UFO Study Business Card Background Wix_edited.jpg

Est. 1997

The U Find Out (UFO) Study is a long-standing constellation of research studies and projects focusing on viral hepatitis, particularly hepatitis C virus (HCV), among a cohort of young adult people who inject drugs (PWIDs) in San Francisco, California.

Established in September 1997, UFO was based at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Originating from The Urban Health Study began in 1985. The Urban Health Study continues to this day.

Beginning here with 1 recruitment flyer & 1 business card turned into more design opportunities throughout my career as a clinical research analyst at UCSF.

With a background in frontline public health my main duties at the UFO Study included:

Recruitment & retention of marginally housed youth at risk for Hepatitis C
HIV and Hepatitis C risk reduction counseling
Limited case management and service referrals

National Institute for Health NIHMSID: NIHMS174521 // PMID: 19764883

Acute hepatitis C virus infection in young adult injection drug users: a prospective study of incident infection, resolution & reinfection

UFO Study Recruitment Collateral
Creative Objectives

New grant requires visually distinctiveness from previous iterations that shares a visual language.

Build around pre-existing branding:
- Instantly recognizable name.
- Well established in professional epidemiology circles, local service providers, and informal patient networks alike.
- Memorable pulpy aesthetic that's

rough around the edges.

Invite questions via word of mouth between peers: “UFO Study? About UFOs!?” to which patients would clarify details..
A playful but serious nonjudgmental

atmosphere with services tailored to

participant needs including

good food and movies.

Signal we’re not like other research studies to new patients.
Demonstrate clinic nights are safe spaces with accessible low threshold services.

"Yes. We're Open. No. Not that kind of UFO."

2010-2014	2014-2017

Back of UFO/ VIP Study offices @ UCSF Tenderloin Clinical Research Center, before it was torn down for a mall. UFO office is center frame.

Consistently Successful Recruitment & Retention Tools Supported By An All Star Study Staff (2010 - 2018)

Front of UFO Study appointment reminder card includes an aerial view of the South of Market Street waterfront including image of The Bay Bridge in downtown San Francisco. Futuristic font for UFO Study and phone number. Background includes the Avro Car experimental aircraft blueprint designs.

Back of UFO Study appointment reminder card includes address and day of drop-in. Originally only one day a week between 4:30pm and 8:30pm. Accompanying image includes what looks like a radar display and superimposed over it are the outlines of 5 flying saucers. Looks like an old photo from the 1950s shot in low light.

2010-2017	2010-2017	2010-2018
Out in the world. Rip tabs work!	Expanded Hours!	Retention Incentives

Resource Guide & Clinic Announcements

Resource Guide Cover	Resource Guide Title Page	Outreach Kit Handbills 4x1
Thanksgiving Limited Operation	Winter Holiday Limited Operation	Holiday Closure Announcement

The official UFO Study website: Archived

The History of the UFO Study: Why young PWIDS? (archived)

My bio on the official UFO Website: Reach beyond time & space to wave "hi" to me in 2014 (archived)

Research Brief findings for the Center Of AIDS Prevention Studies: 2009 Research Portfolio

Four page brief with significant details & findings from the longest running study of its kind 1997 - 2009

Search for The UFO Study at UCSFs Department of Medicine's Prevention Sciences Division

Learn more about my main duties in the Evidence Based Intervention Manual I designed & formatted for the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Click here or the UFO Presents! logo below.