How businesses and brands talk about sustainability has become well-developed and well-versed over the past decade. However, the way businesses and brands use design and imagery to capture their vision is still fraught with clichéd images that do little to properly tell their sustainability story.
Recently, a colleague told me that he was “sick of seeing pictures of wind turbines”. This off-the-cuff comment no doubt reflects what we all think when confronted with generic images that have been used to fill a picture box on a piece of communication. And today, it’s so easy to click on a stock photography website and download the first ‘green’ image that represents sustainability, climate change, ESG etc. And because it’s so easy, I suspect it makes us all very lazy and prevents us from thinking about this issue more thoughtfully.
The challenge is, audiences are, on the whole, a sophisticated bunch – and sustainability is often a very complex story. So if we plaster our communications with generic images that do nothing to truly aid what’s being said, then audiences will see right through it, probably glaze over a little and won’t take you very seriously. Also, your audiences are probably seeing a lot of communications on this subject, so it’s important that yours stands out and grabs attention.
Sustainability is ultimately all about how we meet our own needs on this planet without damaging the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Tied into that are the huge ramifications for social equity and economic development. This is about our people and our planet, so the images we use deserve to reflect the seriousness of some of the issues we and our planet face – a picture of a tree in a cupped hand just doesn’t cut it anymore. It’s time to get serious.
So, with this mind, here are a few tips to help you develop a consistent and authentic visual approach for your sustainability communications that will help you stand out.
It’s time to rise above the mediocre and think differently about you visualise your sustainability story – this is serious stuff… so that picture of the lightbulb dipped in green paint or those multiple hands holding up a miniature earth surrounded by green trees: are they truly representing the story you are telling? I suspect not, so now is the moment to ask your creative team to kill the clichés and to think deeper and harder.
The term ‘authentic’ is a bit of a buzzword that gets thrown around an awful lot when discussing photography and brand. It’s easy to say “make it authentic”, but unless you have an image library full of real images to show your topics, then it’s a pretty tough task.
At least try to make your visual concepts feel real and relevant, not false and unattainable. Show people and places that your audience can relate to, use examples that make the subject matter tangible. But, I hear you say: “I have to use stock imagery, how is that authentic?”
Ultimately, this is about working harder with the photographic resources you have available; search for imagery that does a better job of representing your subject matter. It may not be truly authentic, but searching for imagery that supports a story rather than denigrates it will help.
Earlier I referred to the prolific use of wind turbines, and there will be occasions that the use of a wind turbine picture will be absolutely spot on, for example an energy business.
However, a couple of different angles would be to either show the benefits to society that this wind turbine provides – like providing energy for communities as well as reducing power generation from fossil fuels, which results in lower air pollution and therefore a healthier society – or show the people behind the wind turbines, the technicians and engineers who make the product.
And what about thinking about how you use your imagery? Could you treat imagery in a way that makes it ownable to you? Could you use beautiful aerial imagery or close-up/micro imagery to help support whatever topics you’re communicating?
Depending on your brand, there are various creative ways that you can use imagery, but it’s important that it helps to support a story, to provide colour and context and not just fill a space. Otherwise, it’s a chance missed to really connect with your audiences.
Many businesses have a strict brand style which steers the use of their visual brand, with rules and guidance that apply to the type and style of imagery you can use.
Brands are created to be distinctive, to separate what you do from your peers and competitors, and to provide visual consistency across all touchpoints.
This also applies to how you communicate sustainability; if you go off on a tangent this will reduce your brand’s power and effectiveness.
Therefore, always check that whatever visual medium you use for sustainability communications, it adheres to your brand style. And if there isn’t a style guide, perhaps now’s the time to take the lead and create one.
Truth is, finding an authentic image that ticks all the topic/location boxes is a difficult thing to do.
Therefore, if your brand allows it, think about other visual mediums such as powerful messages and words set in a way that makes your audience think and results in a more powerful emotional reaction.
Perhaps consider illustration. Often, commissioned illustration can be just as powerful as imagery, and used to show things that photography simply can’t. Illustration can also be used when you want to grab attention and stand out in a crowd. It’s common for illustrators to bring a different perspective and visual style to an image.
Find your style. Put the clichés in the bin and discover a consistent visual style that you can own – there is no reason that how you visualise sustainability should play second-fiddle to your other communications.
Traditionally, portraying sustainability issues has been mired in tired, well-trodden imagery territories. It’s now time to for a new approach and to treat sustainability with all the seriousness it deserves.
