Helping young people make safer choices.
Built for young people. Ready for professionals.
Safer Choices is a young person–led sexual health campaign from YMCA Derbyshire, funded through public health partners to address inequality, stigma, and access to information around sexual and reproductive health.
We needed to create resources for a sexual health awareness campaign that speak with young people – not at them. And ensure professionals had the tools to deliver those conversations with confidence.
- The challenge
Talking about what’s often avoided.
Sexual health, safe relationships, and HIV stigma remain difficult topics – especially for young people navigating misinformation, inequality, and social pressure.
The campaign needed to:
- Engage young people in a way that felt relevant and respectful
- Equip professionals to deliver sessions confidently
- Balance clarity and sensitivity across all materials
- Align closely with YMCA’s established brand identity
We didn’t want anything to sound clinical or feel patronising.
- The strategy
Co-produced. Youth-led. Brand-aligned.
This was first and foremost an awareness campaign – but one grounded in listening.
We worked closely with YMCA Derbyshire, young people, sexual health professionals, and youth workers to understand:
From there, we built a flexible, accessible toolkit system – supported by a clear digital home.
- The output
01.
A sexual health awareness campaign identity rooted in YMCA
Bespoke educational toolkits
A dedicated campaign landing page
Social and digital assets
- The impact
Designed to last - and it has.
- Toolkits continue to be downloaded nine months+ post-launch
- Campaign remains live and active
- Resources rolled out nationally across 116 YMCAs and the Foyer Federation
What began locally is now supporting young people and professionals across England and Wales.
“MacMartin quickly understood the brief of the project, our brand guidelines and worked with us to meet ours and our funders needs. Being a young person led project meant that at times information was delayed or sent in different formats, they had patience and understanding.
We’ve now gone on to work with MacMartin to re-design elements of our whole website as we know they completely understand and support our charity. They are quick to respond, professional and produce great pieces of work, I would recommend them.”
What we did.
- Campaign branding & visual identity
- Copywriting & content development
- Bespoke educational toolkits
- Website landing page design
- Social media templates & assets
Why it worked.
Because it was built with flexibility and trust.
The campaign respected the realities of a youth-led project – evolving inputs, multiple contributors, and sensitive subject matter.
Clear design.
Accessible tools.
A system built to grow.