2. The client: Mind
Overview of the client.
Who are they, when did they start, why did they start, what do they do, how are
they funded?
Mind are a mental health support charity that aims to help provide support and
treatment to people who have mental conditions. They were first formed in 1946
and the president of the company is Stephen Fry. Mind was formed to allow people
with mental health problems to have their voices heard as the charity helps to
lobby government and local authorities on their behalf. It also works to raise
awareness for the issues that these people face on a daily basis so that they are
better understood by the general public. National Mind takes donations,
sponsorships, grants and operates charity shops across the UK. Each local mind
association is responsible for its own funding although some projects are funded
by national mind.
3. The issues:
Your client might advocate on a number of different yet related issues.
What issues your client campaign on?
What are some of the impacts they have managed to achieve?
What are they still hoping to achieve?
Mind campaigns for all mental health conditions and aims to offer support and
treatment to people who suffer from mental health problems and to help raise
awareness about the different types of conditions and clearing up any
misconceptions the public may have about any afflictions. The charity has had a
large impact since its introduction and has been able to reach a large amount of
people. It currently has around 390,300 people using mind services in England and
Wales. They have also been able to persuade parliament to be able to take on
board 75% of priorities that were set out by mind and the mental health policy
group. Currently, 7,687 employers are also involved with mind’s workplace
wellbeing program. The charity are still hoping to achieve a point where support
is available to all those who need it and the rest of the world is able to properly
understand mental illness.
4. Facts and figures:
Use this space to highlight key facts and figures related to your client and the
social issue you are trying to tackle. These could be very useful later on in your
project as you try to raise awareness.
• 1 in 4 people in Britain will
experience a mental health
problem in any given year
• 1 in 10 young people will
experience a mental problem
• 1 in 10 sufferers say they face
discrimination every day
• 1 in 6 workers will experience a
mental health problem
• Mixed anxiety and depression is the
most common mental health
disorder in Britain
• Suicide rates show British men are
three times more likely to die by
suicide than women
• 2.3 million people with a mental
heal condition are out of work or
on benefits
• Only 4 in 10 employers say they
would hire someone with a mental
health condition
5. Existing product research: Mental health foundation
Logo
The logo of the mental health foundation looks friendly and inviting due to its use of sans serif text on the
logo as this makes it look more informal. The simplicity of the logo allows it to be easily recognisable. The
logo uses only text but is split into two separate parts. The first part is is a combination of an ‘M’ and an ‘H’
which can be used to convey the mental health that the charity is trying to help people with. This can be
rather easily deduced by the audience. This means that this small part of the logo could be used on its own
as it is easily to understand and know which organisation it belongs to as it is rather unique this will allow
the charity to easily promote its brand. The logo also uses the name of the organisation on it so that the
people are easily able to know the name of the company to either look it up or use it as a reference to a
charity whenever they see the logo on any publications as you will be able to clearly devise the charity that
is behind the work. The logo does not contain any images but this allows the logo to look like more of an
objective company at first glance as it looks like it is being clear about its aims as a charity so that people
are able to follow them and understand their work better. The logo in its most simple form has not colour to
it as it only has a grey outline on white text. This makes the logo look more simple but also allows it to
blend with products of all different colours which means that the logo can fit on several different house
styles and will blend well if the company collaborates with another company and their colour scheme is
used.
6. This is the logo for the charity ‘CLASP’. They use a sans serif font in their logo to make the logo look
mire relaxed and inviting to viewers as it looks less corporate and more like a charity as many charity
logos tend to share this style. The logo uses only black and white which adds to the simplicity of the
logo. This means that it is able to fit with many colour schemes and house styles without looking out of
place. The logo uses an image to help give a representation of what the charity does. This images is two
hands holding each other in the shape of the heart. This connotes support and helping hands which is
what the charity will want people to think of their organisation. This helps people to understand partly
what the charity does or represents without even having to do extra research on the charity. This is
helpful as this logo can be easily recognisable and clear if it is used on documents or merchandise as to
what the charity is representing. The name of the charity is also present on the logo. This allows a
viewer to be able to instantly know the name of the charity at first glance of the logo so they will know
what name to associate with any campaigns that they run. The logo also has a tag line or slogan at the
bottom that reads “you are not alone” this line can also be used to further explain what the charity is
about. The line can be interpreted as a charity that will lend support to people which is a quick insight
that will give the viewer this idea so they have a brief knowledge about what the charity does.
7. Poster – Mental health foundation
The logo is present on the poster so that the
organisation can be recognised if people
want to either get more information on the
subject or just gain brand recognition for the
charity.
The use of facts in the poster adds
credibility to the poster as it seems
informative and important, the facts
are also in a bolder text which
highlight their importance on the
poster and also make them more clear.
