About

Client & Project Overview

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The Blessing Harm Reduction Campaign was created to actively encourage music festival attendees to engage in harm reduction practices. Designed specifically for festival culture, the initiative featured a vibrant, whimsical, and cosmic fantasy aesthetic to resonate deeply with attendees. The main goals were:

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• Making harm reduction approachable and engaging.

• Encouraging attendees to actively participate in keeping their community safe.

• Delivering essential harm reduction messages through humor, fantasy-inspired visuals, and memorable interactions.

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As the lead designer, my role was to develop an engaging visual identity and a suite of creative materials to support these goals.

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The Challenge

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The key challenge was shifting festival attendees from passively receiving harm reduction services to actively participating in them. Specific design challenges included:

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• Addressing the stigma and taboo around substance use with engaging, approachable visuals.

• Ensuring materials were practical, readable, and environmentally friendly.

• Keeping production affordable while maintaining strong visual appeal.

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The Approach

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1. Research & Discovery

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I began by researching current harm reduction strategies and popular visual trends within festival subcultures. This involved:

• Analyzing successful visual strategies from other festivals.

• Understanding audience preferences and behaviors.

• Creating mood boards inspired by tarot symbolism, psychedelic art, and indie RPG aesthetics.

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2. Concept Development

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• Created unique characters representing common festival substances (e.g., Dimethylcroakus for DMT, Ketamine Keith, Mollycorn).

• Used humor and meme culture to make sensitive topics more approachable.

• Developed collectible elements to encourage active participation.

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3. Design & Composition

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• Designed the "Blessing" logo around ideas of protection, guidance, and community.

• Illustrated memorable characters linked to harm reduction messages, each connected to unique fantasy "realms" associated with different substances.

• Developed intuitive, easy-to-understand symbols for festival resources like water stations and chill-out spaces.

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4. Review & Refinement

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• Tested initial designs with festival attendees and organizers.

• Adjusted illustrations, symbols, and layouts to ensure maximum clarity and impact.

• Ensured materials were eco-friendly and cost-effective.

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5. Finalization & Export

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• Created print-ready and digital assets, including holographic stickers, Blessing Cards, signage, and tokens.

• Ensured consistency across different media formats.

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6. Delivery

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• Delivered ready-to-use visual materials for festival deployment.

• Provided guidelines for consistent use across festival locations.

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The Solution

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The final campaign successfully turned harm reduction from a passive service into an active, culturally relevant festival experience.

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Key Features:

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• Engaging, mystical branding designed specifically for festival culture.

• Collectible Blessing Cards featuring humorous characters and important harm reduction messages.

• Practical tear-away tokens that doubled as navigation tools and incentives for participation.

• Clear, cohesive signage with intuitive symbols to guide attendees.

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Results & Key Takeaways

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Results:

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• The campaign was enthusiastically received, significantly increasing active participation in harm reduction services.

• Festival-goers appreciated the humorous approach and interactive materials.

• Improved overall community awareness and proactive involvement in festival safety.

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Key Takeaways:

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• Humor and relatable visuals significantly boost engagement in harm reduction activities.

• Interactive, collectible designs encourage attendees to take personal responsibility for community safety.

• Sustainable and practical design choices enhance accessibility without compromising aesthetics.

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Conclusion

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The Blessing Harm Reduction Campaign successfully integrated proactive harm reduction into festival culture by combining playful visuals, strategic humor, and meaningful community interaction. Through thoughtful research, creative exploration, and iterative refinement, the campaign effectively made harm reduction an empowering, enjoyable, and collective experience for festival attendees.