Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families

Making veterans feel seen and heard

Atlas bridges the divide between research and practice to help veterans and their families get the best possible mental healthcare. The visual ethos of the brand ties to the mythic hero who carries the weight of the world, and to the reference volumes that help us find our way in the world.

Breaking down barriers and reducing stigma

Veterans and their families feel unseen and unheard. They are tired of the failed promises of public and private institutions. This sense of abandonment compounds mental health conditions such as PTSD and moral injury. The Centre of Excellence on PTSD was created to address the gap between research, medical practice and public education. We rebranded the centre as Atlas. Our “We don’t see what they see” campaign was a centrepiece of Atlas’ launch. We used visual and audio storytelling to bring national awareness to the trauma and mental health experiences that veterans and their families face.

mockups of the atlas website on desktop and laptop
brand guidelines mockup showing 9 pages social tile mockup of a instagram story on a phone

The campaign set out to acknowledge and validate the experiences of veterans and their families. The stories had to help shift perspectives and build awareness about the knowledge gap in mental health research and treatment. We reached our impressions goal within the first four weeks of the 14-week campaign. More than six million people viewed or engaged with the Atlas ads.

social mockups of veteran handwriting overtop of washed out imagery