GUIDANCE STRENGTH

HOPE RECOVERY

To Write Love on Her Arms: Rebrand by: Ashley Laurenti

Over the last ten years, there has been an increase in the amount of attention given to sector ‘at-risk youth’. Issues associated with this market sector includes crime, violence, sex, substance abuse, poor academic performance and a number of other problems. These struggles are often brought on by peer pressure, family problems, and the loss of a family member or loved one, and other difficult social environments.

To Write Love on Her Arms was founded in 2006 by Jamie Tworkowski. His focus at the time of discovering this organization was getting help for his 19-year-old friend Renee’. After facing many obstacles, such as being unable to get her admitted right away, Jamie and his friends had to serve as a support group for Renee’ for about a week until they could get her into a treatment facility. After facing these struggles, the group pulled through and got Renee’ the help she needed and she remains clean, but still battles her problems with addiction one day at a time.

After people heard about the great things Jamie and his group of friends did for Renee’, the organization starting receiving messages and emails through Facebook and MySpace from people that were also struggling with problems similar to those of Renee’, as well as receiving a lot of publicity from bands like Switchfoot and Anberlin. Realizing there were more people out there that needed help like Renee’, Jamie and his friends set out to create what is now To Write Love on Her Arms.

What makes To Write Love on Her Arms different from its competitors is they are not solely a treatment facility. They don’t just focus on treating one form of addiction or illness but want to try and help everyone. This organization has helped greater than 100,000 people and aren’t in any interested in stopping this life changing movement.

The theme for this campaign is hope, a sense of change, happiness, and the beginning of a new life. This goal for this campaign is to reach out to those who are suffering, those who know someone who is suffering, or even someone who is trying to continuing moving through life without the burden of their illness or addiction. Love Is the Movement, and Rescue Is Possible.

INTRODUCTION

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TABLE O f CONTENTS

1 RESEARCH 2 DISCOVER 3 LEARN 4 SOLVE1.1 Demographics1.2 Creative Brief

1.3 SWOT1.4 Research

2.1 Mood Boards2.2 Print Concepts

2.3 Web Site Wire frames2.4 Logo Concepts

3.1 Logo3.2 Logo Standards

3.3 Images & Textures3.4 Colors & Typography3.5 Ad & Web Standards

3.6 Info Graphic

4.1 Website4.2 Social Media4.3 Merchandise

4.4 PSA’s4.5 Print Ads

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1 research1.1 Demographics 1.2 Creative Brief

1.3 SWOT 1.4 Research

1.1 target demographic

Name : TommyAge: 22Gender: MaleEducation: College GraduateOccupation: Graphic DesignerMarital Status: EngagedHobbies: Running

Tommy, a 22-year-old California native has the ideal life for any recent college graduate; tons of friends, supportive parents, and a great job. In front of his parents and coworkers, he’s just taking it one day at a time, happy and enjoying life. When he is alone he is a completely different person. He doesnt understand what is goinng on inside his head, and doesnt think anyone would understand if he tried to tell them. They would probably say all of the things out loud that he reminds himself daily, “You have the life anyone could possibly want, what more do you need?”. Deep down Tommy is empty. Something inside is very dark and he doesn’t seem to know what it is. He is his own worst enemy. Constantly telling himself that what he’s doing isnt good enough and he needs to try harder in life and in work. He decides to reach out to To Write Love on her Arms for guidance on where to find counseling in his area and hopes they can help him before its too late.

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DIFFERENTIATION

TWLOHA is the only company that helps multiple disorders and addictions instead of just a single mental health issue.

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1.2 creative brief

1. TWLOHA’s vision is unique because they are passionate in seeking help for others.

2. TWLOHA values the lives of the people who contact them for help and makes sure that they get the help they need and deserve.

3. Although they have the same focus as other organizations, TWLOHA is different because it treats people with all forms of addictions and mental disorders.

4. TWLOHA is flexible because it adjusts to the specific needs of the individual it is trying to help.

5. TWLOHA is committed to helping others find help and make sure they turn into a success story.

6. TWLOHA’s meaning is to help others on the road to recovery and ensure that they stay true to living a clean healthy lifestyle.

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1.3 SWOT

STRENGTHS:Caring

Understanding Independent

THREATS:Competition

Not enough supportRun out of money

WEAKNESS:Low Budget

Not well known

OPPORTUNITIES:Reach a larger groupMerchandise in retail

Care Facilities

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1.4 RESEARCHWriting a New ChapterThis paper examines and educates others on the non-profit organization To Write Love on Her Arms, and how with the proper research and expanding the common knowledge of the associated demographic, we can proceed to help and heal people of their addictions and mental illnesses and greatly decrease the ever-growing number of the youth and young adult suicide rate.

