AusBee Certified

The brief for this task was to design a concept for raising awareness for an aspect of social impact, and then build a design system to deliver it effectively. It had to address one of the following problems: health, environmental, political, social, humanitarian or human rights issues. The purpose of the task was to demonstrate how graphic design can be applied to inform, educate, publicise, mobilise, act and aid.

AusBee Certified is a certification mark and set of standards that exist with the aim of supporting and improving the livelihoods of Australian Bees and other necessary pollinators. As a brand, AusBee is dedicated to making companies who rely on Bees for pollination of flowers and crops, as well as for making hive-based products like honey and comb, accountable for the survival of the pollinators they so rely on. Bees are dying at the highest rate in history, and we as a species and as a planet cannot afford to lose them and all of the natural processes that they perform. AusBee exists to generate awareness among consumers about the issues related to Bee survival, and the need to purchase products that support their existence and allow their populations to grow. Everything from the superflat illustrations to the colour palette and the selective word choice in the copy reflect that AusBee uses positive and uplifting designs to reach a solution, rather than by using design that reflects negative messaging. This decision was made to give the brand a much more warm, friendly and approachable perception to viewers of all ages and backgrounds, using universally accepted colours and illustration designs that directly relate to Bees.

The full brand guidelines are available in the image gallery below. A basic website prototype was also created to show off the brand in an interactive sense. It can be accessed here.