The situation
In 2014, Bristol was named the UK’s first European Green Capital – a huge opportunity with enormous pressure. Against UK-wide competition, we were commissioned to create a unifying campaign identity for Bristol 2015 that could work everywhere: government buildings, school corridors, corporate boardrooms, and across the city. The brief was clear: inspire 500,000+ citizens to embrace sustainability through a brand that could be used by everyone from businesses to schoolchildren.
The Superhelpful moment
After developing the early identity approach and strategy, we accompanied our client to present to the Mayor for final sign-off — an hour was scheduled. The Mayor didn’t sit down. 45 minutes later, we had approval.
Then came the moment that changed everything:
rather than commission a separate citywide identity system — which would take years, significant budget, and endless committee time —could this campaign brand become our city’s permanent identity infrastructure? We hadn’t anticipated this ask in our initial presentation. But the way we’d approached the work — modular, open-source, sophisticated enough for formal use yet accessible enough for grassroots adoption — meant we’d built something that could grow beyond the brief. What started as a year-long campaign became the foundation for how an entire city communicates.
The work and evolution
Over 16 months of intensive city activation, the ‘Do15’ brand system became an open-source toolkit used by thousands. From Shaun the Sheep to City Council business units, the identity adapted across every context: green train and bus wraps, citywide billboard campaigns, business collateral, school programs, and community activation. The visual language we created — rooted in optimism, ownership, and collective action — gave Bristol a voice for sustainability that belonged to everyone.
The impact
45-minute mayoral approval from a scheduled 1-hour meeting
16 months of citywide activation across 500,000+ citizens
10+ years of continuous use across multiple city business units (ongoing)
Thousands of adopters: businesses, schools, community groups, cultural institutions
Zero additional cost to Bristol for a full civic identity system (avoided multi-year procurement)
Campaign evolved into infrastructure: from 2015 activation to permanent city brand architecture
The ‘Do15’ call-to-action became a citywide rallying cry, embedding green innovation in to Bristol’s identity
What this reveals about how we work
We didn’t just answer the brief — we said yes to the bigger challenge. Even when it meant more work, a harder brief, and higher stakes. By building with modularity and longevity in mind from the start, we gave Bristol a tool that grew with them, saving years of work and creating a brand system that still unifies a city a decade later.
That’s what superhelpful looks like to us.
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