Suicide (i.e., taking one’s own life) is a serious public health problem that affects even young people. For youth between the ages of 10 and 24, suicide is the third leading cause of death. It results in approximately 4600 lives lost each year. The top three methods used in suicides of young people include firearm (45%), suffocation (40%), and poisoning (8%). Deaths from youth suicide are only part of the problem. More young people survive suicide attempts than actually die. A nationwide survey of youth in grades 9–12 in public and private schools in the United States (U.S.) found that 16% of students reported seriously considering suicide, 13% reported creating a plan, and 8% reporting trying to take their own life in the 12 months preceding the survey. Each year, approximately 157,000 youth between the ages of 10 and 24 receive medical care for self-inflicted injuries at Emergency Departments across the U.S. Throughout the course of the project, research will be continuous which is necessary to get the most accurate numbers of youth and young adults taking their own lives going the opposite what on the charts instead of up. The long time problem this project is working to solve is instead of ending their lives due to not wanting to accept they have a

problem with depression, mental illness, eating disorders, or addiction, to get them to understand that although they are struggling, there is a cure and a road to recovery. Maybe them not wanting to accept that something is wrong isn’t their problem, but getting someone to help them is. If someone is struggling with a problem, they should learn that they are not the first person, not the only person, and unfortunately will not be the last person to struggle with any of the previously mentioned illnesses. However, with the proper research, marketing, and advertisements, there is enormous potential for the organization to grow in supporters and work to end this ever increasing, incredibly sad, but most definitely curable, way of life. Along with its mission statement, TWLOHA also believes that every individual was created to be loved, to live life in relationships with other people, to know and be known that everyone’s story is important, most importantly, TWLOHA

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wants everyone to know that your life matters.

TWLOHA started like every organizations starts, with a story. Their story starts with 19-year-old Renee, she is high and the cocaine is fresh in her system, she agrees to meet with them and admits she has to go to rehab but that she is not ready yet, she will go tomorrow. As many other addicts, Renee knows too much pain and evil to be just 19. Along with battling addiction, she also battled depression, had some kind of sexual interaction with awful men, and attempted suicide. The first treatment center TWLOHA brought Renee to named her too great of a risk for their facility and turned her away. It was then up to TWLOHA to get her started on treatments on their own for five days. On the fifth and final day she would be completely under their care and then go to rehab, Renee wanted to give the team that had helped her along this way a bit of a ‘going away gift’. She handed them the last razor blade she had, the one she used the last time she cut her arm, and the last time she did cocaine five nights before officially starting treatments with them. She gave it to them because that night, of all the nights was going to be the hardest because for the first time since they found her, she would be away from people she knew genuinely cared about her and that would be the hardest thing to get through (Tworkowski, 2006). After seeing the progress they made with Renee, Jesse Tworkowski and the rest of the individuals that took part in Renee’s road to recovery decided that they had something good going there, and formed TWLOHA.

The biggest problem we are working to solve currently is the increasing number of young adults that have come accustomed to living such an addictive lifestyle and believing it is okay because

everything they are into is so mainstream and in the media constantly. If their favorite actor/actress/musician are drinking countless amounts of alcohol and doing all these drugs than it must be okay, right? Well it isn’t, and that’s what the goal of TWLOHA is. Here at TWLOHA we need to tell these teens and young adults that just because it’s so accessible, doesn’t make it okay, and also that we care. Often times, it isn’t what the individual is seeing and being exposed to that they become addicted to drugs and things, but it’s something that occurred in their past that is having a negative effect on their growth and the future.

Although there are many treatment programs and facilities and organizations out there, TWLOHA is different because of its approach to the way the group handles each situation: differently. TWLOHA doesn’t have a set plan of what to do and follow it exactly verbatim. It takes every person’s situation to heart and makes them feel accepting towards whatever the problem may be and help guide them in the direction to overcome these problems in their lives. The target audience here is mainly young adults that range from 16-25, but could also be the family, friends, and other loved ones that are seeking to get help for a family member or friend in need.

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Too often we hear stories told by best friends, grandparents, parents, and siblings that wish they had known sooner, or wish they took their loved one somewhere to get help when they first became aware of the change in them. With the proper marketing and advertising, TWLOHA will be able to make a bigger name for it and prevent stories of ‘What if’ from happening as often as they currently do. That’s why this project is important. It is important because life is too precious of a gift that many of us take for granted. It is not to be toyed with or harmed in any way. Everyone has a story, and everyone is part of a bigger one than just their own.

