GPEA Brand & Visual Identity Guide

Inspiring Action

A Guide to our Visual Identity

This Guide defines what makes Greenpeace East Asia unique and our visual brand identity. However and whenever people encounter Greenpeace, we want them to understand our goals and beliefsthrough content they see on different channels and in different forms. We believe a strong and consistent sense of branding can set us apart and amplify every message we send. How we visually present our brand is, essentially, a way of telling a story about ourselves to strangers. It’s a way to communicate the cause we work towards, and the approach we take towards this cause.

This Visual Identity Guide should inspire creativity, while explaining the core attributes that define our brand - our voice, personality, promise, spirit and authenticity.

Together, we’re gonna make more changes happen.

© Alex Hofford / Greenpeace

What isn’t changing

We’re not changing any of our fundamentals, or “toning down” what we do to please a crowd. It’s how we communicate our work, vision, and values in our visual and content outputs that needs to move on.

Our vision

1 Work for a green and peaceful world

2 Genuine transparency in what we do and who we are

3 A brand built around hope instead of guilt

4 We seek and promote answers and solutions

Our core values

1 Independent

2 Professional

3 Scientific

4 Innovative

5 Vibrant

6 Action-oriented

Our brand tone

Here are some general guidelines for the tone we want to convey with our verbal and visual communications.

Hopeful

Promote positivity and action.

Sound the alarm on reality. Show Greenpeace’s human side.

Urgent Personal Creative Talking down Inspire not despair. Negative Formal

Don’t be condescending. Don’t lecture.

Keep it simple. Avoid jargon.

Bold, brave, think different.

Overly aggressive

Be humble. Avoid being too angry.

What we call successful communication is …

Making our brand’s voice clear, credible and consistent

Using compelling and engaging images

Making Greenpeace part of the message

Knowing our audience

Every piece of content represents our brand’s voice. It is more important than ever for Greenpeace to be clear in our messages, our demands and our solutions in order to bring about change. We need a strong and consistent visual identity to make our communications effective.

Using compelling and engaging images.

Gazing versus reading - if the image is not right the copy can hardly compensate for that.

Every day, the people we need to talk to are bombarded with hundreds of messages from multiple media channels. We need powerful stories with engaging visuals to evoke emotions. Content repetition across channels is needed to cut through that competition to get our messages across.

Making our brand’s voice clear, credible and consistent.

© Marten van Dijl / Greenpeace

© Christian Åslund / Greenpeace

Making Greenpeace part of the message.

It is important that our content does more than simply express narrow campaign objectives. Our messaging needs to make clear our wider organisational goals, and Greenpeace’s role in making that change happen.

Knowing our audience.

Communications need to start with the agreed core audience. To engage with our audience successfully, we need to understand their perspective on an issue.

© Masaya Noda / Greenpeace

© Jung-geun Augustine Park / Greenpeace

Reaching our audience

We’ve done our research to find out the Greenpeace that East Asia needs, our target groups, and three main things to get across to improve trust for the organisation.

Our goals are clear and we get things done

We are ordinary but dedicated people

We create global impacts as well as local impacts

Our goals are clear and we get things done. The common barrier to supporters: “Greenpeace needs to set more practical, achievable goals.”

Focus on discussing how change happens - clear timetables and action strategies

Emphasise short- and medium-term goals

Keep the solution statement concise and focused

Too many problem statements without mentioning a solution

Celebrate small wins as proof points. Create the space to demonstrate tangible impacts made

Objectives too vague

We are ordinary but dedicated people. The common barrier to supporters: “Does the environmental movement have space for non-radicals?”

More behind-the-scene documentation and human stories

Too many protest / direct actions images in content

Bring up examples of how volunteering / participation can help build community

Too much internal language or difficult words left unexplained

Cultivate a sense of belonging and suggest creative ways for public engagement

Sound too idealistic

Be responsive. Share the common concerns of ordinary people

Give lectures

We create global impacts as well as local impacts. The common barrier to supporters: “What does a Western environmental NGO know about local issues?”

Showcase local brand and / or government participation

Demonstrate our deep experiences and how we serve both local and international causes

Highlight support from trustworthy personalities

Highlight why regional and international presence can be an advantage for creating local impacts

Partner with other local groups / organisations

Lack of local context and out of touch with local values

Focus on hope and solutions. Anytime we show images of a damaged environment, we pair it with explanations of what we do, what solutions we offer, and what the public can do to help.

Our Photo Approach

Our Text ApproachLanguage & Copy

Our Video Approach

Our Photo Approach

A) Show us investigating, exposing, documenting, and confronting environmental abuse.

The positive aspects of the Greenpeace identity should be reinforced by the scale, clarity and strength of our pictures. We need to create and use visual assets that show what we do apart from protests, and that we are always in action. Those behind-the-scenes images are the best visual assets that can be repackaged in all channels.

B) Show us driving environmentally responsible and socially just solutions that offer hope for this and future generations.

Feature stories in all Greenpeace’s channels require a different approach and planning from hard news. They are a chance for us to portray the positive aspects of our identity such as offering solutions.

