Superside Reimagines Environmental Logo Designs

Climate change is one of the most pressing global issues today. According to an ongoing temperature analysis conducted by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Earth’s average global temperature has increased by about 0.8 degrees Celsius (1.4 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1880. During the 20th century, that one degree increase has resulted in a significant decrease in the Northern Hemisphere’s snow cover and, in the last three decades, has thinned the Arctic sea-ice by nearly 40 percent during the late summer and early autumn. [1] [2]

Thankfully, there are organizations all over the globe working to build a healthier planet and a brighter future for generations to come. Some are even practicing sustainable branding to help reduce their environmental footprint.

It's lofty (and just untrue) to say that the success of an environmental organization resides in the power of its logo design, BUT what we can say is that having a relevant and recognizable logo can help to increase brand recall and even brand awareness. Just think of The World Wildlife Fund, which is one of the most well known environmental organizations — are you able to picture their logo in your head from recall? Chances are you can.

Besides that, logo redesigns have been proven to greatly improve brand awareness and modernization for big companies.

Now, we may not be scientists, but we do believe that great design can help to inspire, engage, and even impact your bottom line. From Sierra Club to the Ocean Conservancy, our team of global designers decided to rethink a handful of environmental organization logos. Scroll on to see our logo redesigns.

10 Logo Redesigns for Environmental Organizations

1. Earth Day Network

Current logo:

Superside logo redesign 1:

Superside logo redesign 2:

Logo inspiration:

The background: Earth Day Network’s mission is to activate the environmental movement worldwide. Growing out of the first Earth Day, Earth Day Network is the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 75,000 partners in nearly 192 countries to build environmental democracy.

The logo redesign: When the Superside design team approached the Earth Day Network logo, they thought it’d be smart to showcase a series of animals to represent connectivity and the idea of a unified earth. To create the animals, our team utilized geometrical shapes that are commonly found in the world around us. You can see the evolution of that process – from shape to creature – in the inspiration section (above).

Our team created two versions of this logo. The first one (Supersided logo 1) can be animated and used as a GIF for online content. The second logo (Supersided logo 2) is more simplified and works well alongside illustrations. When used as an illustration, this logo can be applied as a pattern across merchandise, stationery and various other products.

2. Ocean Conservancy

Current logo:

Superside logo redesign:

Logo inspiration:

The background: Ocean Conservancy’s mission is to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges via science-based solutions. Founded in 1972, Ocean Conservancy strives to foster a healthy ocean and all the wildlife that inhabit it. They organize numerous initiatives to help reach this goal, such as the International Coastal Cleanup. This event – now over 30 years old – attracts millions of volunteers from across the globe.

The logo redesign: The current Ocean Conservancy logo is minimalistic with a ring of sea creatures swimming above the typeface. When taking on this redesign, our designers asked themselves “if our ocean is a representation of us as humans, what would we see?” Thousands of marine creatures die each year from plastic entanglement which is why our team decided to incorporate a marine creature and a plastic water bottle in the new, Supersided logo.

But in this logo, the sea creature is playing with the bottle, a direct contrast to how these animals get tangled up. The Supersided logo is representative of a hopeful future for our oceans and its inhabitants.

3. Plastic Change

Current logo:

Superside logo redesign:

Logo inspiration:

The background: Plastic Change is a Danish environmental organization founded in April 2014 by marine biologist Henrik Beha Pedersen. Its mission is to fight plastic pollution on land and in water. Plastic Change has worked with major brands, such as Carlsberg, to help reduce their packaging by 1200 tons of plastic annually. In 2018, the organization won the International Environmental Award for documentation and research in plastic pollution and its sources, one of the most honorable environmental awards.

The logo redesign: The current logo for Plastic Change doesn’t incorporate any elements that really indicate what the organization stands for. To help visualize Plastic Change’s mandate, Superside designers looked to two elements that they felt best represent the mission: A shopping bag and a jellyfish.

Playing off the resemblance between the two, our designers came up with a jellyfish-plastic bag hybrid. This is a visually impactful way to illustrate how marine life suffers at the hands of water pollution. The design can also be interpreted as a plastic bag blowing away in the wind, a clear reminder of how plastic litter harms our world.

4. Coastal Care

Current logo:

Superside logo redesign:

Logo inspiration:

The background: Coastal Care is a non-profit foundation dedicated to protecting ocean beaches and shorelines. Their mission is to educate and raise awareness on the importance of coastlines and the unsustainable practices that harm the planet’s coasts. Coastal Care strives to do this via programs of education, advocacy and celebration.

The logo redesign: After taking one look at the current Coast Care logo, our design team was hyped to give Coastal Care a more modern look. The redesign began by implementing a more contemporary typographical choice in place of the previous script font.

To further elevate the logo design, the team realized they needed a captivating visual element of some sort. So they added an image of a whale, which they integrated with the letter ‘C’. The result, we feel, is cleaner, more modern and more immediately resonant of the biological impacts that are occurring in our oceans.

5. One Green Planet

Current logo:

Superside logo redesign:

Logo inspiration:

The background: One Green Planet is a platform devoted to the eco-conscious generation. Their mission is to help foster a world in which humans eat delicious food that offers maximum health benefits and minimal environmental impact.