Although To Write Love on her Arms seems to have a very strong design scheme going on, it is a large part of the rebranding process. When thinking about rebranding for this project, it is a little difficult to try and think of ideas that the organization hasn’t already done. Luckily, with it being one of the newer organizations, there isn’t a history of different designs, therefore repeating the past isn’t going to become much of a problem. The biggest challenge in recreating the design for To Write Love on her Arms is going to be not being too cliché’ when it comes to symbolism. When hearing ‘To Write Love on her Arms’ its easy to think about a razor blade or another device that someone who self harms uses, but there has got to be more than that. Since the organization itself isn’t solely focused around those that are suicidal and very depressed, there has got to be something that we can come up with to incorporate the correct groups and to reach the appropriate target market.

The To Write Love on Her Arms Media Mix is going to consist of

print media, interactive media, television and radio advertisements as well as in store merchandise, which could potentially fall under the print media category. Print ads are going to be a necessity for this campaign because people tend to get emotionally affected by a print ad more than a television or radio ad. Although a television ad is filled with sound and movement, it sometimes can’t be as moving as a print ad. Articles that may be printed alongside of the print ads could be helpful advertising as well. The target demographic could grow rapidly just by learning about the stories of the people this organization has already had the pleasure of helping and turning there lives around. Obviously the interactive media portions of this campaign will include a website, as well as a positive presents on the different channels of social media that are currently in existence. The more publicity and ‘out there’ this organization gets, the better. Something that is constantly being thought about during this process is how is this organization going to appeal to the people that are suffering with these disease? What are we going to do to ensure to get the attention of those who need our attention as an organization the most?

The current colors for To Write Love on her Arms are black, teal (or turquoise), and white. Turquoise symbolizes calm. Teal symbolizes sophistication. Aquamarine symbolizes water. Lighter turquoise has a feminine appeal. Although turquoise/teal bringing a calm feeling is a good thing, especially dealing with the organization we are dealing with, it may be time for a bit of a change. Perhaps

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a red, which signifies Excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence, all things intense and passionate, sincerity, happiness, or yellow, which could bring feelings of joy, happiness, betrayal, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, gold, philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, jealousy, covetousness, deceit, illness, hazard and friendship could be a positive direction to go with the rebranding in this campaign (Color Symbolism).

The current following that To Write Love on Her Arms has tremendous, but what if it was worldwide? By giving your merchandise the chance to be sold in retail stores you have a better chance of hitting your target audience. Talking a bit about stereotypes for a second, awkward teens tend to shop in Hot Topic stores, in which some of the current merchandise you, have fits. Getting TWLOHA merchandise (shirts, books, stickers, accessories, etc.) would be nothing but beneficial because more people that may need to know what this organization is about will be learning about it because of the exposure that it is getting in the retail stores. Something else that TWLOHA would benefit from is expanding the ‘Run For It 5k’ to other areas other than Florida. There is a very large running community out there and expanding this race could greatly increase cash revenue to the organization (Run For It).

The purpose of this research was to examine and educate you about To Write Love on Her Arms, and how with the proper research we can proceed to help and heal people of their addictions and mental illnesses and greatly decrease the ever-growing number of the youth and young adult suicide rate. This problem can be solved because having an addiction or eating disorder isn’t permanent. Depression and mental health problems can’t be completely erased

from someone’s life, but they can be treated and controlled. By making this organization worldwide and getting more people involved, we can work to accomplish our goal of riding the world of the idea that people that struggle with any of the before mentioned problems aren’t normal. During the process of this rebrand and launch of this organization you will start to notice TWLOHA merchandise in select stores in your malls, as well as notice more local advertising and involvement of TWLOHA in your areas. If you are involved in the running community, you will also notice the ‘Run For It 5k’ in your area, as well as other areas nearby. By selling merchandise in stores of big name retailers, having street teams and more local involvement in the organization, and expanding the ‘Run For It 5k’, in time we will earn the proper funding to be able to open local treatment facilities. If you ever find yourself in need of help, or you have a friend or family member that needs help, you will be welcomed into our facilities with open arms and no judgement.

