Nejčr is a Czech word that means “the best”, and is pronounced like “nature” in English. Nejčr researches, tests and reviews products and services to make sure their sustainability and responsibility claims are valid and true. They provide a service to consumers who want to live more sustainably but do not have the time to find and research products themselves.  Nejčr was founded by a group young people to further the cause of sustainability and help counteract the cynicism brought on by “greenwashing”—companies pretending to be eco-friendly or sustainable when they are not.

Brief

To design a cool and attractive web portal to present reviews of, and links to, products and services that Nejčr has researched, tested and verified to be sustainable and responsible in an inviting way.

Problem to be solved

Many conscientious people who want to live more sustainably are strapped for time and often experience cognitive overload in their daily lives, so the design needed to be simple, intuitive, and be easy on stressed eyes that have already been staring at screens much of the day.  Furthermore, we needed a new visual language for sustainability that was not composed of the tired green leaf or windmill clichés. And because environmentally friendly causes tend to be so heavily serious and dark, it need to be light, fun, and inviting.

Our solution

To make our design inviting, light and fun, we opted for a cartoon style, with undigital drawings and simple line art that is human and inclusive, surrounded with lots of softly-coloured space. To make it easier on the eyes we chose a pallet of solid soft colors from the 2018 Pantone color guide. We used the fun KG Summer Sunshine Blackout font on a comic book speech bubble.  Other speech bubbles have only essential text in Summer Storm Smooth font, such as “Nejčr is not dead” to highlight the purpose they share with their users.

Sustainability

The whole Nejčr project is in support of, and promotes, the sustainability business model by helping customers find verified sustainable products and services, and in turn motivates businesses to be more responsible and transparent.

Client relationship

Like with many of our clients, in this project, we shared a similar higher purpose, which made working together and making decisions smoother than with other clients where ego and profit alone often guide the decision making.