NEEC
Project1
Stratege&Identity
NON-CORPORATE IDENTITY
We redesigned websites, posters, stickers, logos and related screen printing products to convey the Northeast Earth Coalition (NEEC) to more audiences who have never known about it, by conveying the characteristics of sustainable development and eco-friendly, and expanding the brand's publicity and appeal.
*This project is a group project
INSPIRATION
Zenji runabashi is a famous Japanese painter known for his uniqueis artistic style, which often combines traditional Japanese elements with modern artistic expressions. This combination creates works that are culturally meaningful and visually appealing.
Funabashi's art is often characterized by soft colors and smooth lines, showing themes of nature, tranquility and harmony.
At the beginning of the project, we wanted to use such a simple and distinctive design idea in our poster design, and his work gave us a lot of inspiration-starting from the color direction
The way it is cut will also make the poster more interesting.
The style of web design is mainly simple and stylish, with many different patterns spliced together. Or the combination of retro tones and themes will also bring a different visual experience and a sense of history.
INTERVIEW
INTRO
Before producing the output, we explored the popularity and influence of NEEC by interviewing people of different ages and social identities. The main purpose of the interview was to understand the current social perception of NEEC and reflect on how to create unique differentiation through redesign. The following are five different responses we collected from the on-site interviews:
AGE22
"I learned about NEEC when I attended an environmental protection forum at school. Their speeches were very inspiring. The school encourages us to actively participate in such social activities, so I went to see their website. I rarely heard about it before."
AGE27
"To be honest, I haven't heard of NEEC before. I usually pay more attention to work and career development-related information, and may not pay much attention to environmental protection and community development. But I know other organizations with the same purpose, and they also have content about non-profit charities such as environmental protection."
AGE33
"I first heard about NEEC in the local market through the various eco-friendly products and sustainable living seminars they offer. I think if they can further expand these offline activities, especially focusing on parent-child activities, I can bring my children to participate, after all, this is also a very meaningful thing."
AGE45
"I first discovered NEEC on Instagram. Their social media content is very attractive, especially the wonderful photos of animals and plants and environmental tips. I think if they can add more interactive content, such as online challenges or registration activities, more people can be involved in their environmental activities. Some of the web pages are difficult to click and there is no strong promotion, so many people don’t know about this organization."
AGE60
"I mainly know about NEEC through community bulletin boards and local news. I saw that they organized some elderly plant gardening activities, which are very suitable for seniors like us to participate. I hope they can continue to develop these programs and strengthen cooperation with community facilities so that we can easily obtain relevant information."
CONCLUSION
Through this feedback, we realized the need for diversified strategies to increase NEEC awareness and engagement among different populations. The redesign direction will focus on strengthening online and offline interactions, enhancing experiential engagement, and providing tailored content and activities for different target groups.
We established two different directions aimed at expanding the influence and communication effectiveness of NEEC. The first direction focuses on directly engaging the audience by using natural themes to build emotional connections. We chose to use bright colors to visually capture the audience's attention and spark their interest in the message we are conveying.
Coinciding with the nonprofit charity promoting their latest campaign, we decided to incorporate the idea of "every household growing their own fruits and vegetables." In this way, we aim not only to raise public awareness of the environment and sustainable agriculture but also to encourage individuals and communities to partake in this simple, sustainable lifestyle.
During the design process, we integrated various natural elements, such as lush green leaves and vibrant fruit patterns, to echo the theme of cultivating personal fruit and vegetable gardens. We created visually appealing promotional materials, intending to convey a sustainable lifestyle that is accessible and actionable for everyone through this visual language. With this interactive and direct approach, we hope the audience feels invited to participate and thereby initiate positive changes in their lives.
Different from before, in the design of the website, we intend to take "nature", "self-sufficiency" and "sustainable development" as the core concepts. Agricultural products are the main point to attract the audience, so that they will be more curious about "small farms".
Each image needs to contain the benefits of this non-profit charity, and visualizing the words will make it easier for the audience to understand.
Vibes
RESEARCH
Based on the analysis of the existing websites, we feel that the publicity is far from enough. Only a small number of farmers and consumers know about this organization. However, not many people understand its benefits, so not many people will participate.
For the benefits of self-sufficiency, we should adjust a page to describe the advantages it brings and tell the audience intuitively.
DIRECT
NATURAL
ATTRACTUIVE
We wanted to change the website to present a direct approach and draw up a flow chart to explain why the benefits exist.
LOGO&FONT
Our main goal is to increase awareness and attract different audiences through different output methods. After changing the design style, different visual experiences can be generated.
WEBSITE
LOGO&FONT
Because it is an environmental protection organization, we plan to use a more rounded font to reduce a lot of sharp edges.
