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Generate Upcycle—From sustainability brand to infrastructure platform

Generate Upcycle had a compelling story, food waste in, renewable natural gas out, but their website wasn't telling it. As the company matured toward infrastructure scale and acquisition-stage conversations, the messaging hadn't kept up. Purpose came through. Clarity didn't. They needed to explain a complex business to multiple audiences at once, each with different questions and different stakes. Working alongside marketing, copywriting, and development, we rebuilt not just the site but the underlying communication logic, turning a 12-page brand presence into a 40+ page platform built to do real business work. Visit website

CHALLENGE

  • Anaerobic digestion and RNG needed plain-language explanation, not a mission statementBroad sustainability messaging was crowding out customer-focused clarity
  • Anaerobic digestion and RNG needed plain-language explanation, not a mission statement
  • The site undersold the company's operational maturity
  • The visual system hadn't caught up to where the business was headed

MY ROLE

  • Sat in on strategy conversations, so I could turn direction into design in real time instead of waiting for a brief
  • Co-ran project management with the marketing leadFacilitated stakeholder meetings and organized input in Asana
  • Led Figma prototyping, visual direction, IA, customer flow, design system, and dev handoff
  • Helped shape messaging with the copywriter for multiple audiences

SOLUTION

  • Not a website project — a communication strategy project living on a website
  • Shift: mission-led storytelling → customer-centered clarity, without losing the environmental story
  • Rebuilt IA with clear pathways per audience
  • Scalable Figma system so content could grow without breaking
  • Real facility imagery for credibilityVisual storytelling to make anaerobic digestion legible to non-experts
  • Tight coordination across copy, design, dev, and stakeholders

IMPACT

The site that launched looks and functions like a different company — because in a lot of ways, it is one.

  • Grew from 12 pages to 40+, with each section organized around a specific audience. Customers, partners, investors, and acquisition-stage stakeholders each have a clear path in — instead of all competing for attention in the same copy.
  • Passes the trunk test. Drop a first-time visitor anywhere on the site and they can quickly understand what Generate Upcycle does, who it serves, and why the platform matters. That's not a small thing when the product involves biogas infrastructure.
  • The visual brand now matches the business.
    Facility-focused imagery, tighter information hierarchy, and a more disciplined design system send the right signals: modern infrastructure, real operational expertise, experienced leadership.
  • Complex technical concepts. Anaerobic digestion, food waste recycling, renewable natural gas — explained in language that doesn't require an engineering degree.
  • A platform that's ready for the next chapter: growth, investor visibility, and acquisition-stage conversations.

KEY TAKEAWAY

Generate Upcycle didn't need a new logo or a visual refresh. They needed a clearer way to talk about what they'd built — to the right people, in the right language, at the right moment in their growth. That's what this project was really about.

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"John has a highly collaborative approach to branding that includes ensuring the client is integrated throughout the process…patient and is always willing to refine designs to ensure the client is fully satisfied with the final product."
–Meghan Hughes, Generate Upcycle