UN Climate Change Conference / COP26

The 26th UN Climate Change Conference is in Glasgow, 2021. The conference moves to a different country every year and they have attained huge annual significance within the climate change movement.

2021’s event is a critical follow-up to the Paris meeting of 2015 which for the first time set out clear targets for the 196 states that attended. Since Paris there has been a global awakening to the issue, but now serious decisions need to be taken and this conference will be the platform.

Our task was to create a branding system for a series of events throughout the year, culminating in the conference itself. The brand identity has to appeal to a vast array of different audiences, from climate change activists, to businesses, to the press and to governments – and must demonstrate the UK’s commitment to taking a global lead in tackling climate change.

Most of the previous conferences haven’t boasted particularly strong visual identities. We were determined to find a solution that was memorable, distinctive and inspiring – and expressed the agreed positioning of ‘hope with a sense of urgency’.

After an extensive design exploration, a route that began as a marbled green and blue sphere became the clear favourite. The swirling coloured globe illustrates that the climate has no borders, alludes to currents and weather systems – and is intentionally beautiful. It deliberately avoids directly using recognisable country shapes and is designed to fascinate people, wake them up and compel them to take urgent action to save our precious planet.