Ottawa Public Health

Standout Features:

• Captivating and emotional
• Motion symbolism
• Alarming messages

Ottawa Public Health Department felt the need to address a burning child healthcare issue of undiagnosed stigmas resulting in one-eyed blindness in over 7,000 children. Design agency Accurate Creative developed an emotional public campaign that helped the department raise awareness about the issue and later increased checkups among children.

The healthcare campaign design is heavily focused on a single poster child – a young girl with a worrisome look and yellow caution tape wrapped around one of her eyes. The girl holds a sign communicating the department's cause. Overall, the image provokes an emotional response in the viewer.

While the girl is the only constant, other variations include her visual aids changing, as well as what she holds onto. Some images show her holding a toy with the same eye patch, and some portray her reading a book. Regardless of the design elements, the imagery’s alarming message remains intact.

Another variation is the two-piece poster, with a big yellow arrow on the left pointing to the same girl on the right side, indicating both the focus point and motion. It signals the time to act is NOW.