Aruba Conservation Foundation

Aruba National Park Foundation (now the Aruba Conservation Foundation) is the appointed nature conservation organization on Aruba, tasked with protecting over 24% of the island’s natural habitat, both terrestrial and marine. We partnered with the ACF to create a new brand capable of rallying local support for Aruba’s diverse ecosystem, biodiversity and natural heritage including caves, wetlands, mangroves, dunes and the flora and fauna that inhabit these protected sites.

The Was

The Aruba Conservation Foundation is Aruba’s officially appointed organization for island-wide biodiversity and ecological resilience. In addition to these responsibilities, the ACF leads nature-based transformational experiences such as guided hikes and corporate events as well as outdoor educational programs. Yet, in what came as a surprise to our team during our strategy workshop, the ACF wasn’t seeking a new brand to increase foot traffic to the island or bolster the tourism economy, but to simply rally local pride, support and action for preserving nature. 

Practically speaking, this meant reframing their brand from what many believed was a park management organisation to a true conservation authority. This started with a new name, but set the stage for a deeper transformation throughout the brand’s visual and verbal identity. 

The How

Given the sincerity of their objective, we positioned the ACF as Aruba’s Voice of Nature: an organisation speaking up for the interests of local ecosystems and reminding locals of their ties with the land. By framing the brand’s role as a spokesperson for overlooked species and ecosystems, we needed to communicate the sincerity of ACF's intentions to Aruban communities and prompt them to remember their oneness with the natural world. 

This metaphor also laid the groundwork for our visual identity, which showcases humanity’s spiritual connection to nature in its logo while drawing on iconography to bring focus to specific species and ecosystems. A complex color palette designed to match the different geographical areas of the National Park - dunes, marshes, the ocean and scrubland - was developed; alongside a modular illustration system where plants and animals are able to ‘grow’ to fit whatever size of layout they need.  

The logo combined the themes of land, sea and collective action in a marque that is strong and bold. 

The brand that results is all about translating the needs of nature into tangible action by using a compassionate authority that the ACF can own for years to come.