During my time at Cardiff Met I learned about many of the practical aspects of design such as typography, colour and layout, but there was always a focus on how we could use those design elements for public good.
In both Level 5 and 6 we were given the opportunity to work on live briefs with clients in the health sector. For both projects I collaborated with Stroke Hub Wales (SHW), a Welsh Government funded organisation concerned primarily with stroke research and aiming to increase the stroke survival rate within Wales.
I found these projects very challenging as I had to understand a field of expertise which was vastly different from my own, and then turn that understanding into outcomes which hit the brief. It was demanding on many levels. I learned a huge amount from this process, especially in terms of how to clearly communicate with a client. I also won a Creative Conscience award for my second project Looking at Stroke.
Through these projects, I developed a relationship with SHW and have been working with them on various projects since. My most recent piece of work for them is a campaign called Be a Hero.
Nursing student Mrs Farhaana Peel informed SHW that many children visiting hospital wards were scared by the sight of clinicians wearing PPE such as masks and visors. Along with fellow Cardiff Met Graphic Communication graduate Kieran Traas, I was asked by SHW to create a campaign aimed at children to raise awareness about the importance of PPE and to encourage them to wear masks.
The first thing Kieran and I did was come up with a concept. I wanted to find some sort of simple comparison which would help young children better understand the importance of wearing a mask.
We also wanted the campaign to engage the target audience, making the topic more exciting and empowering. When these children wear a mask, we want them to feel like a hero. This later inspired the tagline for the campaign: ‘Wear a mask, wash your hands, be a hero’.
Eventually, the imagery of medieval knights came to mind – they are bold, brave historical figures which many children are interested in, and most importantly, their helmet acts like a mask to protect them from danger.
In terms of campaign style, we decided to frame all outcomes as if they were made from layers of paper to help the campaign feel approachable for the target audience, but also to be distinctive and visually interesting for other age ranges. These elements were accompanied by a friendly colour scheme and highly legible typography.
Something I learned from my experience at university was to make the most of any contacts I gathered, so once the first draft was completed I contacted Creative Conscience to explain our concept and aims. We were put in touch with Merlin Nation, Creative Director and co-founder of animation studio Working Progress. He has been a great help in the refinement process.
Currently, Kieran and I are tweaking the animation and expanding the campaign by creating content for social media. We hope that releasing the full campaign soon may encourage children (and hopefully their parents also) to wear a mask, wash their hands and be a hero so we can get over this final hurdle in reducing the spread of the virus.
