Plans to turn London green

Trees for London is very clear about its message. Working with local community groups, the four-year-old charity wants to plant 20 000 new trees in the capital by 2001.

It therefore made sense to Graham Simmonds, who steps up from a part-time role to being full-time director on 1 August, that its identity should be equally direct. And with a high-profile promotion planned to be hosted by architect Lord Rogers in Trafalgar Square on 25 September, Simmonds is keen to see the programme expand.

‘We wanted the identity to be more representative,’ he says. ‘We’re more about enabling (local people to get trees planted). We’re aiming to beautify inner-city areas.’

He brought in Atelier Works to create a new marque that said all that and to apply it to stationery and literature. Atelier Works partner Quentin Newark says there are also likely to be posters and banners for the September event.

Newark and Atelier designer Glenn Howard came up with the idea of using a fingerprint arranged around a tower block to resemble a tree. The fingerprint indicates that people are actively involved in the programme – and signifies green fingers. The building speaks for itself.

A plus point for design buffs is that the fingerprint is that of Alan Fletcher no less, with whom Newark worked at Pentagram. Newark found it in a scrap book he’d kept for years. A neat bit of conservation.

Design: Atelier Works

Client: Trees for London