The text on the page is rather small
and minimal which makes the image
stand out more on the page. It also
makes the text able to relay a great
deal of information on the page as the
font is rather small so a lot of
information can be relayed on the page
without taking up too much room on
the page and making it look like there
is too much text on the page. The text
on the page also includes contact
information of the charity which is
helpful to people who are suffering
from the problem that it is discussing
as it gives them the next step to take
rather than just telling them there is
something wrong with them and
leaving them without options. The text
on the page also starts with a question
that is one of the first things that you
see on the page which is a good use of
typography as it makes the viewer
want to read on as they will have
answered the question in their head
and will want to know why it is asked
as it is asked without any context.
The image that is present on the poster is
large and dominates the majority of the
poster. This is due to it being a large visual
draw to the poster as it is unclear what the
subject is doing at a single glance and
requires a second look which invites
interest in the poster. The image could be
described as a negative image as the
subject is yawning and therefore is clearly
tired which is something that causes
problems for a lot of people. However the
image is not too heavily negative so it is
easy to view and can be placed in many
different locations without shocking
certain members of the public. The image
is to be aimed at people who feel tired as
they will be able to relate to the image
due to it being a shared characteristic. This
means that the poster will tend to attract
the attention of these types of people
more commonly as they will relate to it
more which is what the poster is trying to
do.
The purpose of this poster is to provide
information to people and also raise
awareness. The poster provides information
about sleep disorders and gives you
information on what they could lead to.
This will entice people to follow up on
checking whether they have one with the
new found information that it can lead to
other mental health problems. The poster
also raises awareness for mental health
conditions as most people will not know
about the fact that sleep disorders as
classed as mental health conditions.
The font used in this poster is sans serif which makes the
poster seem more friendly and inviting so that people are
more likely to read it. The colour scheme of the poster is plain
whiter and grey. This makes the poster seem simple and not
too complex which makes it feel easy to view and read. The
layout of the poster is simple with a large image that is
overlaid by a small amount of text. This makes the poster
seem simplistic and allows it to put its point across without
having to use a great deal of detail that could bore a viewer.
The tone of the poster is serious as the subject matter that it
discusses is a serious matter and the tone of the poster
reflects that. The tone is created through the serious image
and the plainer colour scheme as they are not bright or happy
which adds to the more serious tone
8. Poster - CAMH
The poster uses facts and statistics to add
credibility to its campaign but in this case
I also feel that it adds emotion to the
poster. This is because it uses the pull
quote that it uses as a sort of justification
for the statistic it gives. This pull quote is
a common phrase used when people talk
about mental health and may be relatable
to the reader which could create an
emotional reaction as they may not have
expected the statistic to be so high as a
response. The statistic adds credibility to
the posters message as it shows that the
charity has done some research and is
therefore well informed which may be
what people who are looking for
information regarding mental health will
be looking for. The poster also includes
social media links to the company and
contact information if you feel the need
to contact them in either a professional or
more informal context if you feel more
comfort in that.
The logo of the organisation is present on
the poster. This is so that the charity
behind the creation of the poster can be
given some recognition. It also allows
people who want more information on the
subject or want to contact the charity for
help.
The purpose of this poster is to raise
awareness and to inform. The poster
raises awareness due to the fact that it
highlights how much of a problem mental
illness is as people are more likely to hide
the fact that they have it due to fear of
being ridiculed. People may not know this
and may be shocked at the realisation as
they may have been contributing to this.
This helps to try and prevent people from
continuing this behavior due to ignorance
of the facts as it lays them out in the
poster. This can help create an impact on
the vast majority of people who view it to
help make and impact and further the
campaign simultaneously
The font used in the poster is all sans
serif and this makes the poster more
informal and more like a smaller local
charity than a large organisation. This
makes the poster look more natural
and inviting. The poster uses a green
and white colour scheme throughout.
This adds to the natural look of the
poster and makes it visually appealing
to a viewer. It also uses a contrast of
these two colours for the text and
background alternating between both
colours to show a connection between
the different parts of text whilst also
clearly displaying where each line
ends. The poster also uses different
types of font throughout to help break
up the different parts so they are
clear to read and clearly
distinguishable. The poster also uses a
sort of frame to make the pull quote
of the poster stand out more. This is
done by switching up the colours and
placing it at the top of the page so it
is the first thing that you see. This
allows it to draw in a viewer more
effectively.
The poster does not use any imagery in
it which makes it seem more
informative. This adds to the objective
nature of the poster as it is only
relaying text to viewers so it is being
more objective.
9. Promotional material/merchandise
To help promote their campaigns the charity will also hold promotional
events. These events will get people talking about the campaign that the
charity represents. These events are a great place for people to get involved
as they will feel less formal and this may entice people to open up about their
problems or feel more confident about coping with the problems that they
have. The events are also a great way to raise money for the charity as they
will be able to gather a large amount of people together that are likely to
donate to the campaign if they are able to gain more information about the
specific impact that they have as they will know exactly where their money is
going and have more of a guarantee that it will have an effect in the charity’s
campaign. The event being set over a select week such as mental health
awareness week invites media coverage to help promote the event and make
it more successful. This is because they can heighten their promotion funds
on one week to make them louder in a smaller timeframe which can increase
the likelihood that they will be noticed by a large media outlet that would
help to increase the popularity and awareness for the event.
