You may have come across these posters at your local station but they first came to my attention when featured in a Design Museum competition earlier this year. Is this campaign the best ever?
I noticed the images first – who would have thought that a back-view head shot on a pastel background would be so striking? The text hit me next, and the clever way that selected words were highlighted to show what the speaker really meant.
According to the Samaritans, who ran the ‘We Listen’ campaign, less than a quarter of us (23%) feel we can talk about something that is on our minds. Their message is that while it’s easy to hide our feelings, when someone really listens, which is what Samaritans volunteers do, we’re more likely to open up and start working through our problems.
Interestingly, Network Rail, who helped fund the campaign, arranged for the Samaritans to train some of their staff in listening and confidence skills, enabling them to identify people at risk. They estimate that last year they may have prevented over 450 people from harming themselves.
For me, this campaign ticks all the boxes, and shows the power of design and editorial working together.
About the author
Annette Peppis leads the team at Peppis Designworks, a creative hub of established publishing industry experts who create books, branding, marketing material and design templates for leading publishers and businesses. Keep in touch by to her bi-monthly emails.
