Sad Girls Club is a non-profit that was formed after founder Elyse Fox released a short film documenting the worst year of her depression. She used the film to communicate with friends and family about her mental state, and to be vulnerable for the first time publicly. After its release, she experienced a wave of support from young BIPOC women who also wanted to be more open about their mental health. Soon after, the SGC online community began through Instagram. The community grew quickly to over 250k members, which enabled SGC to host in-person support events.

Prior to Tickety Boo Creative’s involvement, Sad Girls Club was without a fully formed brand identity. The company was asked to look at the brand purpose, values, brand statement, logo and brand toolkit, with the aim of building recognition and credibility, and thereby future-proofing the brand by attracting fundraising and brand partnerships.

The goal was to create a safe space for open conversations through graphical language and tone of voice. Being real and down to earth was absolutely critical. It needed to reflect women who aren’t afraid to be authentically themselves.

“The happy/sad dichotomy is represented in our design work,” says Tickety Boo Creative. “Within our logo there’s a smile at the bottom and the downturned graphic at the top. The purpose of Sad Girls Club is to diminish the stigma surrounding mental health, so it was important to include this reference in our logo design – a reminder that it’s OK to feel this way and to share those feelings.

“As the space is predominately for Gen Z and millennial BIPOC women, we wanted to keep the vibe inviting and fun. Founder Elyse loved the 70s aesthetic, so we took inspiration from that with a bright colour palette. We also created a suite of character illustrations to help give an identity to emotional states, like anxiety and frustration, and to destigmatise them. The characters are quirky and irreverent, bringing the whole look and feel together.”

Since the branding launched in early 2020, the brand has quadrupled its fundraising donations year on year and has attracted sponsors and partners including Nike Women, Gucci, HBO, Victoria’s Secret, Lululemon, and Soho House.

There were also overwhelmingly positive comments and shares from community members, and the brand line introduced by Tickety Boo Creative, Small Talk Real Talk, has inspired the name of the Sad Girls Club podcast, which launches this year.

The funds raised since the rebrand have allowed Sad Girls Club to reinvest in the brand and build a new website (created by Tickety Boo Creative), pay therapists and offer 250 hours of free therapy to 2,500+ community members.

Agency: Tickety Boo Creative
Creative Directors: Judy Andrews, Pamela Steuri
Designers: Louise Andrews, James Matthews, Verity Wheatley
Junior Designer: Chloe Massie
Senior Copywriter: Barry Lattimore-Quinn
Account Management: Tania Ebbecke