Lonely Not Alone

Project impact:

97% of visitors took positive action to help others

Overview:

Lonely Not Alone was a youth-led campaign by the Co-op Foundation, co-designed with young people to reduce the stigma around youth loneliness. Launched in 2019, the campaign encouraged young people to share their experiences and feel less alone by showing that loneliness is nothing to be ashamed of.

In 2021, the Co-op Foundation's creative agency Effervescent partnered with Digital Wonderlab to bring the campaign online in a new way. As part of the Digital Wonderlab team, I led the visual design and art direction for the website — turning an existing constellation-themed concept into an immersive, emotionally resonant experience.

The site featured animal-shaped constellations, each representing a different emotional theme. Within each constellation, individual stars held real stories submitted by young people, creating a digital universe of shared experience and connection.

Challenge

Translating the sensitive theme of loneliness into a digital experience that felt relatable, safe, and creatively uplifting.
Designing for accessibility while maintaining visual impact, knowing most users would access the site on mobile.
Making the experience intuitive and engaging across a broad age range.

Solution

Developed a bold, immersive UI using a dark starfield as a canvas, with animated animal constellations to guide user exploration.
Mapped user-submitted stories to individual stars, making personal experiences feel meaningful and seen.
Commissioned bespoke illustrations to bring warmth and personality to the campaign.
Due to the highly interactive nature of the main site, we also created an alternative, text-only version designed for accessibility. This included high-contrast styling, screen-reader-friendly structure, and simplified navigation to ensure all users could access the campaign meaningfully.

Results

The campaign saw overwhelmingly positive engagement, with the website playing a key role in delivering impact:

‍97% of young people who saw the campaign took action to help others feel less alone.

‍40,000+ visitors accessed the site in the first two months.

‍150 real stories were shared and mapped as stars in the interactive constellation universe.

According to the Co-op Foundation:

Young people who visited the site were 3× more likely to believe society takes youth loneliness seriously.

‍20% more felt comfortable asking for help.

‍7 in 10 said they felt less alone in their loneliness after seeing the campaign

Reflections

This was one of the most emotionally resonant projects I’ve worked on thus far. Contributing to a campaign with such a meaningful mission – and being trusted to shape its visual storytelling – was both a creative challenge and a personal privilege. Balancing beauty, accessibility, and narrative depth in a way that truly spoke to young people was deeply rewarding.

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