Terra Firma Rainwater Collective

Fabrik revamped Terra Firma Rainwater Collective’s brand story and visual identity, highlighting the organization’s innovative solution for managing urban flooding. The new communications emphasize the importance of the water cycle and encourage donors to help drive positive change.

Starting Point

Terra Firma Rainwater Collective addresses challenges in urbanizing cities where heavy rains in monsoon climates cause severe flooding. Terra Firma is a nonprofit American organization.

The challenge has been to clearly communicate Terra Firma’s work and its impact, as the effects are far-reaching and the solution has numerous positive ripple effects.

What makes Terra Firma unique is its ingenious invention: a mounting hook that allows gutters to be installed directly onto a corrugated metal roof. Previously, communication had focused on presenting this technically ingenious solution in an engineering-oriented manner. Now, the goal was to reach a broader audience. The goal was to tell the story in an inspiring and professional way to potential donors—family-owned companies, foundations, and individual donors—so that they would feel they were part of the solution to the problem.

Solutions

For Terra Firma, water is both a problem and a solution. The communication campaign centered on the root cause of the problem: the disruption of the water cycle. In the target countries, the natural water cycle is disrupted when large areas of water-absorbing soil are covered by buildings. Terra Firma has a solution that enables a new kind of water cycle—one that supports the conditions necessary for life—in an increasingly urbanized environment.

In our solution, Terra Firma’s visual identity and presentation materials were revamped to better support the organization’s operations and expertise. The refined visual identity, presentation materials, and animated video tell the story concisely.

The story revolves around impact. The materials not only describe the problem and the solution, but also the far-reaching chain of positive impacts; understanding this gives new meaning to supporting Terra Firma’s work and inspires donors to want to be part of the solution.

The story was also incorporated into Terra Firma’s brand identity

The company’s long name was arranged across three lines in the logo, so that each word describing the company’s work is meaningfully highlighted. The logo was accompanied by a symbol that is both strikingly symbolic and concrete. The frame surrounding the water droplet represents a water tank into which water collects from the roof. The upper part of the symbol is a wavy line that represents both the water’s surface and the profile of a metal roof. At the heart of it all is water, circulating in a new cycle that benefits people, homes, and the urban environment.

The visual storytelling needs were addressed by combining striking, authentic photographs with a simple, more technical illustration style. The real locations and the presence of people in the photographs add warmth and impact. The chosen informative illustration style brings clarity to the presentation of technical solutions and their ripple effects.

We can’t control the rain, but we can channel it to benefit people and the place they call home.

“Since we weren’t familiar with the world of marketing, we didn’t know what to expect, but we were very excited to learn and watch the process unfold into a logo, a video, and clear, concise language. We really appreciated Fabrik’s responsiveness, attention to detail, and collaborative approach. Thank you! “

Mark Weinhold, President , Terra Firma Water Collective

Terra Firma Rainwater Collective was selected as a Fabrik Pro Bono partner in the fall 2023 call for applications.
As a B Corp-certified , we allocate 3% of our annual revenue to initiatives where we use our professional expertise to create positive and measurable impact. Read more here.