The north star

Empowering young people by padding-out their period knowledge

Services

Sectors

Health and wellbeing

Client

Public Health Wales

Project Name

Bloody Brilliant

Credits

Phoebe Trass, with dark hair and a colourful headband, smiles and makes double peace signs with both hands. She wears a bright green, loose-knit jumper and stands indoors.

The challenge

The stigma around periods runs deep – any talk of menstruation is almost always negative, if you hear anything about it all. And educational resources aren’t always readily available or communicated in a way that resonates with young people.

Public Health Wales are aiming to change that with the relaunch of their campaign Bloody Brilliant, which educates young people about periods and encourages conversations to help reduce shame.

We worked with Public Health Wales to help guide that relaunch, centered around a suite of materials to help normalise what young people are feeling, and celebrate their “Bloody Brilliant bodies”.

A pink pouch filled with sanitary towels, blister packs of pills, tampons, and wrapped sanitary products against a light pink background.

A person with yellow-painted toenails is sitting with their underwear pulled down to their knees, showing a sanitary towel attached to the underwear.

A sanitary towel, a white tampon, and a pink menstrual cup are arranged on a light pink background.

A young person with light skin and straight, pastel pink hair looks over their shoulder, wearing a white shirt with a colourful graphic. Pink doodle spirals are drawn near their head. The background is softly blurred.

A pink bath with water running near the drain, chrome tap and knobs, pink tiles on the wall, and a dark blue tube of cream on the bath’s edge.

Our approach

When we analysed research on the perceptions and knowledge base of 11 to 16-year-olds in Wales about periods, the results were compelling. Many young people felt embarrassed to talk about periods or felt that there was a lack of available information. They wanted relatable content which normalised periods, informed them and their support network, and involved boys in the conversation too.

Over the following year, we worked closely with Public Health Wales to produce a range of bilingual materials, including partner packs, posters, social graphics, animations and an online quiz, to get young people talking and reduce the stigma associated with periods.

We developed the established brand style by introducing imagery and additional illustrations to freshen up the campaign and complement the messaging we created.

Illustration showing three types of menstrual products: a pantyliner labelled Reliable liners, a reusable pad labelled Penny saving reusable pads, and a maxi pad labelled The good ol’ faithful pads.

Illustration of a white menstrual cup with pink accents and a white pair of knickers with a pink spot, both on a dark blue background, representing menstrual products and periods.

The image features the phrase Mislif Fi Bloody Brilliant with a pink tampon illustration replacing part of the text. The background has blue and pink abstract shapes and dotted patterns.

Bold blue text reads “What’s a bloody brilliant period?” surrounded by playful pink and blue graphics of a sanitary towel, tampon, and abstract shapes on a white background.

Two cartoon people holding hands with red marks on their clothes, symbolising periods. Above them, text reads Let’s normalise periods together! The image promotes breaking the stigma around menstruation.

Illustration of a tampon and a sanitary towel, each decorated with a pink heart, set against a dark blue background. The towel has pink side wings and a stitched heart pattern.

A pink drop shape with white, playful text that reads: anything you can do I can do bleeding.

A hand holding a mobile phone, displaying an Instagram post that reads Did you know? 1.8 billion on a blue background, with social media icons visible below. The background is a plain, neutral wall.

A poster on a tiled wall shows a girl in a swimming costume and swim cap with goggles on her head. The text says, “My period won’t stop me!” and offers advice about swimming during periods. There are period products and a QR code.

A period product directory

We created a dedicated microsite to help young people quickly and discreetly locate free period products near them. Designed to be simple and accessible, the site gave users a practical tool that supported the campaign’s aim of breaking down stigma and ensuring no one was left without the products they needed.

A navy blue pouch with pink and white accents and the text you are bloody brilliant printed on the front, placed on a white surface against a tiled wall background.

A person in a black jacket, black tights, and black boots carries a tote bag reading Bloody Brilliant! with pink and white designs, standing on a pavement.

A desk calendar displaying the month of September with illustrated figures of a smiling man and woman beside the dates. The calendar has a pink stand and a purple background.

A person holds a tablet displaying a website about finding free period products. The screen shows cartoon illustrations, search options, and a headline reading “Find Free Period Products Near You” on a pink and blue background.

A person wearing a white T-shirt with the text Mislif Fi Bloody Brilliant holds a pink and blue notebook featuring illustrations of a tampon, pad, menstrual cup, and small dots.

The results

Our approach for the relaunch emphasised education, normalisation and dispelling fear through animation and human-led content that accurately depicted periods through a mixture of illustration and real-world imagery that young people could relate to. This aimed to resonate and appeal to 11 to 16 year olds, while also offering crucial information for their support network.

For a partner pack, posters and social media assets are all housed on Brandbag, where local authorities can customise each poster with their logo next to the NHS logo. This has been particularly useful in schools and leisure centres as another ‘stamp of approval’ that reassures the public about the credibility of these materials.