Project background
Brisbane Youth Service (BYS) support homeless and vulnerable young people (aged 12–25 years) and their children, to secure and maintain housing. They provide emergency support and a range of services including their successful WARPED (Wellbeing And Relapse Prevention EDucation) program which aims to prevent relapse of harmful alcohol and other drug use in young at-risk people.
As part of an update to their program content, BYS approached Liveworm to redesign the WARPED activity booklet to develop an outcome that better resonated with those in the program. Liveworm students determined that targeting the entire age group would be difficult as younger participants would respond differently to older participants. In response, students presented various design approaches the WARPED booklet could take, with different approaches for 12–17 and 18–25-year-olds. After careful consideration, BYS decided to proceed with two booklet designs to cater to these specific age groups within their program.
Design outcome
The first booklet design by Mariaa Urbina was aimed at the younger audience, featuring approachable pastel colours and a series of custom illustrations to highlight key points and experiences within the WARPED program. Participants move throughout the booklet following a stray cat in various situations, inspired by the analogy “cravings are like stray cats — if you feed them they’ll keep coming back”.
The second, designed by Samuel Downie, was aimed at a slightly older audience. For this direction, design elements were constructed using torn and scrunched paper, photocopier manipulation, and acrylic paint. The resulting layout features bright design elements alongside darker shadowed spaces, inspiring hope and more hopeful futures if participants can move beyond the rough.