Project Zero

At the time the founder of this environmental health organization came to us, she had a big ambition, celebrity supporters, and a game-changing idea. While there are plenty of groups doing incredible work to contend with our damaged oceans, the truth is that the amount of donor money available is limited, so groups that share a goal must compete for resources to do the work. That means that projects start and stop and new ones pop up all the time, but checking off anything as "complete” is too rare. As a collective, we’re adding, when we should be taking away.

This organization, which was unnamed at the time of our partnership, would change the model; rather than adding new efforts, it would bring projects, orgs, and people together to share resources and prioritize existing projects to accelerate progress. Naming was the first step. Our process led us to Project Zero —  Zero unfinished projects. Zero wasted resources. Zero pollution. Zero damage left. The name gave way to a tagline, Undoing it Together, and a brand identity built around percentages, numbers: a system the brand could leverage to count down rather than add up, turning the notion of what constitutes progress on its head. While the approach of the organization has evolved over time, the name and identity remain strong platforms for conveying how it is still working toward a future in which zero percent of the ocean is left unprotected.

I am proud to say that this work was shortlisted for a Clio in 2020.