The logo redesign: While the minimalistic approach to One Green Planet’s current logo is visually appealing, our designers opted to take a more striking approach, incorporating animated elements. Design glossary terms aside, the inspiration was drawn from two components: a globe and a tree. Together, these elements make up the logo redesign that represents an eco-friendly planet.

Playfully illustrated, the Supersided logo was designed to be inspirational and positive. It highlights the common goals that we all strive for: a greener planet that fosters a better life for all creatures.

6. The Story of Stuff Project

Current logo:

Superside logo redesign:

Logo inspiration:

The background: The Story of Stuff was launched in 2007 in the form of a groundbreaking documentary that sparked a conversation about the “consumption-crazed culture” we live in. The Story of Stuff has released nine award-winning animated movies since their first film, acquiring more than 50 million online views and motivating viewers to support hundreds of environmental projects.

The logo redesign: The animation style of illustration is one of the most popular styles in design, and our team thought it would be a great fit for this organization. The Story of Stuff Project already has plenty of fun elements and illustrations throughout its website. This inspired our design team to get even more playful with a logo redesign that represents a caring attitude toward mother nature: the girl hugging the planet felt just right.

By opting for a more sophisticated typeface and modern illustration style in the redesign, the Superside team aimed to elevate and modernize the overall feel of the brand while still retaining its playful vibe. We think they nailed it!

7. Sierra Club

Current logo:

Superside logo redesign:

Logo inspiration:

The background: Founded in 1892, the Sierra Club is the most influential grassroots environmental organization in the U.S., with over 3.5 million members. The organization’s aim is to bring people together in a massive environmental movement to protect the planet, its resources and its wildlife.

The logo redesign: Sierra Club’s logo has remained mostly the same since it was founded in 1892 with a lone tree standing to symbolize Earth’s precious resources. Our designers chose to honor that but wanted to give it more of the intriguing visual elements of the natural world: trees and animals. These two elements make up the logo’s dominant image of a forest teeming with life.

Because the graphic became the logo’s primary focal point, our designers knew that they needed to use a more plain font, so they chose a simple typeface, Bebas Neue, that would not overpower the illustration.

8. Clear Blue Sea

Current logo:

Superside logo redesign:

Logo inspiration:

The background: Clear Blue Sea is a San Diego-based non-profit with a mission to cleanse the oceans of plastic pollution. Together with their solar powered marine vessel – FRED, the Floating Robot for Eliminating Debris – this organization is committed to increasing awareness and developing solutions for the environmental crisis of ocean plastic pollution.

The logo redesign: When Team Superside saw Clear Blue Sea’s current logo, they reached a quick consensus: The outdated gradient style was in need of a modern, visually-compelling refresh. Taking inspiration from the ocean itself and one of its most beloved creatures, a penguin, our designers proposed a more striking vector element.

They designed the penguin in the front and center of the logo with the ocean as a backdrop and utilized a more contemporary font. The result is both clear and fresh.

9. Montana Wilderness Association

Current logo:

Superside logo redesign:

Logo inspiration:

The background: Montana Wilderness Association was founded in 1958 and, since then, has been working with communities across Montana to protect the state’s wildlife and outdoor culture. Their mission is to collaborate with local communities to protect Montana’s wilderness heritage, as well as its serenity and outdoor traditions.

The logo redesign: The previous logo for Montana Wilderness Association was an illustration with so much potential. The rising sun over the mountains is a great visual, but the logo only represents the mountains. Our team knew that we could take their logo to the next level and promote even more of Montana’s beauty.

Our designers were inspired by Montana – its trees and mountains especially – when they were thinking about redesigning this logo. They opted to modernize the logo by refining the line work and incorporating a Sans Serif font. And they broadened the visual scope of the Montana Wilderness Association’s mandate with an illustration that represents every aspect of Montana’s wilderness, from the fields to the forests to the mountains.

10. Friends of the Earth International

Current logo:

Superside logo redesign:

Logo inspiration:

The background: Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an organization devoted to environmental and social justice, human dignity and respect for human rights. FoEI was founded in 1971 by four organizations from France, Sweden, England and the U.S. Today, the organization is made up of 73 groups from different countries with a shared goal to protect the environment and create sustainable societies.

The logo redesign: When reviewing the current FoEI logo, the Superside design team felt that the green circle was so simplistic that it missed out on a connection with nature. To tackle this logo redesign, our designer team took inspiration from a tree and the idea of giving back to our planet to add organizational context to the logo itself.

The new Supersided logo represents a tree sapling with roots stretching out in all directions, a symbol of growth and rejuvenation. We think it’s a nice way to convey the values and mission of FoEI, don’t you?

Don’t Skimp on Your Logo

There’s no denying the importance that a logo plays in branding. Just think about some of the most well known coffee brands — their logos are what you think about when you ask a friend to meet at Starbucks, or Dunkin'. Logos are visual statements that attest to what companies stand for. So don’t hold back when it comes to creating a logo for your company.

Superside’s global team of top-notch designers is equipped and ready to help you create a visually compelling logo or logo redesign for your company. Our dedicated project managers are available 24/7 to ensure that the results match your company standards and exceed your expectations.

Book a call today to discuss how Superside can help you take your branding to the next level.