HSE: Communication, Design and Animation
HSE | Empowering women's voices for mental health reform through storytelling
The HSE Office of Mental Health Engagement & Recovery (MHER) and Mental Health Reform (MHR) wanted to capture women’s experiences of mental health services, and the impact of menopause on well-being. We captured the outcomes of the consultations through animated videos and reports.
The work gave voice to women’s real experiences, driving meaningful conversations and shaping policy reform for better mental health services in Ireland. These resources, launched on International Women’s Day, are now vital tools in advocating for changes that address women’s mental health needs.
MHER and MHR wanted to involve as many women as possible in the consultations and wanted to share the women’s experiences, but without revealing their identities in order to create a safe space for women to be open about their mental health experiences.
Promoting the webinar consultation
To connect with women from around Ireland, we supported MHER and MHR in the promotion of their webinar consultation. A 2-week campaign strategy and content schedule was developed to connect with women who have experience of mental health challenges and women who have experience of perimenopause and menopause.
Using animation to tell personal stories
We used animation to capture the women’s experiences - the soft colour palette, textures and hand drawn styling elements made the videos feel more personal and put the emphasis on the personal and delicate nature of the subject. Characters were created using soft round shapes to complement this style and to represent women’s voices from a variety of backgrounds and age groups. The voiceover also reflected this through the use of different female voices telling real stories from women who attended the consultations, and a narrator’s voice helped to coherently deliver these stories and other key information.
We supported the designing of two reports: one exploring menopause and perimenopause and another looking at women’s mental health services. Utilising the animations created for the videos, still graphics and characters were used throughout the reports.
Capturing imagery at Conversation Cafes
At the in-person conversation cafes, in Galway and Kilkenny, we captured a bank of imagery to be used for future reports, as well as on social and digital channels. Due to the delicate nature of the subject, we ensured photography did not include participants’ faces. Instead, we focused on the round table discussion where participants were able to write their thoughts and ideas on a table cloth.
Impacting policy with women's real-life experiences
At the end of the project, we had produced two animated videos and two reports, which allowed women who attended the consultations to tell their stories anonymously. The reports were launched in March, to coincide with International Women’s Day where senior politicians and ministers were in attendance. By capturing and expressing women’s real-life experiences the reports and animations are key tools in driving policy changes and reform in the delivery of women’s mental health services in Ireland.
