Carleton College Thermal Energy System Illustrations

Humbleweed worked closely with Carleton staff and project engineers to create accurate and visually simplified illustrations of Carleton’s low-temperature district energy system. Through the design process and conversations, the team realized an important element of the story was missing. People needed to understand why the system was so much more efficient, not just how it worked. The final series of illustrations was woven into a larger narrative explaining how the new heat pump and geothermal system were able to capture, recirculate, and store excess heat in the ground instead of releasing it as waste energy. By closing the energy loop, Carleton has met 70% of its annual heating and cooling energy while using boilers and chillers only on the coldest and hottest days of the year.

“It’s incredibly difficult to boil down complex engineering concepts into illustrations that work for a general audience. Humbleweed worked with us to achieve just the right balance of technical correctness with a pleasing, digestible graphic language.”Martha LarsonManager of Campus Energy and Sustainability, Carleton College

ClientCarleton CollegeServicescreative direction, graphic design, illustration, systems thinking