Digital C&C Toolbox Wins iF Design Awards 2025
May 02 - 2025
Coffee Geography Magazine
The groundbreaking coffee&climate (c&c) Toolbox, a digital platform empowering smallholder coffee farmers to combat climate change, has been honored with two of the world’s most coveted design accolades: the iF DESIGN AWARD 2025 in the Service Design category and the iF GOLD AWARD 2025 for User Interface Design. Announced at a star-studded ceremony in Berlin, these awards recognize the toolbox’s exceptional design, accessibility, and transformative impact on global coffee communities.
The iF GOLD AWARD jury lauded the toolbox as a “masterclass in human-centered design,” praising its ability to democratize climate resilience for farmers worldwide. In their statement, jurors emphasized: “This visionary platform redefines accessibility. By blending illustrated videos, intuitive visualizations, and bite-sized guides in local languages, it transcends literacy barriers and connectivity limitations. The toolbox doesn’t just disseminate knowledge—it fosters independence, enabling farmers to adapt practices, optimize resources, and secure sustainable livelihoods. A triumph of empathy and innovation.”
Climate change poses existential threats to coffee production, with intensifying droughts, erratic rainfall, invasive pests, and plummeting yields endangering the livelihoods of over 12 million smallholder farmers who produce 80% of the world’s coffee. Traditional agricultural knowledge, passed down through generations, is increasingly mismatched to these rapid environmental shifts.
Developed over three years through a unique collaboration between farmers, agronomists, climate scientists, and digital designers, the c&c Toolbox bridges this gap. It distills complex scientific research into actionable, localized strategies—from soil health optimization to pest management—ensuring farmers can implement climate-smart practices with confidence.
Built by Hamburg-based Melting Experience, the toolbox’s design prioritizes functionality in low-resource settings:
- Offline Access: Critical for remote regions with unstable internet.
- Low-Bandwidth Optimization: Seamless performance even on basic smartphones.
- Multilingual Visual Learning: Over 50 illustrated guides and animated videos in languages like Spanish, Portuguese, and Vietnamese.
- Interactive Features: Progress tracking, personalized recommendations, and a community forum for peer-to-peer knowledge sharing.
Farmers aren’t just users—they’re co-creators,” explains Stefan Ruge, Program Manager at coffee&climate. “Every tool was field-tested across coffee-growing regions in Honduras, Vietnam, and Tanzania. Their feedback shaped everything from iconography to the ‘voice’ of the content.”
Stefan Ruge
The iF DESIGN AWARD, established in 1953, is a hallmark of design quality, evaluated by 132 international experts. With nearly 11,000 entries from 66 countries in 2025, the c&c Toolbox’s dual victory underscores its global relevance. Past iF Gold laureates include industry giants like Apple and Siemens, placing this farmer-focused initiative in rare air.
For c&c, the accolades are a springboard. “These awards amplify our mission,” says Ruge. “With 60% of coffee-growing areas projected to be unusable by 2050, scaling climate-smart practices isn’t optional—it’s urgent. We’re leveraging this recognition to partner with governments and NGOs, aiming to reach 1 million farmers by 2030.”
A global nonprofit initiative, c&c has partnered with farmers since 2010 to advance climate resilience in coffee production. Supported by industry leaders like Neumann Kaffee Gruppe and Lavazza, its programs span 12 countries.