Reforesting Iceland — Ran Benazra

Index

Ran Benazra (b. 1990), a multidisciplinary designer and a creative director, focused on visual systems and motion design.

For project inquiries and more information, get in touch at ranbenazra@gmail.com

More info

01
02
03
04
05
06

Say Something About The Sea
ARC
MCA - Carmen Herrera
Moments of Calm
The Brewery
Reforesting Iceland

2024
2024
2024
2023
2020-2023
2022

Creative Direction - Identity - Motion Design - Web

2022

Reforesting Iceland

Tasked with evolving a critical municipal initiative into an international movement. Our challenge was to design a credible, optimistic, and shareable brand system that would transform a distant ecological concern into an accessible public cause. The solution paired scientific integrity with an engaging and personality-driven voice.

Challenges

After decades of ecosystem degradation, Iceland had lost the majority of its woodlands to climate, overgrazing, and human impact. Reforestation is urgent, but campaign messaging often risks being too technical or too sentimental, hindering public engagement.
The core challenge was to design a brand that balanced scientific credibility with approachability, transforming a municipal task into an accessible movement.

Creative Vision

We developed a brand identity and voice to carry the weight of scientific urgency while remaining warm, cheeky, and hopeful.

Visually, the system draws inspiration from Iceland's natural palette: moss greens, volcanic blacks, and seasonal flora accents.

Narratively, we grounded the tone in real science and local stories, framed always with optimism. We used a simple, direct, and cheeky voice to make ecological science approachable through strategic wordplay.

System Snapshot

When the project began, Reforesting Iceland was brandless: a municipal initiative defined by its mission but lacking a system or voice.

We built a compact, adaptable visual system. The identity uses a single typeface, OUTFIT, with weight shifts defining hierarchy and tone. Iconography is minimal and functional, while motion favors soft, purposeful cues, prioritizing clarity over flair.

In The Feed

We strategically shaped the identity for digital-native audiences, prioritizing the social feed environment. On social feeds, the visuals spark curiosity, the voice feels alive, and the mission transforms from a distant ecological issue into an inviting public movement.

Change In Action

Since the campaign’s launch, the initiative has successfully mobilized its audience, resulting in hosting six planting events with over 450 volunteers, planting 4,800 trees across 12 hectares of reclaimed land, driving a 48% rise in international sign-ups, and visuals reaching beyond 230K views worldwide.

Credits

Client

Production

Strategy

Voice and Copy

Illustrations and Maps

Photography

Reforesting Iceland, Ásahreppur municipality

Hrafn Einarsson

Guðmundur Sveinsson

James Holloway, María Kristinsdóttir

Náttúrufræðistofnun - Natural Science Institute of Iceland

Ran Benazra