VISUAL DESIGNER
CHARLEY WILLERTON-MCKEE
Veteran suicide awareness campaign
With a team of three, the task was to develop a campaign centered on a social issue of our choosing. The goal was to use any medium appropriate to subject matter to educate the public on the issue and the one media requirement was that one of the deliverables needed to be something capable of sharing a large amount of text.
the issue
22 is how many veterans commit suicide on American soil a day. That means that on average, every 65 minutes, a veteran takes their own life. 22 is a Social Issues Campaign designed for the Mission 22 organization, supported by the US Department of Veteran Affairs, which uncovers the shocking numbers behind veteran suicide and provides resources to educate communities on how to support active military, veterans, and their families. Suicide prevention starts with awareness of the problem.
the Deliverables
The first of the four final deliverables was an ePub document accessed through a QR code found on any of the campaign materials. The ePub had all of the explanatory text and information on the issue. The second was a poster series which drew attention to the three major statistics used throughout the campaign. The third was a bus wrap that showcased the 22 veterans’ statistic by having the wrap interact with the sun so that throughout the day, bullet holes would appear in the faces of the 22 veterans lining the sides of the bus. The final deliverable was a series of murals to be placed in the largest US base of each branch of the military, with each mural highlighting that branch’s specific statistic that created the average of 22.
the visuals
This initiative has a serious, heavy and attention-grabbing tone and is very informational to non-veterans. The message is comprised of impactful real statistics visualized through strong imagery, heavy, bold text, and testimonials from veterans who have been affected by this issue. This is achieved through the use of bright red color, grunge-styled imagery, and distorted typefaces to create a feeling of uneasiness to show the disruption suicide can cause to anyone involved, especially veterans and their families. This project should make civilians feel uneasy and make them curious about a topic that is not often brought to the table.
the bus wrap
The bus depicts 11 of the 22 veterans per side and as the day goes by, the wrap interacts with the sun, causing bullet holes to appear in the faces of the veterans. Firearms are the leading weapon used in veteran suicide. The tagline and logos appear on all sides of the bus as well as a QR code that leads to the ePub that has information about the campaign.
