The Global Goals

Branding Campaign
Case Studywriting // Awards submissions // Press Releases // Social Media Trollbäck + Company | The New Division

Case studywriting

Brief

Design messaging to make the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) famous and accessible to 7 billion people around the world.

Challenge

Distill a complex geopolitical document into a simple, sustainable visual communication system that transcends regional, cultural, and linguistic barriers.

Results

17 unique icons and simplified copy raise awareness for "The Global Goals,” adopted by numerous international organizations and businesses to effect positive social and environmental change by 2030.

D&AD Awards Submission: V.O. Scriptwriting

This is a time of great uncertainty.

Conflict, injustice and poverty surround us.
Even the very planet we inhabit seems to threaten our survival.

Our challenges are serious, but our history is full of inspiring moments
when we have set our differences aside and worked for something bigger
than each of us.

This is one of those moments.

[Global Goals for 2030 logo]

7 billion people.

193 member states of the UN.

17 goals.

1 branding mission.

How did we simplify a plan to solve the world’s biggest problems?

Working with Richard Curtis and Project Everyone, we transformed the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals into a global brand by simplifying the daunting language of geopolitics and creating a universal language for change. Our icons transcend dialect, race, and geography; can be understood everywhere; and act as a framework for governments, corporations, and NGOs to engage every person on the planet.

From the Great Lawn in Central Park --

-- to the walls of the United Nations --

-- the headquarters of UNESCO --

-- and the streets of Davos --

Our logotype is rallying point, an enthusiastic symbol for change, and most of all, a colorful expression of hope.

To date, the Global Goals have found their way into the hands of some of the world’s most lauded activists, politicians, and artists. And we’re just getting started.

News and Press Releases

The New Division Launches Targets for Action
9.18.2017

In conjunction with the United Nations General Assembly and Global Goals Week, Jakob Trollbäck and our colleagues at The New Division have unveiled Targets for Action: an expanded communication system for all 169 targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Targets for Action builds on the visual design language and copy system of the Global Goals by outlining points of action for each initiative. The roll-out of new icons will continue through November 2017 on the Targets for Action and Global Goals websites.

Global Goals Week runs from September 16-23, in various locations throughout New York City. For more information on the design system and The New Division’s work, tune in to the SDG MediaZone livestream on Tuesday, September 19th at 11:30AM EST; and Wednesday, September 20th at 1:30 PM EST. We also encourage you to share the work on your social channels, using #targets4action and #2030NOW. Together, we can build a brighter future.

Jakob Trollbӓck Communicates Change at Earth to Paris
12.07.2015

With climate talks dominating the international stage at Earth to Paris, Trollbӓck + Company founder Jakob Trollbӓck called for immediate action and made a push for education and gender equality, declaring that, “If we had more women in power, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

Trollbӓck, the creative force behind the Global Goals for Sustainable Development identity, presented “Visualizing the Global Goals” to audiences and the press at the December conference. The two day program included conversations with UNICEF and UN ambassadors, environmentalists, politicians, and tech pioneers. Among the speakers were UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and famed researchers Drs. Jane Goodall and Sylvia Earle.

“This week, we’re talking about climate action which is goal number 13,” Trollbӓck said. “But in many ways it should be goal number one, because if we don’t fix this, everything else is sooner or later going to be irrelevant.” He echoed the Secretary-General’s warning that, “The clock is ticking towards climate catastrophe.”

All the Global Goals ratified by the United Nations in September 2015 have to be solved with the climate in mind. Trollbӓck is adamant that women become central to finding solutions, arguing that, “Men got us into this mess; women will get us out of it.” Quality education is another top priority, essential to challenging political and patriarchal establishments worldwide and enabling change.

Running alongside the historic 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21), Earth to Paris brought together leaders from diverse industries to raise awareness and brainstorm ways to fix the biggest challenges facing mankind today. The Petit Palais and UNESCO’s World Headquarters hosted the events. To learn more, visit http://livestream.com/unfoundation/earthtoparisENG.

Social Media

Left: the Wave Hill fruit basket for Neotu (1991). Right: the Mida cabinet for Arredaesse (1992)

Left: Primal Screen (1984). Right: a Friedman vase

Friedman’s book covers for Cultural Geometry (1988), Artificial Nature (1990) and Post Human (1992)

Logos for Mobiflex (1982) and Paul Ludick (1990)

A 1981 announcement card for the Japanese fashion label Pinky & Dianne

The Primordial table for Alchimia (1986)

— AQQ

Copy Jess