MiraVista is a behavioral health center providing psychiatric and substance use recovery treatment. Heavy stuff. Yet their existing marketing and outreach focused on flat illustrations and generic cartoon characters. When I was assigned the account at DOB, I pushed for street cred to feature real human faces, up close and vulnerable. Authentic faces break down barriers. They create a sense of trust and connection with the target audience of potential patients and concerned family or friends. Nothing is more expressive than a human face. But given the budget, only stock photography was possible…so it became an adventure in futility exploring the many stock libraries for faces that communicate both the truth and imprecision of real life. Stock photos are famously artificial, often because they focus on a single meaning like an old-time Delsarte actor symbolizing an emotion with a rote gesture. The difficulty is to find a face that conveys multiple meanings: a sense of defiance and optimism, of despair and hope. Maybe that’s why MiraVista went with generic cartoon illustrations for so long. Once I had approval for the new tone, I migrated this look across their print and social presence: print ads, web banners, rack cards and handout flyers, recruitment materials, and social media posts.