An amputee sits on a simple chair, with a cream coloured background. He wears a walm smile, and blue hawaiian shirt

Giving hope to survivors of life changing injury

Day One Trauma Support
For those who survive a life-changing injury, the road to recovery is long, uncertain and terrifying. Multiple medical teams are in place to treat physical injury, but no-one considers the emotional and practical support that people – both patients and loved ones – desperately need. All too often, people are left to cope on their own. Leading trauma and orthopaedic surgeon Professor Giannoudis, alongside a small group of medical professionals and former patients, set out to change this. Learning from lived experience to treat the person, not just the injury, they give people hope, from day one. We've helped Day One Trauma Support grow from their inception to become a national charity. Encouraging them to ditch the medical jargon, and create a brand that tells the real human story. An identity and messaging platform that not only helps them grow awareness and fundraise, but helps them communicate the need for their services in hospitals and medical centres. This led to growth in national services, awareness and fundraising. But much more importantly, the brand has helped to connect people. Attracting more people with lived experience to share their stories and help others. They are creating an army of supporters, and we'll continue to help them achieve their vital goal of ensuring no-one is left to face this alone.

Naming
Brand articulation
Visual identity
Verbal identity
Campaign direction
Guardianship

Everyone’s major trauma story is unique, with each day of their recovery journey presenting a different challenge and experience. The new identity needed to feel personal, positive and pro-active, with an understanding of how every single moment can be a big victory.

Survivor Henry sits on an old school chair in the centre of a cream coloured background with text digitally placed on his left and right reading “Dear Henry”. He has his a friendly approachable smile on his face, elbows on his knees and one leg amputated, with a prosthetic leg taking it's place.

The charity works very closely with those coping with life-changing injuries. We were privileged enough to capture their peer support volunteers as they courageously shared their very personal and honest stories of recovery as part of a therapeutic letter writing project called ‘Dear me’.

An event booklet produced for the Dear Me exhibition is pictured; with survivor Amy’s letter being front and centre, alongside her image on the left hand side
A close up image of survivor Paul is set on a cream background. He is looking directly at the camera with a serious, but kind look in his eyes
An image of survivor Vicky is taken in long shot, where we can see her sat on an old school style chair. She's set on a cream background, and appears to be mid conversational laugh with someone off to the right of the camera, as this is the direction her body is facing

Prior to Major Trauma Awareness Week, the campaign launched with an exhibition hosted by Day One patron Martha Lane Fox at the House of Lords. A chance for the volunteers to share their stories at a high profile event and to raise much needed awareness around the serious lack of funding and resources in this area.

Three booklets for day one are seen on a dark blue background, with the two on either ends of the middle one being cut off by the framing
Five double page spreads from Day One booklets are shown on a dark blue background. The contents cover everything from peoples individual stories, to legal advice, and some larger quotes. Each is embellished with little colourful details, whether thats arrows, question marks, speech bubbles, or little lanyard illustrations

Day One speaks in a way that’s encouraging, realistic and ambitious, whether that’s to patients beginning their recovery journey and the loved ones supporting them, or to pioneering healthcare professionals and fabulous fundraisers. Importantly, everyone is given the platform they deserve to share their unique and inspiring stories, helping to nurture an inclusive and supportive community.

A quote by peer support volunteer and former patient at Leeds General Infirmary reads: "I worked out that I could bring the laundry downstairs by using a big Ikea bag and swinging it over my good shoulder."
Orange text on a cream background reads: "We're here for the good days, and the bad". "And the bad" is underlined with a blue line
Image of amputee Sam shows a large mountain range sprawling behind him, and the messaging on his right reads: "Stairs first, Everest later." With a little by line saying "Sam's 100k step challenge"
The Day One website front page [as of 2025] is displayed on a dark blue background. This shows an explanation of the charity, how they help, and where they're based
The Day One website page showing an individual survivors story page [as of 2025] is shown on a teal background. Here we see Lily-Mae's image taken for the dear me campaign, alongside the videos

Illustration adds some real human charm when photography is limited. It can sensitively tackle distressing topics or add energy to fun fundraising activities. Even simple typographic executions are given the Day One treatment with highlights, underlines and scribbles drawn using a bespoke brush.

A screenshot of the JustGiving page where Day One rose £1,100 is displayed, along side the illustrations made for the specific page, depicting all the different ways people are exercising to raise money
A grid of nine social media posts is laid out, showcasing some of the messaging around fundraising, what Day One does, and community posts. These are all fully branded, and done to give the charity an idea of what they could do when posting. Not as direct templates, but inspiration
Image of a fundraiser wearing a Day One shirt is seen in a close up at the park. The writing on the back of her shirt reads: "Day One is rooting for you"

More work