EPFL — Branding , campaign by twks: Making space for mental health

At EPFL, mental health is part of a year-round initiative, with different programmes and a key moment in the calendar: the Health Days. But having the right resources is not always enough. People still need to feel comfortable approaching them. Rather than adopting the medical or institutional codes usually associated with the subject, the identity takes the opposite direction: generous shapes, bold colours, humour and, above all, characters. A way of making first contact before the conversation has even begun.

They smile, doubt, withdraw and come together. Because talking about wellbeing without showing the moments when it falters would make little sense.

The mascot becomes a small gallery of emotions. Expressions change, postures shift, turning the character into a mirror in which everyone can recognise something of how they feel. It is not there to tell people how they should feel. It simply shows that there are many ways to feel, and that they all have a place.

With a subject this sensitive, finding the right tone was perhaps the most delicate part. Too serious, and the message becomes clinical. Too light, and it loses credibility. The identity looks for that balance right down to its typography. Letters take up space, ripple, stretch and sometimes seem to follow the movements of the characters. Messages become almost physical. Be kind to your body & mind is no longer just a sentence to read: it becomes an invitation that occupies the space and catches the eye. The system can therefore feel warm and spontaneous without ever making light of the subject.

No clinical blue, no deliberately muted palette. Yellow, pink, mint green and purple create a much more vibrant world, where mental health can also speak of energy, connection and movement. Above all, the colours allow the identity to stand out in an environment already saturated with information. On a poster, a screen or in the middle of an event, it needs to interrupt the gaze for a few seconds. Not to alarm, but to invite. Colour becomes the first gesture of an identity that is less about signalling a problem than opening a conversation.

A mental health campaign could not simply appear for a few days and then disappear. The system was therefore designed to move around.

The characters travel from posters to screens, from events to clothing and everyday objects. They appear alone, together, oversized or almost as a detail. During the Health Days, they even take physical form alongside students. Through repetition, a campaign gradually becomes a familiar presence: something you encounter without necessarily looking for it, but know how to recognise when you need it.

Ultimately, the identity works in the same way as the message it carries. It does not try to represent an ideal version of wellbeing, but to make room for different states of mind to coexist. The characters overlap, surround one another, support each other and sometimes come together as a single whole. A simple way of reminding us that on a campus where everyone is navigating their own expectations, rhythms and challenges, no one needs to feel exactly like the person next to them to have their place.

Making space for mental health might simply begin by giving it a place.