The story behind the SF Climate Week brand is one of teamwork, creativity, and commitment to visual storytelling to elevate what would become one of the largest climate summits on the west coast. What started off as a chance encounter between two Climatebase Fellowship alumni ended up turning into a collaboration that would pave the way for SF Climate Week’s iconic brand.

After ideating SF Climate Week and taking an initial stab at creating a visual brand, Climatebase CEO and co-founder Evan Hynes pitched Morgan Campbell on taking the reins of leading SF Climate Week as part of her role as Director of Partnerships at Climatebase. Shortly after, Morgan reached out to Casey Hogue, the creative mind behind Serotonin Creative Consultancy and a Climatebase Fellowship alumni. She realized the potential in collaborating with Casey and his team to go beyond Evan’s initial iteration and create a bold, vibrant brand for SFCW — and do so all in just over six weeks.

From the outset, the SF Climate Week brand was designed to stand out. The vibrant lime green color, initially selected by Evan, was a bold and unexpected choice in contrast to environmental color palettes that are often subdued. Coupled with the modern design elements and strong typography selected by the team at Serotonin Creative, it signaled a departure from the norm, inviting anyone with fresh ideas to join the action. This concept evolved into the SFCW tagline: Where Ideas Meet Action, thanks to the creative input of Serotonin's copywriter Luka Glinsky.

Fully fleshing out and integrating a robust brand on such a tight timeline was a challenge, but one that paid off. The inaugural year of SF Climate Week in 2023 was a whirlwind of excitement and action, with SFCW attracting over seven-thousands attendees and hosting over 100 events.

Flash forward a few months. For SF Climate Week’s second year in 2024, Zuza Hicks, a brand designer and owner of Nicely Made Studios, came on to help with key design decisions, such as refining the brand system including, graphic elements, stylescapes and updating the color palette. She replaced black with deep navy and softened the pink tones to create a more polished look while retaining the vibrant green as a nod to the brand’s bold beginnings. With guidance and support from Maggie Thill, Lead Strategist at Serotonin, and Lyla Warren, Marketing Manager at SFCW, the team refined their mission, vision, values, and target audience, establishing SF Climate Week as a credible, attention-grabbing, professional operation, despite its relative youth and limited resources.

This creative effort resulted in a comprehensive brand guide, a crucial tool for maintaining consistent, professional communication. It streamlined everything from creating sponsorship decks to engaging with volunteers and internal team members. Despite having only taken place once before, SF Climate Week presented itself as being established and even more legitimate in its second year, inspiring confidence and rallying participation from the 700+ climate organizations and 18k attendees that attended SFCW 2024 — more than double the number of attendees from year 1.

Reflecting on the process, Casey remarked, “Doing this foundational work upfront sets an organization up for success and ultimately becomes rocket fuel for growth.” Morgan added, “I learned the immense importance and power of branding. It’s not just about visuals; it’s about aligning your brand with your mission and values, creating a cohesive story that people can connect with and draw inspiration from.”

As SF Climate Week enters its third year, the brand continues to evolve, shaped by feedback and experiences from the previous years. The story of SF Climate Week and its partnership with Serotonin Creative demonstrates the power of collaboration and strategic brand building in the climate space. The partnership between Serotonin Creative Consultancy and Climatebase to produce the SF Climate Week brand was more than just a branding exercise; it was a union of innovative minds committed to climate action, fueled by the urgency and our collective commitment to collaboration that the climate crisis demands.

If you’d like to harness the power of branding building and collaborative marketing reach out to
Serotonin Creative Consultancy at:
hello@serotonincreative.com
https://www.serotonincreative.com