urban parks and bike paths. The functional and flexible style extends across multiple reports.

Perhaps our greatest challenge was in creating a unified style for ClimateWorks charts, graphs and system plans — and we designed over 100 of them. We worked with Climate Work’s partner experts to interpret technical drawings and system maps into accessible information. We brought forward key information, removed all non-essential data and combined multiple maps and charts into streamlined visualizations.