Place2Be Arts & Minds

Transforming children’s lives through the power of a pencil

Marking its 30^th anniversary, children’s mental health charity Place2Be inspires in its core mission to provide mental health access and support to children and young people across the UK. Hosting the annual ‘Arts & Minds’ Gala Dinner to raise vital funds for children’s mental health, we partnered with the team to craft a visual identity that reflected this year’s event and the charity’s purpose.

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CREATIVITYCAUSE

The Tension

Our help was enlisted to translate the Place2Be aim of shining a light on art as a powerful creative tool to talk about mental health openly across a bespoke identity system which also drew inspiration from this year’s gala venue – the Battersea Arts Centre. Looking to celebrate all art forms, we were drawn to the pencil as the shorthand for creativity – and our visual identity.

The Power

We started with a pencil - the universal symbol of creativity, crafting a visual lock up of the ‘A’ & ‘M’ that ties the identity together through mark-making and visual expression. From hand-crafted illustrations representing the world of creativity the arts unlocks, to child-like doodles and patterns that act as a backdrop to photography; the pencil’s reference as a shorthand for creativity and the arts is brought to life across various touchpoints for the Arts & Minds Gala evening, both print and digital, showcasing its endless potential for expressiveness. It was important that the identity also took inspiration from this year’s venue and all its history, including a devastating fire in 2015 that left most of Battersea Arts Centre severely damaged. A single sign which survived became our source of inspiration as the holding shape, which we evolved into a visual frame device to house photography or create a visual border for pattern. The result translates Place2Be’s core vision in using creative expression and play to openly talk about mental health by conveying the power that creativity holds and its ability to transform children’s lives.