THE BRIEF/  The Healthy Communities Study (HCS) is an important five-year study that looks at how characteristics of programs and policies in communities across the United States are related to children's eating, physical activity behaviors, and their health including lungs, heart, bone marrow and cholesterol. This large study includes over 120 communities and about 5,000 families. The HCS collects information from families on their children's eating habits and physical activities; from health care providers on children's health histories; from schools on their food and physical activity environments; and, from community leaders on local programs and policies. Findings from this study will help inform community leaders about what aspects of programs and policies may help children's health.

MY APPROACH/  Children have often had to accept medicines and treatments based on what is known to work in adults. Many efforts are being made to provide proper research for children, to find the best treatments, drugs, and devices for them as opposed to a "hand-me-down" approach. The logo mark and identity of the campaign needed to feel welcoming, disarming and approachable. I decided on an illustrative yet conceptual approach depicting family, the home and the community. Each logo representation reflects use of our knowledge of adult learning theory, sound behavior change, and social marketing to design informational materials that not only effectively inform our audience but also enable them to make healthy changes to their behavior. 

THE IMPACT/  Community programs and policies in a total of 210 demographically diverse communities across the nation are being examined. An estimated 17,000 children and their parents will participate. Eighty communities will be selected because of promising policies and programs each already have in place. The warm, welcoming, communal energy of the logo and friendly typeface achieve the desired effect of generating interest while maintaining approachability.