In 2008 Greenpeace launched a campaign opposing the construction of a third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport. A major element of their protest involved the clandestine purchase of land within the airport’s proposed expansion zone and then inviting Greenpeace supporters to become beneficial owners of this property. The project was named Airplot.

Under strict terms of non-disclosure, Greenpeace approached Airside to develop an identity for Airplot. Once the project went public, Greenpeace would need to attract support for their cause as well as defend itself against detractors. It would unquestionably be a highly controversial and fast moving news story, so instant communication of the principal idea was paramount.

Airside’s main concern was to create a logo for Airplot that would directly communicate the campaign’s central strategy. Airplot does not fall into the tradition of confrontational protest that you would associate with Greenpeace so the logo would also need to reflect this more cerebral approach.

Acknowledging that land was central to the protest, Airside created an identity based on the colours and shapes synonymous with the rural fields Airplot seeked to occupy. Abstracting the iconic imagery of patchwork fields viewed from the air, we developed the Airplot typeface: an alphabet of letters and blocks consisting of three weights (thin, medium and thick), which were hand-printed onto paper and scanned back into the computer.

The typeface was then used to compose blocks of type that blended together to look like patchwork fields, thus creating a graphic language that can communicate Airplot’s messages and appeals. By being instantly linked to the Airplot identity, the typeface allows for fluid and consistent transmission of new information as the protest develops.

Over 20,000 people signed up in support of Airplot in the first 48 hours following its public announcement. That number reached 40,000 over the following month, while the project received widespread media coverage in the UK and abroad.

1 x Modular logo system
1 x Typeface (consisting of 3 weights, Airplot Thick, Medium and Thin)
Identity assets (T-shirt design, online advertising)

"Working with our mates at Airside was totally logical for the Airplot identity, as their design process is absolutely amazing. They provided a lot of the obvious logo choices at an early stage, which we discounted and refined to the finished article – a bona fide modular branding system I believe! Airside were also very accommodating in allowing us to take over their meeting room after our weekly design check in so that we could have our weekly comms meeting and at one point I think we broke the Airside office record for most people in the room. Design by committee? You betcha!"

Paul Earnshaw, Greenpeace

Learn more about the process involved in creating this identity on our blog.