About the project

Generation Carbon is an Italian nonprofit climate-education initiative founded by members of the Italian team behind The Carbon Almanac, the Seth Godin-led international bestseller published by Penguin. I was part of the founding group and created the visual identity that helped the project grow from an early volunteer initiative into a national school campaign.

Designing for children without looking childish

Generation Carbon had to communicate climate change to children and teenagers without oversimplifying the subject—or creating something that felt like conventional educational material.

At the same time, the identity needed enough authority to work with schools, teachers, institutions and potential partners.

The visual system grew around the monarch butterfly, a species strongly associated with the effects of climate change and a natural symbol of transformation. I simplified its form into a bold icon that could also read almost like a flame, introducing a second idea: urgency.

A blocky, organic typeface kept the identity approachable, while deep orange and dark green gave it energy without losing its connection to the natural world. The result was designed to work equally well on educational materials, digital content and communications aimed at adults.

From an identity to a national education program

The organization quickly grew beyond its volunteer origins.

For the 2023–24 school year, Generation Carbon and Sorgenia launched the first national educational campaign in primary schools across Italy. The program was built around climate education materials for children and supported by classroom activities, educational resources and partnerships. Contemporary reporting described a program spanning roughly 1,000 classes nationwide, with a target of 25,000 students; Sorgenia later reported that the first-year target had been met.

The following year, the campaign expanded again. It added lower-secondary schools and grew to 1,500 classes—1,250 primary and 250 secondary—with an estimated 33,000 students aged 7 to 14 participating across Italy.

The initiative also received the patronage of Italy’s Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, while Sorgenia became an important corporate partner in taking the program into schools nationally.

When the design becomes part of the story

The identity itself eventually became part of the public coverage of Generation Carbon.

In a 2025 feature on the campaign, TGCOM24 specifically highlighted the visual identity as one of the project’s distinctive elements, crediting its simplicity, immediacy and inclusiveness with helping make complex climate concepts more accessible to a young audience.

That is unusually direct third-party validation for design work: not simply coverage showing that the identity existed, but recognition of the role it played in how the educational program communicated.

Results

What began as a volunteer initiative grew into a nationwide educational campaign supported by a major Italian energy company and operating under the patronage of a national ministry. By the 2024–25 school year, Generation Carbon had expanded to 1,500 classes and an estimated 33,000 students across Italy.

My role was to create the identity that gave that work a recognizable public face—one designed from the beginning to connect with young people while remaining credible with the institutions and partners needed to bring the program into schools.