The Nature Conservancy

Forest green buttons, a serif and sans pairing, and a floating white story card.

Nonprofitlight themeCaptured 2026-10-06www.nature.org
The Nature Conservancy homepage at 1440x900, captured 2026-10-06
www.nature.org at 1440x900Screenshot 2026-10-06
Overview

The Nature Conservancy uses a white page, #1a1a1a ink and one deep #00703c green for donate and outline buttons, all square cornered. Whitney sets 40px bold headlines and 18px body, while Chronicle, a serif, takes the 30 to 34px section headings. A white card overlaps the full-bleed photo, edged with a green rule along its base.

Do
  • Keep every button square cornered in one deep green.
  • Pair a sturdy sans for headlines and body with a book serif for section heads.
  • Overlap a white card onto the hero photo to carry the main message.
Avoid
  • Round the buttons: the page uses no radius except tiny pills.
  • Use a bright lime: the green is deep and earthy.
  • Set navigation in sentence case; nav labels run bold uppercase.
Colors

Color roles

Background#ffffff

The page ground

Surface#1a1a1a

Raised panels, bands and cards

Text#1a1a1a

Primary ink, 17.4:1 on the background

Accent#00703c

Primary actions

Highlight#42632d

Brand color in artwork, marks and badges

Border#00703c

Hairlines and dividers

Typography

Type

Whitney Adisplay and body, 67.5% of the text

Use Source Sans 3. Whitney is a paid typeface. Source Sans 3 is a free stand-in, not a match.

Chronicle Text G2 Adisplay and body, 32.5% of the text

Use Libre Caslon Text. Chronicle Text is a paid typeface. Libre Caslon Text is a free stand-in, not a match.

Display
40px / 700
lh 1.2 / 0
Systems that ship
Heading
34px / 600
lh 1.24 / 0
Hierarchy at a glance
Subheading
30px / 700
lh 1.4 / 0
A quieter supporting head
Body
18px / 400
lh 1.56 / 0
Body copy carries the explanation, so it has to stay readable at length on every screen.
Small
16px / 400
lh 1.75 / 0
Labels, captions and metadata

Sizes in use: 40px / 34px / 32px / 30px / 24px / 18px / 16px / 14px / 13px

Spacing

Spacing

No single base unit: these are the values the page repeats.

10px
14px
20px
30px
50px
60px
80px
Shape

Corners and depth

pill (9999px)
shadow 1
shadow 2
Components

Buttons and cards

Rebuilt here from the measured values, not copied from the site's code.

DONATERENEW
Card titleA card in this system, rebuilt from its measured fill, border, corner and shadow.
DESIGN.md

Hand this to your AI coding tool

Drop it in your repo as DESIGN.md and point Claude Code, Cursor or Codex at it before you ask for a page.

# The Nature Conservancy design system

> Captured from https://www.nature.org/en-us/ on 2026-10-06 by Brooks New Media (https://design.brooksnewmedia.com/styles/the-nature-conservancy/). An independent analysis for reference: The Nature Conservancy and its marks belong to their owner. Learn from the system; don't copy the brand.

## Overview

The Nature Conservancy uses a white page, #1a1a1a ink and one deep #00703c green for donate and outline buttons, all square cornered. Whitney sets 40px bold headlines and 18px body, while Chronicle, a serif, takes the 30 to 34px section headings. A white card overlaps the full-bleed photo, edged with a green rule along its base.

- Theme: light
- Mood: green, conservation, serif and sans, square buttons, photo-led
- Category: Nonprofit

## Colors

| Role | Hex | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Background | `#ffffff` | The page ground |
| Surface | `#1a1a1a` | Raised panels, bands and cards |
| Text | `#1a1a1a` | Primary ink, 17.4:1 on the background |
| Accent | `#00703c` | Primary actions |
| Highlight | `#42632d` | Brand color in artwork, marks and badges |
| Border | `#00703c` | Hairlines and dividers |

Full palette, most used first: `#ffffff`, `#1a1a1a`, `#5e5e5e`, `#00703c`, `#42632d`, `#cdcdcd`, `#f8f8f8`.

