Able Futures

Enabling futures

It doesn’t matter how old we are, what kind of job we have, or where we work, any one of us can experience mental health issues that affect the quality of our working lives.

Able Futures is a part of a government-backed nationwide programme, Access to Work Mental Health Support Services, set up to help and support people, at no charge to them, who have depression, anxiety, stress or other mental health issues, which affects their time at work. It’s there to help them lead a more enabled future at work through improved mental health and wellbeing. In partnership with employment and health specialist, Ingeus, we crafted a strong proposition, and visual and verbal identities, for the programme and a website to promote it effectively.

Crafting the language

Our starting point was a clear narrative. We wanted to ensure that anyone coming across Able Futures clearly understood what the service offered.

Poor mental health varies from person to person. Some days people have good days. Some days are bad days. This insight directed our core messaging and took away the sigma often cited by people with mental health issues. We wanted to focus the narrative on the enabling aspect of the service, emphasising the positive impact the service has on people at work and how it can help them move forward.

“We explored the language around the name. To emphasise the life-affirming benefits of the service messages like enjoyable futures and sustainable futures were introduced as part of the narrative, which worked for employees, apprentices, employers as well as the team at Able Futures. This was also carried into the identity with a cursor before ‘able’ to suggest the possibilities that service could bring.”

Lisa Cromer, Brand Ethos

Accessibility underpinned the verbal brand as much as the identity design. We focused on creating an empathetic and non-judgemental tone of voice delivered through inclusive, easy-to-read language. The content sought to reassure and to foster trust, and make it as easy as possible for people to access.

An accessible colour palette, typefaces and clear visual language were created, as well as an animation, a website and a raft of workplace print materials.

Visit Able Futures website.