© Paul Hilton / Greenpeace

© Greenpeace

© Greenpeace / Mego Lin

© Christian Åslund / Greenpeace

© Sawako Obara / Greenpeace

C) Show us inspiring people to take responsibility for the planet.

Wildlife and beautiful nature images have the power to inspire audiences. These photos should be breath-taking, precious and emotional.

D) Show us cultivating activism and community building to make impacts around the world.

We need to work with a mix of people (particularly more images of older generations) and show the faces behind our name. Showing a greater diversity of people will help our audience get over worries about us being “too extreme” or “not like me”.

© Paul Hilton / Greenpeace

© Yan Tu / Wild China / Greenpeace

© Abbie Trayler-Smith / Greenpeace

© Yan Tu / Greenpeace

© Greenpeace

© Esteban Medina San Martin / Greenpeace

© Emily Cheng / Greenpeace

© Marten van Dijl / Greenpeace

© Greenpeace / John Novis

© Shaun Burnie / Greenpeace

© Greenpeace

© Greenpeace

© Greenpeace / Arnaud Vittet

© Greenpeace / David Jaemin Byun

© Chilam Wong / Greenpeace

© Markus Mauthe / Greenpeace

© Greenpeace / Ardiles Rante

© Valdemir Cunha / Greenpeace

© Rasmus Törnqvist / Greenpeace

© Martin Katz / Greenpeace

© Daiyoon Lim / Greenpeace

© Jung-geun Augustine Park / Greenpeace

© Greenpeace / Yan Tu

© Greenpeace / Patrick Cho

© Sawako Obara / Greenpeace

Good cut in both mobile and desktop dimensions

Poor cut / poor resolution

High relevance with the copy’s message

Too static and almost dull

Clear focus

Does not trigger emotion

Action-oriented

Include more variety of images that show what Greenpeace has been doing

Bring out the behind-the-scenes of Greenpeace investigating

Demonstrate our expertise and international presence (i.e. Greenpeace delegation at UN)

Show our connection with local East Asian communities

Hero image: Poor cut; visual meaning is too internal

Images are not telling a story

What Greenpeace is actually doing is missing here

Not a smart use of embedded tweets

Our Video Approach

Video is a powerful and popular form of content to show our campaign impacts. A good video should be inspiring and sincere; it can define who we are, and at the same time be educational, breathtaking, and expressing gratitude to our supporters. People and stories featured are authentic and relatable.

Example: A plastic story →

Clear message and easy to understand

Relate to readers’ daily lives

Example: Behind-the-scenes of Plastic Island Study →

Show, but not tell, tangible details of what we do and how we work

Demonstrate that we get support from local communities and trusted people

Showcase our extensive experience in the area

Raise the profiles of our staff, our investigation & science work to show our deep experiences

Show the beauty of nature

Basic Tips to Consider:

Viewers often don’t make it to the endcard so include the Greenpeace identity early, for example by showing the Greenpeace logo in full in the video title, or G bug in a corner of the screen throughout.

Be prepared to shoot for multiple formats including vertical depending on platform and device preferences.

For social media videos make sure your end screen is not blank – this is a good place to add the logo and a call to action.

General guideline for online videos’

subtitles:

In English: Max characters per line*: 42

* Preferably 1 line, max 2 lines

Both owned and externally-sourced footage needs to be cleared for your intended usenoting Greenpeace International guidelines on the Indigenous people and Allyship.

In Chinese: Max characters per line*: 23

* Max 1 line

Always require a clean version for the final product.

Recommended video length depends on channel and how interesting your content is to your audience (remember the hook in the first few seconds).

In Korean: Max characters per line*: 23

* Preferably 1 line, max 2 lines

In Japanese: Max characters per line*: 23

Prepare good thumbnails to show clearly what your video is about.

Wherever possible get plenty of clean shots of a target / company without activists or banners for useful longer term B-Roll.

* Preferably 1 line, max 2 lines

Note:

• The average reading speed for adults is 20 characters per second.

• Guidelines for videos meant to be screened in cinema will be different.

Our Text Approach - Language & Copy

Writing Tips & Tricks:

Don’t make me think

Remember there is more information flowing into people’s lives now than ever — so it means more possibilities for interruptions and distractions. Write what the readers are looking for and what they want to know.

Be clear

Always make your language clear and easy to understand. Don’t complicate things unnecessarily.

Be brief and concise

Focus on one topic. If you emphasise everything, you don’t emphasise anything. Only tell what is necessary and be relevant.

Be positive and friendly

Give me a good feeling. We all know the problems now. Be inspirational instead of creating guilt.

Talk about real people

Connect our supporters with the real people involved in the movement - our campaigners, ship crew, activistis, donors, scientists, key influencers, etc. Consider to raising the profile of our investigation or project team.

Explain our motive

Show the facts behind our work so people understand the context of what we do and how we do it. We don’t want the audience to see our protests in isolation. They need to know they’re part of a bigger strategy to change things for the better.

