988 Youth
Role
Design Lead
Industry
Public Health
Client
NCDHHS
The Problem
Despite the availability of suicide prevention resources, middle school and high schoolers are not aware of how or where to access help. Interviews with mental health professionals revealed that stigma, shame, language barriers, and uncertainty around available options prevent youth from reaching out, especially during moments of crisis.
For teens, 988 needed to feel approachable, supportive, and easy to access, rather than clinical, institutional, or intimidating.
The Insight
Teens are experiencing heightened mental and emotional strain shaped by isolation, social pressure, and the lingering effects of the pandemic. At the same time, they're still developing the tools to process those experiences on their own.
Our focus group results showed that effective communication needs to be direct, empathetic, and non-judgmental, clearly reinforcing that help is available and that there are multiple, low-barrier ways to reach it.
The Approach
Guided by the creative brief and a style and tone survey with campaign stakeholders, the visual direction centered on qualities that resonated most with youth audiences: modern, approachable, bold, down-to-earth, serious, and uncomplicated. I developed the campaign with authenticity, empathy, and accessibility at the forefront, ensuring design decisions considered how a teen might experience the work for the first time, especially in moments of vulnerability.
The Outcomes
The campaign launched as a statewide, multi-channel, effort distributing materials to approximately 900 public middle and high schools across North Carolina. The integrated media plan spanned connected TV, YouTube, social media, and radio, and was supported by a comprehensive school toolkit that included posters and educator resources.
Across social and video channels, the campaign generated an estimated 83 million impressions statewide. The YouTube video alone reached over 7 million views, becoming NCDHHS’s most-viewed video at the time of launch.
The 988 Youth Campaign went on to receive an AAF Mosaic Award, recognizing its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion—both in how the work was created and the audiences it served.
Tools
