On October 12, 2025, a public referendum will take place: the Hamburg Future Referendum (Hamburger Zukunftsentscheid). This is the final vote on the new Hamburg Climate Protection Act. It's high time to give the existing website of the Hamburg Future Referendum a glow-up.

The end of a long journey

In October, the journey that began back in 2023 comes to a head – the fight for better climate policy. At its core, it's about more commitment and faster implementation. Since June 2023, the Hamburg Future Referendum has been working to ensure that the new Climate Protection Act can be passed by popular vote. This process requires three steps: the citizens’ initiative, the petition for a referendum, and finally, the referendum itself.

The Citizens‘ Initiative

This step shows whether a topic truly matters to the public. Within six months, 10,000 signatures must be collected. The Hamburg Future Referendum gathered more than 20,000 signatures in just four weeks.

The Petition for a Referendum

Once the initiative is officially launched, the campaign shifts into gear, aiming to inform and educate even more citizens. The petition for a referendum began in October 2024, requiring 65,835 signatures. After just three weeks, the initiative submitted 106,374 signatures to the Senate. The message is clear: this matter is urgent and important enough to justify a legislative change.

The Referendum

Now, this proposed legislative change will be decided on October 12, 2025. All eligible voters in Hamburg can participate. If a majority supports the new draft law, it will go into effect within one month.

Farbenmeer is making the website ready for the future

Now begins the intensive campaign phase of the Hamburg Future Referendum – and that means the website needs to be brought up to speed. Two years is a long time, especially online. In the analog world, the initiative's design has also evolved during that period. One to-do is updating the site to align the corporate identity with the posters currently hanging throughout Hamburg. The website also needs improved usability and user-friendliness as it enters this new phase. Key information must be easier to find and easier to understand.

Our Role at Farbenmeer Freitag

On the last day of our work week, we focus on projects fueled by passion and driven by social and environmental responsibility. The Hamburger Zukunftsentscheid is run by volunteers, and we want to support them – with clear calls to action, better content design, and improved performance.

The Tech

Two main goals guided our technical approach: better website performance and greater accessibility – in terms of content and inclusion. To achieve this, we rebuilt the site from the ground up. We're using Next.js, React, and Tailwind to ensure consistency and a seamless experience for the end user. Since the initiative will maintain and further develop the site content themselves, we chose to organize the majority of it using MDX (Markdown Files) – a simple and intuitive content management format for tech-savvy editors.

The Design

To translate the new poster design into the digital realm, we focused on vibrant visuals, expressive color schemes, and strategic highlights. This way, visual elements appear consistently across both print and digital formats. We restructured the layout for a more intuitive user experience and smoother navigation. We also clearly emphasized the calls to action – to signal early on that everyone can and should actively participate.

The final checkmark comes at 10/12

We’re proud to support such an important development and play our part in the process. But that’s not the end. Since we’ve talked so much about calls to action – here’s one in practice: On October 12, 2025, Hamburg decides on its climate policy. Everyone eligible to vote can make their mark that day. And now, they’ll be well informed when they do.