Commissioned by CYPSC Carlow, this project brought together young people to co-design a digital awareness campaign addressing online safety and harmful online behaviour. Using the Lundy Model of Participation, we facilitated a series of workshops that enabled participants to shape every aspect of the campaign, from the core message and storyline to the script and voiceovers. The result was It's Not A Game… a youth-led animated campaign that uses a distinctive pixel-art gaming aesthetic to challenge the perception that harmful online actions exist without real-world consequences.
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Facilitated a series of youth engagement workshops using the Lundy Model of Participation
Worked with participants to explore experiences and perceptions of online behaviour and online safety
Guided the group through a co-design process to develop the campaign message and narrative
Supported participants in writing the script and creating the campaign storyline
Enabled young people to record and perform the voiceovers used in the final animation
Developed the campaign name: It's Not A Game
Created a distinctive visual identity inspired by pixel-art and gaming culture
Designed the animation style, visual assets and creative direction
Collaborated with production partners to bring the campaign to life as a fully animated digital resource
Delivered a youth-led awareness campaign designed for digital distribution and engagement
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Client
CYPSC Carlow
Role
Facilitation, Co-Design, Campaign Strategy, Brand Identity and Creative Direction
The Challenge
Young people spend an increasing amount of their lives online, yet many harmful online behaviours are often dismissed as "just a joke", "just a comment" or "just part of being online."
CYPSC Carlow wanted to create a campaign that encouraged young people to think differently about the impact of their actions online.
Rather than adults defining the message, the project sought to place young people at the centre of the conversation and allow them to shape the campaign themselves.
The Approach
Using the Lundy Model of Participation, we facilitated a series of workshops that gave young people a genuine voice in the development of the campaign.
Participants explored:
Online behaviour and its consequences
Digital responsibility
Peer interactions online
The gap between online actions and real-world impact
How to communicate these issues to other young people
Rather than acting as consultants, the participants became co-creators.
They developed the campaign narrative, wrote the script and contributed the voiceovers that would ultimately appear in the finished animation.
Building the Message
A key theme emerged throughout the workshops.
Many harmful online actions are treated as though they exist separately from real life.
The group challenged this idea directly.
Their message was simple:
It's Not A Game
What happens online affects real people.
The title became the foundation of the campaign and informed every creative decision that followed.
Creating the Identity
Because gaming culture formed part of the discussion, the visual identity drew inspiration from pixel-art and retro gaming environments.
The aesthetic created an immediate connection with the target audience while reinforcing the campaign's core message.
The familiar visual language of games was used to challenge the idea that online interactions are consequence-free.
The result was a distinctive identity that felt relevant, engaging and youth-led.
The Outcome
The final campaign took the form of a fully animated awareness video.
Young people were involved throughout the process, contributing:
Campaign insights
Story development
Script writing
Voice acting
Creative feedback
The animation combined these contributions with a bespoke visual identity and creative direction to produce a campaign that was both educational and authentic.
The Impact
The project demonstrated the power of meaningful participation in campaign development.
By using the Lundy Model, young people moved beyond consultation and became active contributors to the final outcome.
The result was a campaign created with young people rather than for them.
One that speaks in their voice, reflects their experiences and addresses an issue that continues to shape how they interact with the world around them.
Key Insight
Young people are often the subject of online safety campaigns.
Rarely are they the authors.
By giving participants ownership of the message, the story and the voice behind the campaign, It's Not A Game became more than an awareness campaign.
It became a conversation led by the people it was designed to reach.
Watch ‘This isn’t a game’ here…
It started as a laugh
a group chat on a Friday night.
“Go on, Billy... send it!”
He didn’t want to be left out… so he did.
At first it was all jokes.
“emojis” under his name.
But then Monday came.
Screens lit up.
Whispers spread.
His stomach dropped.
This isn’t a game!
That one silly send.
wasn’t funny anymore.
It stuck. It spread. It stayed.
Think before you share.
Because once it’s out,
it’s never just a laugh.
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