Earth Legacy Foundation
SAVING OUR OCEANS,
AND THE CREATURES LIVING IN IT,
ONE PROJECT AT TIME.
THE CHALLENGE
The Earth Legacy Foundation project required a brand identity and a website to showcase its work. As an NPO, it necessitated us taking a fresh approach to bring in the values and unique mission of the initiative.
The organisation’s goals for the development were defined as:
- Engage users and potential partners, ensuring they understand the mission of the projects.
- Increase awareness of the desired projects and inspire contributions to get the initiatives off the ground.
- Create a guide for both turtle monitors and tourists, about the organisation’s key species.
- Include a shop facility where goods could be sold to raise funds.
- Link to the eco-tourism partners who support the organisation.
- Public relations efforts to showcase the initiatives.
THE SOLUTION
Living next to the ocean, we can’t help being nature lovers. When we had the opportunity to work with this turtle and marine life conservation NPO, we were thrilled. The logo was designed with bold simplicity in mind, and a nod to the main protected species. For the web development, the island needed to be highly featured as the base of operations, plus the story and history behind the initiative required to be told. E-commerce was also added to the development strategy to ensure goods could be sold to raise money for the cause, and information gathered for the turtle guide was to be used for the educational page.
THE DELIVERY
To symbolise Earth Legacy Foundation’s identity, we included a ‘pale blue dot’, representing Earth, and a turtle “e”, representing biodiversity. The colours are ocean-inspired and align with the mission. The favicon alone strongly represents biodiversity across its social media channels, and the name of the NPO is pulled into the logo for use on its website, documents, images, and email signatures.
Why a ‘pale blue dot’?
Carl Sagan wrote in his book “Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space”:
“Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. … To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.” This statement resonates strongly with Earth Legacy Foundation’s core values and goals.
We also helped them compose their mission statement: “To empower society to live sustainably and in harmony with nature to conserve the future of biodiversity.” summarising Earth Legacy Foundation’s aim to leave a positive and lasting legacy for future generations by safeguarding the natural resources and beauty of Earth, by working together with local communities and partners who share their vision.
The website is eye-catching and the UX is very user-friendly. Potential partners, researchers and guests can easily find out more about the organisation and projects, and read educational material on conservation, poaching, marine life and more. With only one of the projects having been established, the potential projects necessitated a noticeable presence on the website in order to try and appeal for funding, and this has been achieved on both the home page and a dedicated page.
The turtle guide was created as a separate project from the web development, but elements from the guide and designs have been incorporated into the website. A dedicated page on sea turtles is educational with takeaway information, in the form of a downloadable PDF.
Finally, two press releases were created to raise awareness of the organisation and its mission.
THE RESULT
✔ the various projects, and how to donate to them, is clear.
✔ the e-commerce is simple with straightforward UX.
✔ the website is intuitive and user-friendly.
✔ the project activities, values and mission of the organisation are highlighted to ensure potential partners, researchers and interested parties can reach the information easily.
✔ the organisation’s key species is featured, with educational facts detailed in an interactive and engaging manner.
✔ the website offers transparent information on the projects.
✔ one research project has been established since the inception of the website, with several more in the pipeline, including two monumental biodiversity projects that would be a game-changer for this region of Mozambique and its vulnerable wildlife.
✔ The press releases were published across multiple media channels, including South African Airways magazine, Drift Travel, Getaway Magazine, and Scubaverse.
✔ In 2024, a collaboration between researchers, Grindstone, and Earth Legacy Foundation offered us an opportunity to create a YouTube video that was sent out with a research paper press release. It now sits at an astonishing 2 million views.