Neuage.design
CERAD stands for the Consortium for Explosives Remediation and Agricultural Development. They are an international community of specialists whose goal is to lead efforts in protecting agricultural land by providing post-conflict farm recovery and soil restoration practices. I met one of their members, Marjorie Brans, through an online volunteer/pro-bono network looking for a logo design to represent their global coalition.
Logo Design • Branding
Unfortunately, land mines are still a serious issue in the world today and not just a part of history. Around 110 million land mines are affecting 70 countries causing almost 6,000 casualties each year. Traditional explosive ordinance disposal efforts can harm the earth further, but it’s with CERAD’s focus that people are implementing healthier demining practices.
After meeting with Marjorie to put together a creative brief outlining who CERAD is, how they operate, and what they want to achieve, I began my typical design process by sketching. I exhausted ideas that seemed too obvious or literal to me for an effective logo, but then I had a breakthrough that was needed.
I asked myself “Could there be a symbol that shows the opposite of what an explosive is?” Ultimately, what CERAD does is initiate the careful removal of explosives from the earth to begin the soil rehabilitation process, so I took the internationally recognized symbol for explosives and created its antithesis to be used as a global, restorative insignia.
Once I had three solid logo ideas, I presented them to Marjorie who then shared it with the rest of CERAD’s members for their input. Initially, most of us agreed on a different idea than the final you see here, but one of the members mentioned that the logo looked like something that might be a bit inappropriate for this project (It was one of those times where if one person mentions it, now everyone else sees it and can’t unsee it).
Thankfully, with a few minor adjustments to the other idea, it evolved into the final logo you see here. I expanded it into different formats, built the brand out through the colour palette, typographic style, and application examples to inspire the members and show what the identity can grow into. Lastly, I myself have become part of the CERAD team where we are regularly working together to meet their goals for a better world in areas affected by war.
Client • CERAD (Consortium for Explosives Remediation and Agricultural Development)
Date • September 2024
Photography • Summer Steenberg