Essential Principles

1. We don’t change the meaning, message or reality of an event by doctoring photos or videos. We may edit images by cropping, highlighting or some colour modification, in line with accepted practice within the news industry.

2. Creative or explanatory editing of photo or video used in campaign communications (e.g. inserting cartoon figures, sound or visual effects, arrows, annotations) is permissible, provided the content or context make the alteration obvious and there is no risk of it being mistaken for reality.

3. Don’t show corporate logos or visuals in any content unless necessary (ie. brand attack).

4. Avoid images with objects that might represent a political standpoint or party.

5. Take extra care to ensure visual materials used are not reinforcing stereotypes or power imbalances.

The Greenpeace Media Library is an accessible and comprehensive archive of Greenpeace photo and video materials from around the world since 1971 that is catalogued and rights managed. GPEA local offices also produce our own visual materials which are subject to copyright protection.

Commercial use of any Greenpeace image without permission would constitute a copyright infringement and may infringe upon other rights.

It is important to know the following ground rules, and reach out to our internal multimedia producers if in doubt.

1. All content is protected by copyright and must be credited. In many cases, images are simply © Greenpeace. In others, you’ll see © Greenpeace / Photographer, or © Photographer / Greenpeace. Please reproduce the entire copyright line accordingly and do not change the order of it.

2. Materials hosted at http://www.greenpeace.org are free to use for personal or educational purposes, provided the user reads and abides by our ground rules and any additional restrictions displayed with the photo or video.

3. Photo and video materials must not be manipulated in any form without permission from Greenpeace.

4. Commercial or advertising (advertorial) use by a third party without prior permission is strictly prohibited.

5. Portrait rights can mean very different things with different consequences depending on the country or region in question. Note that images of children in particular may not be used for fundraising without their parents’/guardians’ consent. If in any doubt, please contact Greenpeace internal multimedia team to request further information and advice.

Use of Map and Other Identity-Related Matters

Greenpeace is an environmental group and does not take sides in debates on sovereignty and territorial disputes. For the use of maps, geographical illustrations, flags, political symbols, and other identity-related matters in East Asia:

Refer to GPEA Guide →

Diversity and Inclusion

Greenpeace is a multi-faceted and diverse network. We communicate with millions of people every single day. This comes with the great responsibility to not only be conscious of existing discriminatory practices but also to proactively promote and celebrate equity and diversity through our visual communications.

We should also accurately represent the environment and people in their reality and with integrity. We strive to empower by showing agency and resilience. Avoid stereotypes and representing people as ‘victims’. See Greenpeace International guidelines for more resources:

Refer to GPI Digital Output Guide to Inclusivity → Allyship with Indigenous people → Greenpeace personal-data-privacy-rights → Consent template →

Logo and Colours

The Greenpeace logo is a ‘signature’, not just because it was originally signed by hand, but because it works as an identifier and a signifier of accountability. This is an example of being open and transparent. Here are some general guidelines to convey our brand voice.

Logo

The logo should be coloured Greenpeace Green or black for light backgrounds. For dark backgrounds, use Greenpeace Green or white.

Always ensure good contrast between the logo and background colours.

Download English logo versions →

Download Chinese logo versions →

White

Position

In most cases, the logo should be ‘signed’ along the top or bottom edge, and aligned left, right, or centrally.

The choice of logo position should relate to the other visual elements and reinforce the overall composition.

The logo should always have clear space around it, the example below (right) shows the minimum clear space required.

Size

Depending on the dimensions and aspect ratio of the canvas, the logo should be between 15% and 30% of the total page width.

Total canvas width

Colour Palette

Greenpeace Green is our primary display colour. It is one of our most distinguishing identity features. It can be used to emphasise and highlight, but not for standard text. It is not WCAG AA rated for text on light backgrounds and should be applied selectively.

Our iconic yellow campaign banners have been used in direct actions for more than 40 years. Greenpeace Yellow is only to be used for items that are a call to action, or need special highlighting. It is not WCAG AA rated for text on light backgrounds and should be applied selectively.

Greenpeace Dark Green can be used when Greenpeace Green isn’t appropriate due to accessibility requirements. It is WCAG AA rated for both large and small text.

GREENPEACE YELLOW

WEB

PMS

Below are some suggestions that match with current official websites of the Hong Kong, Taipei and Seoul offices.

Other secondary colours

#FFFFFF #E6F5F5

#EEEEEE #898B92

#BAB0A6

#57AD00

#292F47 #FFB660

#FF8100

#E96D00

Campaign palette

Actively used in the current official websites of our Hong Kong, Taipei and Seoul offices.

The choice of supporting colours will largely depend on context and can be selected on a project-by-project basis to maintain flexibility and appropriateness.

As a general rule:

Choose fresh, bright and bold colours

Shades too close to the Greenpeace Green

Choose colours that complement the primary pallette

Using too many supporting colours (1-3 colours is a good range)

We can’t do this alone. Let’s try things out, test them, and share our work, so we can inspire more people to join us in our mission.

Over to you.

June 2023

Greenpeace East Asia