Right climate for change: investigative campaigners rebrand for next chapter

International NGO Global Witness collaborates with Something More to help communicate purpose and identity.

At a time when the world, more than ever, needs a strong voice to help tackle environmental destruction, brand studio Something More has helped climate NGO Global Witness undertake a full rebrand.

Global Witness was founded in 1993 and is based in London, with offices in Washington D.C., Brussels, and São Paulo. Its investigative work informs the news we all consume and the impact of its campaigning and policy work is felt across the world.

Historically, the organisation investigated all manner of corporate wrongdoing – most famously, its work formed the basis of the Hollywood movie ‘Blood Diamond’. But now Global Witness’ work focuses on deforestation, fossil fuels, land and environmental defenders, critical minerals and the role of Big Tech in civic space. Global Witness’ reinvigorated purpose is to expose how the industries fuelling the climate crisis are profiting from destruction and ensuring that the voices of those on the frontlines are heard.

Its investigators recently captured global headlines with an undercover exposé of a senior Azerbaijani official facilitating discussions of fossil fuel deals during the country’s hosting of the COP international climate talks.

Leeds-based Something More accepted the brief in early 2024 to help Global Witness define and articulate its purpose, voice and visual identity to create a better platform for campaigning.

Stakeholder engagement was crucial, and Global Witness collaborated with Indigenous activists, journalists, funders, and civil society partners, who brought valuable insight to the visual identity. The brand needed to ensure that it offered a platform to tell the stories of people all over the world in a unified, powerful voice.

Stephen Woowat, Creative Partner at Something More, said: “Our role was to ensure the brand always worked in service of the real human story. The new identity reflects the ongoing work Global Witness does to help expose the issues that matter. We needed to help Global Witness become a universal and recognisable symbol for ‘see and speak the truth’.”

The logo is a universal symbol that can unite and rally all Global Witness staff, supporters and partners across the world. A representation of seeing and speaking truth, it speaks to both the investigative and campaigning role of Global Witness.

The strategy positioning work revealed the importance of ensuring that the brand presents the evidence in a credible way, while never forgetting the human story behind the data. The new design system is grounded in an editorial-like approach that gives clarity and space to every issue. It highlights what’s important, alongside in-depth analysis and insight – helping to make things easier to engage with and understand.

To achieve this, Something More chose a typographic pairing of Founders Grotesk and Tiempos, both from New Zealand based foundry Klim. Alongside this, the balance of colour, shape and layout creates a flexible platform that allows the brand to speak with authority, or sit back and let the stories speak for themselves. Powerful and emotive human photography is central to their content. However, whenever photography is not appropriate, collage illustration and a suite of iconography complete the toolkit for the brand.

Stephen continued: “A key element of the rebrand was respecting the urgency of the climate crisis: not by trying to shout loudest, but ensuring evidence drives everything they do. This gives it impact as a campaigning brand, whether that’s talking at COP, to governments, or through social channels.”

Fittingly, collaboration has been key to the success of the Global Witness rebrand, which included a website redesign and build by Hactar, and a powerful short introduction film by production company Happenstance Films. Something More also worked with writer Thomas Sharp to develop emotionally arresting long-copy creative for the launch campaign. As a result, Global Witness has a distinctive brand, sharp proposition, and can clearly articulate its unique role in the climate space.

Ana Zarraga, Director of External Engagement at Global Witness commented: “Our new brand captures the essence of Global Witness as a modern, hard-hitting, investigative campaigning organisation. It stands us in good stead as we accelerate our ambitions in the face of the worsening climate crisis. It’s vital that we have the tools that allow us to expose the mechanics of how industries are profiting from climate breakdown, while also platforming our partners around the world whose voices need to be listened as we work towards climate justice.”

Simon Morrow, Strategic Partner at Something More, adds: “Too often in our world, branding is reduced to a decorative marketing layer. It’s been a privilege to help Global Witness, as they understand the brand goes right to their core as a manifestation of who they are. We hope the new brand will be a helpful catalyst in their fight for our future.”