Stewarding identity.

Stewarding one of the world's most recognized sustainability brands as it evolved across markets, audiences, and generations of the rating system.

The Challenge

Sometimes the goal is to maintain the course. Other times it's to make a splash. In this case, we needed to do both.

As LEED expanded across markets, products, and audiences, the brand needed to evolve while maintaining the trust, credibility, and recognition it had earned globally. The challenge was balancing consistency with relevance—ensuring LEED remained recognizable to existing users while reflecting changing priorities and a rapidly evolving sustainability landscape.

The LEED v5 rebrand needed to introduce a fresh expression of the brand without sacrificing the equity and trust built over decades.

My Role

I served as a steward of the LEED brand, guiding the evolution of its visual and verbal identity across multiple generations of the rating system, including LEED v4, LEED v4.1, and the LEED v5 rebrand. This included ensuring the brand was flexible enough to support a diverse global community of licensed users while remaining recognizable and consistent across markets and regions.

For the LEED v5 rebrand, I partnered with internal and external creative teams, leadership, and technical experts to ensure the new visual and verbal identity reflected the renewed energy, human-centered focus, and forward-looking vision embodied in the new rating system.

The Approach

• Conducted market research to better understand customer needs, perceptions, and motivations through customer conversations, competitive reviews, focus groups, and message testing.

• Developed positioning and messaging frameworks that translated complex technical concepts into accessible, market-facing narratives.

• Directed external creative agencies in the development of visual identity systems and brand expression frameworks.

• Created practical tools, templates, and sales resources designed around the needs of internal teams, encouraging adoption and consistent use.

• Partnered with stakeholders across the organization to align brand expression with strategic priorities, customer needs, and market realities.

The Impact

The LEED v5 rebrand provided a fresh expression of the brand that reflected evolving market priorities while maintaining continuity with the trust and recognition LEED had built globally. More broadly, this work helped ensure the brand remained relevant, recognizable, and effective across products, programs, events, and communications as the sustainability market continued to evolve.

Key Capabilities

Brand Strategy • Visual Identity • Verbal Identity • Messaging • Positioning • Brand Governance • Stakeholder Alignment