plus three degrees
designed for the worst, plus three degrees is a sneaker campaign identity for a future that we hope never to see.
This university project challenged me to develop a new sustainability-led sneaker range and promotional assets campaign for Converse x Renew Labs. In a market where environmentally and ecological friendly design often means a green or neutral colour palette, I wanted to create an atypical identity that would stand out.
During my research I read an article in The Guardian that really resonated with me and my objectives. As well as hard-hitting images, the article includes a series of graphs projecting when global temperatures are likely to hit key benchmarks if CO2 emissions are not mitigated - and what the resulting climatic scenarios will be.
Us humans are warming our planet at an unprecedented rate. Earth is already around 1.2c hotter than the pre-industrial of the 1800s and the science is clear - if we don’t stem our CO2 emissions, it’ll be 3c hotter by the end of the century. We’re already experiencing the impact of climate change and things will only get worse if we don’t achieve net zero, with an increased frequency and severity of storms, floods and heatwaves.
I developed Plus Three Degrees as a reminder of why we need to reject waste and overconsumption and end emissions. The campaign is focused on a range of sneakers developed to help humanity survive the consequences of an imagined 3c hotter future.
Through its visuals and product lines, Plus Three Degrees intensifies awareness of the impacts of climate change and empowers the campaign audience to demand that the world’s commitments to net zero are met. And thus ensuring that this imagined future does not become our reality.
campaign creation | visual identity | responsive logos | type design | colour | print + digital assets
> VISUAL IDENTITY
Plus Three Degrees is deliberately provocative and apocalyptic. It wants to stand out, shock and court controversy. A series of responsive logos and icons are derived from my hand-forged scratchy typeface that conveys the urgency of our situation. There is an eye-catching colour palette and a series of hand-crafted texture patterns convey different climatic scenarios, including drought-cracked earth and wildfire smoke and ash.
Primary logo
Responsive logos and icons for every format and scale
Hand-forged Plus Three Degrees typeface for titles and headings
Futura Condensed typeface for body copy
Emergency Orange #f26924
Burnt Black #161312
Smoke White #f4f4f4
Hand-crafted texture patterns. Dripping water
Drought cracked earth
Ash
Smoke
> sneaker designs
Presenting ‘Flood’ and Wildfire’ from the Plus Three Degrees sneaker range. Hand-made by me from recycled and repurposed materials, each sneaker is adapted to a specific climate emergency.
Flood. designed for a flooded future where sea levels have risen from melting glaciers and ocean heat and extreme rainfall events are the norm.
Triple platform sole to elevate the wearer above the flood waters
Water-resistant uppers and can pull eye-lets
wildfire. designed for a hotter and drier future where severe uncontrollable and unpredictable wildfires rampage, smothering in flames and smoke.
Tight-weave cotton uppers protect the wearer from radiant heat and embers
Fire resistant soles and waxed leather laces
> brand in the wild
The Plus Three Degrees sneaker range is supported by a series of assets that promote the campaign across digital and print communication. These assets combine the campaign’s hand-forged typeface, responsive logos, distinct colour palette and hand-crafted texture patterns with attention-grabbing photographs of the consequences of a 3c hotter future.
Wildfire poster series
Pavement sign
Wildfire billboard with hand-crafted mock hot coals
Graphic-led poster
Patch collection imagines the impact of a 3c hotter future on animal species
Personalise with the patch collection
Sticker collection commemorates significant climatic events
Personalise with the sticker collection
A clothing line supports the sneaker designs and reinforces the campaign’s message
All items in the range are sold with call to action messaging that empowers people to demand better on emissions
> the process
Combining the hand-crafted with the digital helped me to establish the right aesthetic for this project. Spending an afternoon earnestly scribbling letters with a marker pen enabled me to create a bespoke scratchy typeface that conveys the urgency of our situation, whilst cornflour paste, food colouring and incense sticks make for surprising realistic dried cracked earth, dripping water and smoke and ash textures.
After creating the digital concept for the Wildfire billboard I knew that I wanted to realise it in a real and tangible way. This meant reinterpreting a pair of old Converse sneakers into the Wildfire design and creating a walkable pile of mock hot coals from expanding foam, fairy lights, spray paint and sticks collected from the local park.
Hand-forging the scratchy, urgent typeface
Digital concept sketch for the Wildfire billboard
Pencil sketches for the patch and sticker collections
Hand-crafting the water texture using food colouring
Digital concept sketch for the Flood sneaker
Spray painting the fake hot coals for the Wildfire billboard
“The custom scratched font, textures and colours hit the mark and deliver the message on urgency. The wildfire billboard is a winner, with highly impactful photography and headline.”
- NC, Mentor, LCI Melbourne