The Ecology Center, in Orange County California, is a regional hub for eco-education that engages and empowers individuals and families to live more sustainably. The organization focuses its work in five verticals – Energy, Water, Food, Waste, and Shelter.

The Water Effect was one of my favorite projects with The Ecology Center. It was a unique challenge to try to reach a new, younger audience. For this it was necessary to create different yet complementary messaging from that of The Ecology Center.   

At the height of the water crisis in California, during the summer of 2015, The Ecology Center won a grant from the Municipal Water Board of Orange County to raise awareness and engage high school students in water conservation education. 

We conceptualized and designed a campaign to appeal to this young demographic so that they could champion this cause, curb excessive water use and raise awareness in their communities of South California. 

As always, I began by talking to our audience. Under citrus trees at The Ecology Center my colleague and I talked water, social media, and society’s apathy with a dozen teenagers. Not only did we learn that these young people care deeply about the environment, we also heard contempt for the wastefulness of older generations and lack of action. From these conversations we developed an initiative that high schoolers could relate to and feel empowered by. 

The Water Effect drew from the dramatic and rebellious nature of 16 year olds, a compelling approach.  The messaging aimed to address young people with the level of respect and sophistication that teenagers appreciate but rarely receive. The voice was informal and the campaign themes were clever with practical, yet solution-oriented asks. The campaign's visual style was designed to fit with both the Ecology Center brand as well as that of Hurley’s, one of the campaign’s sponsors.

To these high schoolers the solution to the water problem wasn't difficult and there was no time to wait. 

The Water Effect launched at the 2015 Hurley Pro with a physical exhibition on the beach. I collaborated with The Ecology Center and the design team at Zago to create the installation for this event as well as the script for a PSA that would run in parallel, featuring pro-surfer Rob Machado. 

Zago designed some of the key touchpoints for the campaign including the physical collateral and an initial landing page where people can sign up for updates about water issues and solutions. 

I had the privilege of working with The Ecology Center over five years on a number of different efforts as the nonprofit expanded its community and strengthened its offering. Our collaboration included brand development, strategic messaging, redesign of its membership program, and strategic planning for the Food vertical.