Bringing energy renovation to life: a designer’s perspective
On a late afternoon, a faint glow stretched across my desk, casting soft edges on the papers spread before me—guidelines, drafts, color swatches. A quiet hum of determination settled in the air, the kind that comes when a project is more than just work, when it carries the weight of something larger.
Citizen-led renovation was one of those projects.
Launched by the European Commission in April 2023, it stood as an ambitious yet necessary initiative, a commitment to placing energy renovation into the hands of communities themselves. The goal was clear: empower citizens to take charge of energy-saving renovations, to make homes and neighborhoods more efficient, more sustainable.
From Ireland to Portugal, Belgium to Bulgaria, four pilot projects were chosen—four communities navigating the complexity of renovation, finding ways through financial and technical barriers, building towards something future-proof.
For me, my role lay in shaping how it looked, how it felt. The challenge of designing a visual identity for Citizen-Led Renovation was one of both precision and flexibility—strict European Commission branding guidelines on one side, the need for something dynamic and engaging on the other. It required a kind of quiet negotiation, finding the balance between structure and creativity, between function and inspiration.
There were factsheets, each one carrying the story of a different pilot country, detailing policies, incentives, the state of play for energy renovations. Reports, presentations, templates—all designed to be both visually appealing and deeply practical. I wanted these materials to feel like tools, easy to use, easy to share, yet cohesive and recognizable. There was an elegance in clarity, in ensuring that these communities had access to materials that made their work more seamless.
The process of creation was deeply collaborative, a weaving together of input from experts, researchers, and local partners. Conversations turned into drafts, drafts into final designs. My work became part of a larger whole, embedded in something built to last, built to be used.
Looking back, it was a privilege. A privilege to lend my skills to something that mattered, to be trusted with translating policy into visuals, information into clarity.
It is a rare thing to work on a project that feels both deeply practical and quietly revolutionary. Citizen-led renovation was exactly that. And as I step away, letting the work live and breathe in the hands of the communities it was meant for, I feel the quiet satisfaction of knowing it will continue—guiding, informing, shaping the future, one renovation at a time.
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