BERKELEY WELLNESS FOR ALL CAMPAIGN
Developing a behavior-change mental health campaign adopted across California cities
Project Overview
The City of Berkeley launched a mental health campaign to provide free digital wellness tools in response to COVID-19’s ongoing emotional toll on the community. This campaign delivered a strong, human-centered brand across digital and print platforms, expanding beyond Berkeley to inspire cities across the state.
In partnership with Uptown Studios marketing team, a 6-month marketing plan was developed alongside multiple human-centered design focus groups to help define and implement a community and partner toolkit, outdoor advertising, social media posts and advertisements, e-blasts, and print graphic design work.
Campaign Brand Identity, Marketing Materials, & Namning solely designed by Noël Michienzi during employment at Uptown Studios.
Campaign Branding
After completing human-centered design focus groups and developing the marketing plan, the next step was naming and branding the campaign. The City of Berkeley wanted the campaign to feel approachable and community-driven, avoiding anything overly bureaucratic, while still aligning with the city’s established brand. To achieve this, we drew from Berkeley’s official color palette and incorporated organic shapes and calming design elements that reflected wellness and mental health. A structured, corporate sans-serif typeface provided clarity and consistency across materials, while the handwritten script “for all” added a human touch, grounding the campaign in the people it was designed to serve.
Marketing Materials
The campaign needed to balance clarity with compassion. We focused on creating advertising and marketing materials that felt trustworthy, inclusive, and community-first. The messaging strategy emphasized ease of access and destigmatization. Toolkits were designed for rapid deployment across city channels. By developing a unified visual language and adapting content for print, digital, and outreach events, the campaign ensured consistent messaging and accessibility across all.
Outcome & Scaling The Campaign
Berkeley Wellness for All successfully created meaningful access to mental health resources, proving that thoughtful branding paired with clarity, flexibility, and human-centered design can have measurable impact. The campaign aimed to connect Berkeley residents, workers, and students with free mental health resources, making self-care feel approachable, stigma-free, and inclusive.
The campaign’s success quickly inspired replication in other communities. Santa Barbara Wellness for All, Tri-Cities Wellness for All, and San Mateo Wellness for All all adopted the branding approach, extending the reach and impact of the initiative while maintaining consistent, human-centered messaging across regions.
Santa Barbara Wellness for All
Santa Barbara County highlighted Mental Health Awareness Month by lighting up buildings in lime green, spreading a message of support and reducing stigma. This campaign focused on community-wide engagement, showing residents that no one has to face mental health challenges alone.
Tri-City Wellness for All
Tri-City Mental Health created a comprehensive campaign toolkit to promote mental wellness across the community. By offering resources like free access to the myStrength app and actionable self-care steps, the initiative empowered individuals to support their own mental health and the well-being of those around them.
San Mateo Wellness for All
San Mateo County Health refreshed its brand identity, including a new name and logo, to better represent its behavioral health and recovery services. This rebranding aimed to enhance recognition, build trust, and highlight the county’s commitment to providing accessible, high-quality mental health care.