## Typography

- **Whitney A**: display and body, 67.5% of the text. Use Source Sans 3. Whitney is a paid typeface. Source Sans 3 is a free stand-in, not a match.
- **Chronicle Text G2 A**: display and body, 32.5% of the text. Use Libre Caslon Text. Chronicle Text is a paid typeface. Libre Caslon Text is a free stand-in, not a match.

| Role | Family | Size | Weight | Line height | Tracking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | Whitney A | 40px | 700 | 1.2 | 0 |
| Heading | Chronicle Text G2 A | 34px | 600 | 1.24 | 0 |
| Subheading | Chronicle Text G2 A | 30px | 700 | 1.4 | 0 |
| Body | Whitney A | 18px | 400 | 1.56 | 0 |
| Small | Whitney A | 16px | 400 | 1.75 | 0 |

Sizes in use, largest first: 40px, 34px, 32px, 30px, 24px, 18px, 16px, 14px, 13px.

## Spacing

No single base unit: the values below are what the page repeats.
Values in use: 10px, 14px, 20px, 30px, 50px, 60px, 80px.

## Shape

Corner radii, smallest first: pill (9999px).

Shadows, most used first:

- `rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 4px 8px 0px`
- `rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 25px 0px`

## Components

### Primary button ("DONATE")

- Fill: #00703c
- Text: #ffffff, 14px at weight 700
- Border: none
- Corner: 0px
- Height: 40px, padding 10px 30px

### Secondary button ("RENEW")

- Fill: #ffffff
- Text: #00703c, 14px at weight 700
- Border: 1px solid #949494
- Corner: 0px
- Height: 40px, padding 10px 30px

### Card

- Fill: #ffffff
- Border: none
- Corner: 5px
- Shadow: `rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 25px 0px`

## Do

- Keep every button square cornered in one deep green.
- Pair a sturdy sans for headlines and body with a book serif for section heads.
- Overlap a white card onto the hero photo to carry the main message.

## Don't

- Round the buttons: the page uses no radius except tiny pills.
- Use a bright lime: the green is deep and earthy.
- Set navigation in sentence case; nav labels run bold uppercase.

## CSS variables

```css
:root {
  --color-background: #ffffff;
  --color-surface: #1a1a1a;
  --color-text: #1a1a1a;
  --color-accent: #00703c;
  --color-highlight: #42632d;
  --color-border: #00703c;
  --font-display: "Whitney A", system-ui, sans-serif;
  --text-display: 40px;
  --weight-display: 700;
  --font-heading: "Chronicle Text G2 A", system-ui, sans-serif;
  --text-heading: 34px;
  --weight-heading: 600;
  --font-subheading: "Chronicle Text G2 A", system-ui, sans-serif;
  --text-subheading: 30px;
  --weight-subheading: 700;
  --font-body: "Whitney A", system-ui, sans-serif;
  --text-body: 18px;
  --weight-body: 400;
  --font-small: "Whitney A", system-ui, sans-serif;
  --text-small: 16px;
  --weight-small: 400;
  --space-1: 10px;
  --space-2: 14px;
  --space-3: 20px;
  --space-4: 30px;
  --space-5: 50px;
  --space-6: 60px;
  --space-7: 80px;
  --radius-1: 9999px;
}
```

## Notes for AI coding tools

- Start from the CSS variables above and build components from them, not from new values.
- Use the font substitutes listed. Never embed a commercial or platform-only typeface without a license.
- Keep body text at 4.5:1 contrast or better against its ground.
- These values were measured from the live page at 1440x900; the site may have changed since 2026-10-06.
Download DESIGN.md

The Nature Conservancy and its marks belong to their owner. This page is an independent analysis of the public website, measured on 2026-10-06. We're not affiliated with or endorsed by The Nature Conservancy.