Illustrating Attitudes and Actions with Data

Three Organizations Working Towards One Goal

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (Action Alliance), and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) have been commissioning The Harris Poll to conduct a bi-annual, nationally representative survey of adults in the U.S. to understand the public’s beliefs and attitudes about mental health and suicide.

This year, 2022, all three suicide prevention organizations teamed up with Oomph to take that data and distill it into a microsite for easy consumption among professionals and the general public who visit the site.

The data from the poll shows that progress has been made, but there is still more to do. We all must continue to learn more about suicide and mental health, particularly through increased research efforts, teaching everyone how to help prevent suicide and strengthen mental health, and advocate for improved access to care and robust crisis services.

Oomph made sure our approach to information design, branding, and messaging came across effectively and clearly. How could we use data to show people which actions they could personally take to affect positive change?

Design Sprint to E-Learning Microsite

Our initial idea of the audience was more public facing rather than a specific audience. We started our design approach to be stylized and playful.

Taking a step back, we regrouped and determined that the audience was more academic and administrative, therefore it was to lean towards a professional tone. A new idea clicked — we could present this microsite as an e-learning experience.

The new design direction features four key chapters: the Introduction, Learn About the Data, Know How to Help, and Advocate for Change. By implementing a tab-like navigation, it allows for users to hop to each section they may be most interested in, and reads as if it is an eBook.

Each section is color coded, and the navigation has a gradient that brings in all of the sections together in unity to showcase that message throughout. Each section follows a similar pattern: an introduction, data from the Harris Poll, an opportunity to find resources about the chapter, and shareable resources to help spread the message on the viewer’s own social channels. We hope that by the end of the microsite, the user is ready to inform themselves further by finding resources or sharing about the current perceptions of suicide.