The Mental Health Initiative came with a clear ambition: build a brand that could speak honestly to young people about their mental health — not at them, but with them. Research conducted directly with young people shaped the brief. What came back was consistent: they didn't want to be defined by their struggles. They wanted to be understood as they are.

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An identity that breathes

Many brands targeting young people get the tone wrong — too earnest, too instructional, too out of touch and quick to signal concern. The identity had to do the opposite: to treat young people as they are, without condescension or false reassurance. Mental states are fluid. They shift, expand, contract — and no two people experience them the same way. The identity had to reflect that.

At the centre is the logotype: Being_. The trailing underscore is not decoration — it's an invitation. A deliberate pause. A space held open for whatever comes next, animated endlessly across messaging to reflect the ever-shifting nature of the human condition. Young people are given room to finish the thought in their own words.

The primary typeface, GT Ultra, lives between worlds — neither fully sans nor serif. That in-between quality mirrors the dynamic nature of the mind, balancing discretion with understated playfulness. A single bright orange dot punctuates the i — an accentuation of self, of the present moment.

Candid, unguarded language runs through every touchpoint. No clinical distance. No false reassurance. Just real conversation, at the level young people actually speak.

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From conversation to cultural shift‍

Being isn't a campaign. It's infrastructure for change — creating the conditions for young people to connect, share, and speak openly. The goal is to move from stigma to solidarity. Optimism is built into every element, not as a mask over difficulty, but as a genuine belief that things can be different.