Emirates Nature - WWF

In Design classes at NYUAD, students always have the opportunity to work on real briefs whose products go out in the real world. The 'Yes, Logo' class of Fall 2016 also had the chance to do the same; this time, they are tasked to lead the rebrand for Emirates Nature-WWF — the UAE branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature. Throughout the semester, 11 students in the class worked together like a design agency to develop a new logo and visual identity for Emirates Nature-WWF.

In an effort to increase the brand's visibility and influence in the region, Emirates Nature-WWF hoped to better capture in its identity the UAE's natural heritage: the fragile roots of the mangroves, the depth of the rocky wadis, and the country’s azure waters. As recalled by Reine Defranco, one of the students who designed the chosen proposal, at the start of the project, the class divided themselves into 4 groups, each investigating one particular aspect of nature as an inspiration for the logo. Reine's group looked into the environment. She made sketches of various natural landscapes in the UAE, in including the mangrove, the Wadi, sand dunes, etc. Particularly the Wadi landscape sparked an analogy to a fingerprint, which in turn led the team to come up with the design called "the Wadi Imprint."

The Wadi Imprint was the chosen proposal among 3 other proposals from the class. According to one of the students, Abda Kazemi, "the Wadi imprint focuses on two key elements: the mangroves and wadis as examples of the natural ecosystem of the UAE and a human fingerprint to demonstrate that the power is in our hands to make an environmental difference."
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From the students' logo design, the visual identity for Emirates Nature-WWF was developed for another 2 years and finally unveiled to the public in September 2018. The logo was awarded Silver Medal at the Wolda Worldwide Logo Design Award 2018.

Our new brand reflects the late Sheikh Zayed’s environmental legacy and is symbolic of the mark that we, as a society, have left on the environment, and the responsibility that we have to protect it. The new visual identity features a distinctive thumbprint brand mark that encapsulates the organisation’s Emirati heritage and its deep connection to the nation, its people and, of course the environment. As part of our commitment to partnerships and youth engagement, the creative rebrand came to fruition through a collaboration with students and faculty of NYU Abu Dhabi, whom we thank for their contribution."  –  Laila Mostafa Abdullatif, Director General of Emirates Nature in association with WWF.

“The work that our students have produced is truly inspiring; it is always exciting to see them demonstrating their extraordinary potential. They were given a challenging brief and they executed it beyond expectations. We look forward to an enduring and sustained partnership with Emirates Nature-WWF.”  – Professor of the Yes Logo Class - NYU Abu Dhabi Assistant Professor of Practice of Visual Arts Goffredo Puccetti