Woods Hole Research Center was one of the world’s leading think tanks for climate science. As the planet rocketed towards dangerous climate thresholds, the organization needed to spur the interests of donors, policy makers, and global citizens everywhere. After much debate, 43,000 Feet and our design partners, Moth Design, convinced the organization they also needed a new name to avoid confusion with their globally renowned neighbor in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Through stakeholder interviews, guided workshops, and countless hours of hard work, a new name emerged: Woodwell Climate Research Center, in honor of their founder and acclaimed ecologist, George Woodwell. But what truly galvanized the organization was its unflinchingly bold new graphic identity that harkened to the heat maps and hockey-stick data charts of rising global temperatures these scientists knew all too well, along with an equally bold new tagline, “Climate science for change.”

From there, we helped clarify their brand messaging to emphasize Woodwell Climate’s unique combination of hands-on science and hard-core policy work, all aimed at changing minds, changing policy, and changing the tide of climate change.