Climate Lead

Redefining climate giving with a brand designed to lead.

Service

Capabilities

Background

Climate Lead was formed in reaction to the 2015 Paris Agreement, to catalyze philanthropic investment at scale that would truly move the needle on climate. The organization helps guide philanthropic leaders toward impact by curating knowledge and solutions from their global, diverse network of experts.

The challenge

After 3 years, their organization had a strong history of impact – surpassing their initial goal of $2.5 billion invested and even surpassing their stretch goal of $4.5 billion a year early. As a young organization with incredible impact, the time had come to invest in their brand so that it can help power their next chapter of growth.

The opportunity

Climate change can feel intimidating and complicated – curtailing investment. Climate Lead cuts through that complexity to deliver complete curation for donors. They enable courage in the face of crisis – and their brand is built to reflect this bold confidence.

A name fit to lead

The organization was founded as the Climate Leadership Initiative – yet their name wasn’t as clear, memorable or actionable as it could be. We explored different naming options that could paint them as the agent of change they truly are. Ultimately, it was a simple solution: Climate Lead, a shortening of their original name, that instills urgency and more accurately reflects what they and their donors do: take action and lead the field of climate philanthropy.

A logo with energy and urgency

The two words “Climate Lead” are separated with an arrow, suggesting the guidance and direction they give their donors and the momentum they build together. The three colored shapes come together to form the arrow, further adding a sense of collaboration, energy, and action.

A breath of fresh air

Climate Lead’s visual identity is a new step in consolidating the organization's credibility, conviction and courage to lead through a vibrant, confident color palette, bold typography and energetic visual elements.

A collection of posters features diverse individuals with quotes about climate leadership. The central poster showcases a woman in a red dress with a broad smile, flanked by other posters of smiling people sharing inspirational climate-related messages.

Three overlapping climate-themed magazines are displayed with the covers facing up. The visible titles are "Network opportunities," "Science for a better future," and "Philanthropy in action." The background is a light blue surface.

A collage of documents about philanthropic efforts to reduce building greenhouse gas emissions. It features charts, text, a photo of people fishing, financial goals for 2025 and 2030, with highlighted amounts of $4.5B, $3.4B, and $2.5B, and a section on mitigation potential.

A chart shows ten images representing diverse themes: a woman in a lab, skiers on a snowy slope, industrial chimneys, a man in a field, and women farming. Each theme has a vertical color gradient ranging from dark to light shades of blue, green, and orange.

A series of eight posters highlights the mission of Climate+Lead, featuring various backgrounds including grids, nature scenes, and a smiling person with a scarf. The posters include text encouraging philanthropic leaders to combat the climate crisis.

A flexible design system for evolving needs

Climate Lead's flexible design system ensures their brand can easily adapt to their broad range of communication needs. Built with modular components, the system's versatility ensures their team can quickly create clear, consistent, and engaging brand assets across different touchpoints.

A letterhead, compliment card, and business card from 'Climate Lead' are displayed on a blue background. The letter describes the organization’s commitment to addressing climate change. The business card has contact information for Jennifer Harlow from Communications.

A book titled "Scaling for Impact" is placed partially over a cusp. The cover features a map-like illustration with rivers and green land areas. The background is light blue, and additional text can be seen partially on the book's spine and back cover.

Illustrations with movement

To further convey the courage and leadership that set them apart, Climate Lead’s illustration style uses bold geometric shapes and directional arrows. This creates a vibrant set of illustrations that convey movement and dynamism.

Three climate+lead magazine covers are shown side-by-side. The first is titled "Philanthropy in action" with a yellow background. The second reads "Clarity in climate giving" with a blue background. The third says "Network opportunities" with an orange background.

Bringing their brand to life

As they embraced a new name, verbal and visual identity, Climate Lead needed to carefully roll out this new brand to their internal and external stakeholders. We developed a suite of tools to make this transition as easy as possible – including a comprehensive brand guide, all-staff trainings and roadshow presentation to introduce their new brand to key external stakeholders.

A grid of tablet screens displaying various presentations and reports. Each screen shows different content ranging from text about scaling climate finance solutions and agendas to images of landscapes, people, and pie charts. The background is a light blue color.

A high-impact digital presence

Climate Lead’s new website was built to reflect their courageous brand —telling a bold story of who they are to the world. The navigation allows users to easily find key information while ensuring powerful stories of impact shine through. The site embraces simplicity and sophistication to create a polished, professional and confident platform.