Alliance for Freshwater Life | Website design + brand strategy
Client:
The Alliance for Freshwater Life is an international consortium of scientists, NGOs, etc. that was founded in 2018. They are deeply devoted to the research and conservation of freshwater life and eager for real-world action. Their mission is to raise the profile of freshwater ecosystems and to draw attention to the critical threats facing freshwater life.
Goals:
Help the newly formed Alliance establish itself as a cutting-edge, international powerhouse committed to real progress towards sustainable freshwater use and ecosystem health.
The goal was to help the Alliance stand out from existing freshwater initiatives and to make the gravity of their ambitions clear.
The Project:
The Website
For this website, we wanted something BOLD, EXCEPTIONAL, a Site that reflects the unique features of the Alliance and its ambitious vision. The Site officially launched in August 2018, after months of strategy and development.
The logo
For this logo, we wanted to represent both the HUMAN and WILDLIFE dimensions, as well as the notion of stewardship. We wanted to represent the diversity of freshwater life, i.e. terrestrial and aquatic, plant and animal, vertebrate and invertebrate… but not have a crazy busy logo with every species in the world on it! This logo launched in June 2018, taking nearly 10 weeks to reach its final design.
Early designs*
* See something you like?
We are happy to re-purpose unused designs!
Final design
Brand Standards
We wanted a color palette that would set this organization apart, moving away from the classic blues and greens of organizations like Conservation International and the Wildlife Conservation Society. But at the same time, we wanted something that instantly signaled water and earth. Deep black and a thick font added “Boldness” to reflect the group’s vision.
The Launch
Our goal was to help the Alliance EXPLODE onto the freshwater scene, so the brand launch was organized around their showcase at the 2018 World Water Week summit in Stockholm. World Water Week focuses on new thinking and positive action towards water-related challenges, thus providing the PERFECT stage for unleashing this movement. Over 3,300 people and 380 organizations from 135 countries participated in the summit in 2018.
Several outreach activities were developed in concert with the website and brand materials, including:
Launch article in Aquatic Conservation
Altmetric score is currently 144, falling within the top 5% of all papers EVER scored by Altmetrics. The Altmetric score measures online activity surrounding scholarly content.
Launch of the official Twitter account
By the end of launch week, the Alliance had achieved:
461 followers
More than 112K total tweet impressions
LAUNCH Showcase at World Water Week
This showcase focused on storytelling through inspirational film, photography and interactive images of freshwater ecosystems. They presented examples of conservation successes, key takeaways, and engaged the audience in a moderated session.