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HERPES: LET'S TALK ABOUT IT
February 2022
Project Statement
The Herpes Simplex Virus is arguably one of the most misunderstood sexually transmitted disease. It is also the most common sexually transmitted disease. In 2022, it has been reported that over half of all Americans carry herpes Simplex 1, while 1 in 6 Americans carries Herpes Simplex 2.
The vast misinformation regarding herpes is mainly caused by the heavy stigma that surrounds the topic among all age groups, and the lack of awareness and information. For many, the symptoms and prevention of herpes are not taught in standard health education courses, and are also not explained by healthcare providers or parental figures in a proactive way.
The goal of my campaign, Herpes: Let's Talk About It, is to address the rampant misinformation surrounding the Herpes Simplex Virus, bring awareness to the topic, encourage an open discussion about the topic, and provide resources for those seeking further information or testing.
Audience
This campaign's primary target audience is sexually active individuals between the ages of 15 and 30. The other audiences I wish to reach with this campaign are people in educational and health care roles who are able to provide information on the topic to the other group. This group may involve parents as well.
2 Dimensional Element
Draft
This campaign consists of 3 different elements; a 2 dimensional element consisting of visual advertising materials, a 3 dimensional element consisting of a digitally modeled branded testing kit, and a 4 dimensional element consisting of an interactive mobile website which I designed using Figma.
For the 2 dimensional element of this project I wanted to create a set of posters that boldly called attention to the word herpes in order to address the stigma behind the word. I chose a copper color palette because copper is the color of the herpes awareness campaign. Additionally, I chose the motif of young people covering their mouths to show that herpes is very common among young people even though they are afraid to discuss it. Some of the notes that I received for my initial poster draft were that the colors were too dark and appeared intimidating and ominous, the call to action statement was too light and difficult to read, and that the headline text felt really disconnected from the images. I chose to implement all of these changes into my second draft while also opting for a more light and refreshing color palette. I ultimately chose not to add more copy to these posters because I wanted to capture my viewer's attention and lead them to the website I created which holds all of the detailed information about the topic.
Final
Mockups in Environment
3 Dimensional Element
The 3 Dimensional element that I created for this campaign is a PR package which would be sent to anyone interested in ordering a test via the website. This package includes a branded testing kit as well as instruction cards. I created this mock-up using adobe photoshop.
Testing Kit & Instructional Cards
4 Dimensional Element
Draft
The final element of this campaign includes a mobile website which would be advertised on social media as well as mentioned in the posters. When creating this site, I wanted to add all of the information one might need regarding the herpes simplex virus, as well as an anonymous forum, testing instructions, and a conversation starters page to aid users in discussing their herpes status with their partner.
After designing the initial draft for the website and testing it with potential users, I found several issues that needed to be addressed in the second version. First, The color of the buttons was too similar to the color of the page background, so I lightened the background color and darkened the buttons. Additionally, the buttons were designed to change color on a hover feature which did not make sense for the format of the site being mobile. I also found that it did not make sense for all of my informational pages to be shown on modals, especially when most pages needed to scroll to display all of the information. I deleted the modals and added new navigation buttons to each page that were more appropriate. Finally, I found that my pages appeared to be too crowded, so I updated the buttons to be large enough to comfortably read and tap while still being small enough to create an appropriate amount of space between them.
Final
This is a project that I would revisit to complete a brand refresh and redesign. Many members of my target audience who interacted with this project found that the information was quite useful and impactful, and agreed that they would use and share this site with others to teach educate them about the herpes simplex virus.
If I were to redesign this campaign, I would choose colors that were not so directly related to the existing herpes awareness movement and also not so flesh-toned that they appear referential. Instead I would choose a more vibrant color palette that appeals to a younger demographic such as teens and college students. I would also design the full web version of the site rather than just a mobile version. Finally, I would create a wider variety of print advertising materials that contain more information on the topic so that the audience could obtain more information outside of the website.
Next Steps
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