Another use of promotional material that the charity uses would be
leaflets. These can be found in the majority of community centers and
local GP’s. these will help to increase awareness of the charity and help to
provide information to people even if they do not feel like researching in
their own time. They will also help to provide people with help services as
they will include contact information on where people should go to if they
seem to suffer from the afflictions that are described in the leaflet. It also
helps to promote the charity in a way as they are able to place their logo
and name on the front of the leaflet so their name is associated with the
helping of people with mental health conditions as they will be seen as
trying to spread the word more effectively that other charities.
Mental health foundation
10. Promotional material/merchandise
SANE
The charity ‘SANE’ offer a wide range of merchandise to help promote their
campaigns. The advantages of selling merchandise are that they are able to
place their logo on products so that people are able to spread the company’s
message around to people that they know and also keep the company on the
persons mind nearly every day. This will lead to an increased potential of
funding opportunities as not only will you receive money for the product itself
but also, with the product constantly reminding the buyer of the company,
increase the chance of them making more donation to the charity. The
promotion of the company may also lead to other people who view the
merchandise being more likely to donate to the charity if it is constantly on
their mind from viewing the merchandise. The merchandise can range from t-
shirts to bands or bracelets to pens. This means that there is a great deal to
purchase and it also means that there are more opportunities to spread their
logo around and make their charity’s brand more widespread which could
lead to more potential donations for the charity to help them continue their
campaigns.
11. Audience research
For my audience research I made a survey for people
to answer questions that I prepared to gain an
insight into what people knew about mental illness
and what their opinions were on it. This would allow
my to highlight key pieces of information that
people were not familiar with and also find out how
peoples opinions on the subject. To gain an insight
into the people who were answering my survey I
asked three positions to make sure that the
information I was collecting was from a variety of
sources. I first asked for the age of the people who
were answering and I got only one age range to
answer by the results I received. This meant that I
had to take into account that all of the information
that I would receive would all be from teenagers
which will make it easy for me to pick a target
audience as I will have a great deal of information
relating to this audience. I also asked for the gender
of the people that were answering the survey. I
received a split of results which means that I will
have viewpoints from people of all genders. This will
mean that my results are less bias and will reflect a
wider array of viewpoints which will improve their
accuracy. I also asked my audience if they had been
affected by mental illness at any point. The results
that I received were spilt so I have the perspective
of people from both sides in my results which will
give me more accurate results as it includes a wide
array of viewpoints so that the results are not in
favor of one viewpoint or perspective.
12. Audience research
For my survey I also wanted to know how much
information my audience would know about mental health
so that I could gauge the amount of information that I
would need to convey with the documents that I could
produce and also what key bits of information were known
to the audience. I started by asking the audience if they
felt as though they were well informed about mental
illness. The results that I received from this question were
that the vast majority of people that I asked felt that they
were well informed on mental health issues. What I
learned from this is that people feel that they do not
require a large amount of information on the documents
and would be more content with small key pieces of
information instead as they feel that they have a general
understanding and providing unnecessary information
would lead to wasted space on the poster and other
documents which could be used for other things such as
contact information or eye catching images. I then asked
the audience about a common mental health statistic to
see how many of them would get it right. The results that I
received confirmed that more than half of those answering
did not know the correct answer to the statistic and
therefore it would still be appropriate to include this
statistic on the different documents as it is not a
universally known statistic. I also asked my audience where
they would go for help with a mental illness to see
whether I should include information about where to go for
mental health issues. The vast majority of the people
answering were correct with their answers and therefore I
do not feel that it will be necessary to include this
information on all documents however contact information
will still be included as I feel that this is important.
13. Audience research
With my survey I also wanted to gain a slight insight
into the opinions that people had about mental
illnesses to see what angles to approach my
documents from. The first question that I asked was
whether people thought that physical illnesses were
more important that mental illnesses. I asked this
question to see whether I should keep putting the
point across in my documents that the two types of
illness are equally as serious. The results that I was
given was that every respondent thought that they
were as equally important and therefore I feel that I
do not have to get this point across as the audience
seems to understand this. I also asked the audience
about their opinion on why more money is invested
into physical illnesses than mental illnesses. I asked
this question because I wanted to further explore
peoples distinctions between physical and mental
illnesses further. The vast majority of responses
thought that the lack of funding was due to the
mental illnesses being less visible to people at a
glance. From this information I can use the idea of
mental illness being less apparent but still as
important as physical illness as a theme for my
documents. This will be effective as the majority of
the audience will agree that this is the reason that
mental illnesses are more overlooked.
