McCarthy’s identity for All Right? shows consideration in its friendly approach to mental health

Are you all right? As asked by the new identity for mental health awareness campaigner All Right?, which has been recently developed by Christchurch-based design studio McCarthy. The rebrand comes after All Right? celebrate ten years of campaigning and exponential growth from a local focus to being part of the national conversation – being immediately utilised as a part of New Zealand’s Pride Month for the LGBTQIA+ community. The resulting resource Chitter Chatter is a new support system for tamariki that questions the notion of masculinity, asking us to reconsider what it means to be ‘manly’. McCarthy’s work thrives off its attentive simplicity; crafting an identity bold enough to confidently and uniquely stand up and show-off on a national scale, whilst being approachable and, importantly, inclusive. The typeface choices of the brand truly provide the identity with a friendly face – using Mindset, a hand-rendered style typeface that provides a subtle personality and honesty, married with Moderat; a conventional but strong sans serif. “We tried a bunch of different options, and at one stage were looking at developing our own typeface,” Matt Kitto, the creative director of McCarthy, tells us, “but (we) threw this idea out after seeing Mindset – which was a perfect fit for the brand in our opinion.” In representing and campaigning for a wide spectrum of issues and communities, McCarthy has developed a beautiful and vibrant colour palette to help express as such; with 20 colours rigorously tested to reach successful colour combinations. “This is an element that we see as being able to be continually experimented with and updated,” Kitto explains, highlighting how versatile the identity was required to be, having to work across multiple platforms; from individual campaigns to their ever-expanding web presence. This has been wonderfully achieved through utilising the strength of the type and colour choices within their photography, pattern design, videos, animations and illustrations.