Operation Cooldown
Print Design
Product Design
Illustration
Branding
Project Summary
The Global Carbon Project estimated that global carbon emissions exceeded 37 gigatons in 2023 with billions more to be released in 2024. At this rate, the planet could reach the point of no return as early as 2045. So, how can we use design to teach young people about climate change?
Educate 'em young! However, climate education in the United States is severely lacking, that’s where Operation Cooldown comes in. Through the use of a card game, Operation Cooldown aims to create a fun and collaborative environment for players 9 years old and up to learn and discuss climate solutions. Learning about and changing the world for the better doesn’t have to be scary!
Phase 1
Initially, Operation Cooldown started as a game where players reduced greenhouse emissions on fictional planets. Another early version centered around each player trying to reduce the individual carbon footprint of a fictional person. Both games were clunky at best and didn’t see much development beyond initial sketches.
While these concepts were interesting, they were lacking the importance of location. The impact of solutions can vary from region to region as emphasized in my interview with Dr. Jeff Mullen. Location specificity is extremely important when thinking about climate solutions and the lack of that element in this version was a major blind spot in the game.
Phase 2
In a newer version of the game, players were given money to invest in solutions throughout the five regions of the United States. These solution cards give them points towards a certain category, such as energy or transportation. Some cards could only be played in certain regions. The points on the cards accumulate every round so there is an advantage to playing cards that earn you high scoring points early on. Players are given $100 at the beginning of every round and can play as many cards as they want to if they have the money.
While this concept would go on to become the backbone of the final card game, playtesting revealed huge errors that needed to be solved as soon as possible. The lack of clear instructions, too much text, and an unclear scoring system were some of the biggest problems.
Final Version
The previous stages focused primarily on playtesting and testing the basic game mechanics. After some adjustments, the game was now far more playable and enjoyable.
So now that the nitty gritty part was out of the way, I could focus on the actual visual look of the game. The third and final version brings new typefaces, a distinct card and illustration style, climate tokens, a play mat, a score sheet, clear instructions, and a more balanced scoring and money system.
Typeface
Geologica was chosen because it has the rounded forms of a typeface that are more common in kids media, while still feeling clean and modern. The large variety of fonts also made it very versatile. The medium and black fonts primarily used on the card and packaging design.
Geologica
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
1234567890
!@#$%^&*()<>?”:
Thin, ExtraLight, Light, Regular, Medium,
SemiBold, Bold, ExtraBold, Black
Illustration Style
Illustrations were drawn to print size in Procreate. The halftone was created using the “Shader - Dot 2 / 45 ° / Light” brush from True Grit Texture Supply. Primary colors and shapes were used to define the 3 characters illustrated throughout the cards. The bright colors and distinct art style helped to set the tone of the game.
Box
The box was designed and built from scratch to perfectly fit all the elements of the game including cards, tokens, playing mat, and instruction manual.
Cards
The final card design includes gameplay elements across the top of the card with the illustration in the middle and the title and description at the bottom. The back of the cards indicated the card's category including Building, Energy, Industry, Land, Transit, Multiplier, and Chaos.
Illustrations
Every card features a custom illustration depicting the different climate solutions players could play. Illustrations often include three shape characters that show up throughout the deck.
Game Mat and Climate Tokens
The new game mat features five regions of the United States (not including Alaska or Hawaii) where the solution cards can be played, as well as areas to place your chaos card and your climate tokens.
Climate tokens are earned at the beginning of each round and can be used to play solution cards. Size and color help to differentiate their value.
Score Sheet
Score sheets are used to keep track of the amount of points at the end of each round. There is a normal and hard difficulty with corresponding score sheets.
Process Book
To learn more, please check out this in-depth research and design process book created for the Lamar Dodd School of Art exit show.