For the logo design, we plan to use simple black and green tones to highlight the concept of the environmental protection organization.
PRINT PRODUCT
If you want to spread the word about a non-profit charity, you must have different design outputs so that the audience can understand the organization from different angles. Simple two-color printing can do this.
STICKERS
EXHIBITION
WEBSITE
The website is also an essential part. The original website design is not strong and does not attract the audience when browsing.
Based on the original information, we plan to add some interactive icons. And the guidance will be more perfect.
STICKERS
We have short sleeves and handbags for young people, but this organization is not just for these age groups, we even need to face the new generation of teenagers, so colorful stickers are also a good choice.
While achieving novel patterns, we can also extend the age range, which also expands the publicity efforts.
MINDMAP
T SHIRT
POSTERS
During the initial research phase of the project, we explored and collected many poster design inspirations to ensure that the final presentation would convey NEEC’s core values and goals in a diverse manner. Initially, we considered a combination of different styles and aesthetics to meet and attract a diverse audience.
We made a series of posters based on the theme of "Family Farm", mainly drawing some pictures about farm products, and adding some simple text and logos to introduce the details.
SECOND
Our team members used different sustainable materials, such as aluminum cans, and NEEC's logo and slogan to make posters.
FIRST
THIRD
TEST
Finally, we put all the posters together into an exhibition, which not only arranged different color combinations but also created a strong visual impact on the audience, attracting them to learn more details.
Later in the project, we plan to launch a variety of poster styles to increase the visual impact and breadth of information dissemination. These designs include retro-style posters, which will use nostalgic elements and warm colors to evoke emotional resonance in the audience through this classic style.
Exhibition
We simulated and experimented with placing posters in many different areas as exhibitions or in public places to attract the attention of passers-by and tourists. Improving the visual effect can increase their appeal and help people understand the organization.
OPEN STUDIO
FEEDBACK
After the open studio event, we collected different feedback from multiple groups. The feedback covered many aspects, such as whether the content was successfully conveyed and whether different materials were effectively used for display. These questions not only helped us evaluate the effectiveness of the design, but also played a role of reflection, allowing us to have a deeper understanding of the audience's views and expectations.
After seeing our work, the audience made some valuable suggestions, which was crucial for our subsequent adjustments and improvements. Some viewers pointed out that the expression of some design elements was not clear enough, resulting in poor information communication. This made us realize that in some cases, overly complex designs may obscure the core information. Therefore, we decided to simplify some elements to ensure that the information can be conveyed to the audience more directly and clearly.
SELF-FEEDBACK
The feedback mentioned that the audience also gave positive comments on the use of different materials. Some viewers mentioned that using different materials and printing techniques can enhance the touch and visual appeal of the work. Therefore, we also rethought the flexibility in material selection to better support the visual language of our brand.
In this unit, I can feel that it is not easy to be a group collaboration project, because most of the time, we need three people to work together to solve the problems that arise. When there are disagreements, we also need to adjust to the best state. When discussing the design of stickers, we hope to show as many rich colors as possible, but our team member wanted to present a retro tone. In the end, we chose his suggestion. Group discussion was the most difficult step.
Later, after the failure of the initial experiment with short sleeves, we began to look for a new way of presentation. After active discussion and division of labor, we also made great progress.
REALIZATION
&MOVING FORWARD
SUCCESS
For us, the success of the project depends on whether we can make the organization more known to more people. Or whether our design is more promotional and appealing than the previous design, and whether the visual effect is stronger than the old website. In the end, we feel that after a series of redesigns, the visual effect has been greatly improved.
For me, this design is a brand new beginning, and it can be said that I stepped out of my comfort zone. What is different from the past is that this time I started to try a lot of outputs that I had not done before. For example, I have been trying to do exhibitions before, and I want the final visual effect to be relatively large. But this time I found that many of them could not fully express our design concept. Instead, we respected the original rules and only changed the insufficient parts, which would also have a good effect. So in this design, I added web design, which is an area I have never tried before, and I also found a lot of fun from it.
INSUFFICIENT
One of the drawbacks of this design project is that we spent a lot of time discussing and unifying design ideas during the design process. The design team put a lot of effort into achieving global style consistency, including the coordination of colors, patterns and materials, but this process took up a lot of our time and limited our investment and exploration in other design details.
After experiencing these challenges, I realized that it is necessary to clarify the goals at the beginning of the design and quickly develop a clear design roadmap. This will help save time on key decisions and allow us to focus on more creative exploration and detail polishing. To achieve these goals, I plan to explore different design languages and expressions, such as combining tradition with modernity, or expressing cross-cultural perspectives. In addition, I also plan to use technology to enhance the interactivity and immersion of the work, so that the audience can not only watch passively, but also participate and experience.