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2 discover2.1 Mood Boards 2.2 Print Concepts

2.3 Web Site Wireframes 2.4 Logo Concepts

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mood board 1 mood board 1

2.1 Mood boards

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mood board 1 final mood board

2.2 AD concepts

IMAGEDISCLAIMER LOGO

IMAGEINFOLOGO

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2.3 WebSite Wireframes

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2.4 Logo Concepts

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3 LEARN3.1 Logo 3.2 Logo Standards

3.3 Images & Textures 3.4 Colors & Typography3.5 Ad & Web Standards 3.6 Info Graphic

The To Write Love on Her Arms logo must follow the guidelines in this book to maintain

consistency throughout and to ensure that the colors, style, and typography are maintained.

The main purpose of the To Write Love on Her Arms logo is for identification purposes on

advertisements and merchandise. The single color logos are to be used when most necessary.

3.1 Logo

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3.2 Logo standards

The space around all versions of the To Write Love on Her Arms logo needs be at least 10px all the

way around to ensure the logo can be identified properly. The minimum size allowed for all versions

to remain legibal is 150px wide and 110px in height. The logo proportions of the logo MUST alwasy

be contrained and can never look stretched or appear warrped in any way.

do this not this

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To Write Love on Her Arms texture is grungy but the light color makes it easy to place behind a solid color or image.

The images should evoke a mixed feeling of struggle, recovery, and a hopeful future. It is very important that all images are in their highest possible quality and the proportions are kept constrained at all times.

3.3 images & textures

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3.4 colors & typography

BAD GRUNGE(HEADINGS))))MYRIAD PRO

(SUBHEADINGS AND BODY)

The colors that were picked to represent To Write Love on Her Arms are bright colors to encourage a feeling of hope, happiness and a new beginning.

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3.5 ad & Web standards

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The To Write Love on Her Arms website must always have a design that contains large high quality images and stay consistent with a sleek and clean design to remain consistent with the rest of the brand.

Ads for To Write Love on Her Arms should have an image or images that are strong and related to the cause the organization represents. The ads must also include the TWLOHA logo and a disclaimer related to the image or situation in which the image may be representing.

3.6 INFO GRAPHIC

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4 solve4.1 Website 4.2 Social Media

4.3 Merchandise 4.4 Public Service Announcements

4.5 Print Ads

4.1 website

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The TWLOHA website ties everything together. It incorporates all links to and from the social media pages, videos from youtube as well as every PSA that is made, and contains articles and blog posts from people in the program.

This design was chosen based on the current trends in web design. It’s a responsive design, which means it will automatically detect the kind device it is being viewed on and respond according to the pixel ratio for that screen size.

4.2 Social media

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Facebook and Twitter will be used to share updates on events thatTo Write Love on Her Arms is hosting, as well as to share some stories about some of the people that are receiving treatment from the facilities and following the program that To Write Love on Her Arms has to offer.

The decision was made to use these two Social Media platforms because they both appear to have the largest following pertaining to To Write Love on Her Arms target demographic.

4.3 merchandise

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To Write Love on Her Arms merchandise will be used as another form of advertisement for the organization. Merchandise will be sold through the website, as well as in retail stores. All proceeds collected from merchandise sales will go towards opening treatment facilities for To Write Love on Her Arms.

4.2 Public service annoucements

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To Write Love on Her Arms will have PSA’s as well as radio broadcasts about the program, what to expect while you’re being helped with your addiction, and other events it may be taking part in.

Public service announcements are a vital tool in generating awareness for critical issues while dispensing important information for many non-profit organizations.

4.2 print ads

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Ads for To Write Love on Her Arms will be placed in magazines, as well as made into posters and fliers to be posted around communities for those teens and young adults that may not take part in social media.

The ads will always have a strong image that grasps attention of passers by, and most comply to the brands standards for advertisements.

ResourcesTworkowski, J. (2006) To write love on her arms. Retrieved from http://twloha.com/vision/storyVision statement. Retrieved from http://twloha.com/vision/storyColor Symbolism and culture Retrieved from http://www.incredibleart.org/lessons/middle/color2.htmTop 3 fonts of 2013 in nonprofit websites. Retrieved from http://venturagraphicdesign.com/blog/2014/1/10/top-3-fonts-of-2013-in-nonprofit-websitesRun for it. Retrieved from http://twloha.com/runforitSuicide prevention. (2014, January 9). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pub/youth_suicide.htmlColor Meanings & Symbolism: Red [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.arttherapyblog.com/uimages/2011/01/color-meanings-symbolism-chart-red.pngTop 3 Fonts of 2013 In Nonprofit Websites [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://venturagraphicdesign.com/blog/2014/1/10/top-3-fonts-of-2013-in-nonprofit-websitesAll Photos http://www.freeimages.com

Ashley LaurentiAugust 2014

MDMFA Full Sail University