Suicide Prevention Annual Report
The Opportunity
Each year, the VA Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (OMHSP) publishes its Annual Report on Veteran Suicide Prevention—a cornerstone resource offering critical insight into suicide trends among both Veterans and non-Veteran adults. While rich in data and essential for informing prevention efforts, the report was traditionally presented in a static format—limiting its accessibility, shareability, and reach among key stakeholders.
OMHSP sought a digital-first experience—one that would honor the gravity of the topic while making data easier to explore, understand, and act upon. The goal was to create a dynamic, user-centered site that meets the distinct needs of four primary audiences:
- Veterans who seek transparency and hope.
- Policymakers who rely on accurate data to shape public health interventions.
- Health Care Professionals who use the insights to guide care.
- The Public who deserve to see the full picture of suicide’s impact and VA’s ongoing commitment to prevention.
Our task was to transform complex and sensitive information into an intuitive, trustworthy, and compassionate digital experience. With only weeks to deliver, our team moved with urgency and intentionality to ensure the new site would be fully accessible, easy to navigate, and aligned with VA’s suicide prevention values: safety, empathy, and clarity.
The Solution
To enhance audiences’ understanding of the 2023 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, Blackberg designed and launched a fully custom, eight-page website. The site serves as a centralized, digital-first platform that transforms complex data into actionable insights—leveraging plain language, intuitive structure, and visual storytelling to reach audiences with care.
“Each Veteran segment received a tailored content structure—turning complex data into personalized, relevant narratives. This approach allowed Veterans and policymakers alike to focus on the information that matters most to their communities.”
Recognizing that suicide risk is not experienced uniformly, we built the site around five key priority populations identified in the report: Veterans impacted by firearm-related suicide, American Indian and Alaska Native Veterans, Women Veterans, Justice-Involved Veterans, and Homeless Veterans. Each of these groups is represented through a dedicated page that offers tailored insights—combining focused statistics with contextual narratives and direct access to relevant support resources.
From mobile responsiveness and simplified navigation to trauma-informed layouts and language, we crafted the experience to be inclusive, respectful, and easy to engage—particularly for Veterans navigating sensitive topics. This segmented approach not only increased clarity, but it also allowed each audience—Veterans, policymakers, health care professionals, and the public—to access the insights most relevant to their role in suicide prevention.
Key Strategies
User-Centered Design
We conducted comprehensive user research to understand the needs, behaviors, and sensitivities of our primary audiences—Veterans, policymakers, and health care professionals. One of the most important insights emerged early: traditional visual tropes tied to suicide prevention, such as somber photography or overt military symbolism, could feel emotionally heavy or even triggering. We also did not want to improperly assign a specific ethnicity, gender, or visual to suicide prevention. In response, we adopted an intentional design system using custom icons and illustrative elements. This approach conveyed complex ideas with clarity, while preserving a sense of emotional safety.
Research also revealed diverging content needs among users. Policymakers required quick access to credible data in digestible formats, while Veterans gravitated toward human-centric, direct, and resource-driven content. These findings informed our segmented page design, which tailored voice, navigation, and content to specific priority populations—ensuring relevance without compromising respect.
Responsive Design
Given the wide range of environments in which users might access the site, we took a mobile-first approach to ensure functionality and clarity across devices. Whether a policymaker was reviewing data from a desktop or a Veteran was exploring resources from a mobile phone, the experience needed to be seamless, supportive, and fully responsive.
We prioritized clarity and actionability on small screens—structuring content to surface key takeaways without requiring excessive scrolling or zooming. We then adapted layouts for larger viewports to enhance readability and engagement. We thoroughly tested interactive components, links, and visual elements across real-world devices to ensure consistent performance for every user, regardless of platform.
Compassionate Visual Storytelling
In alignment with the VA’s commitment to dignity, hope, and action, we took a visual storytelling approach for the site. Instead of relying on emotionally charged imagery or clinical language, we designed custom visuals that clarified data without overwhelming the user.
Our narrative framework emphasized clarity and strength. Each Veteran population was not only presented with data, but also with context—highlighting protective factors, evidence of progress, and paths to support. The tone was neither alarmist nor overly clinical; it was deliberate, affirming, and forward-looking.
Across all pages, we embedded clear, actionable next steps—context-aware links to services, tailored resources, and easy ways to engage. This approach ensured the site did more than inform; it offered tangible pathways to help, echoing the report’s call to see every life saved and intervention underway as a “beacon of hope.”
Accessibility
We ensured the website met WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards so that all users—including those with visual, cognitive, or physical impairments—could engage with the content equally and confidently. Structured content, clear headings, descriptive link text, keyboard navigation, and strong contrast ratios created a seamless experience for screen reader users and others relying on assistive technology.
Given the sensitivity of the subject matter, we also focused on emotional accessibility—choosing calm, neutral design patterns as well as avoiding imagery or language that may be overwhelming or triggering. We validated our approach through accessibility audits and user feedback--ensuring that the final experience was inclusive, respectful, and usable across a range of assistive technologies.
The Result
Blackberg’s web design and development team delivered a dedicated digital platform that transformed the way the VA shares its annual suicide prevention findings. The new site bridges the gap between data and action—making complex insights easier to understand, share, and apply across the Veteran community and broader public health landscape.
Built on user-centered design principles, the website features intuitive navigation, interactive visualizations, and fully accessible content that meets the diverse needs of Veterans, policymakers, clinicians, and advocates. Strategic storytelling and clear calls to action guide users to deeper understanding and relevant resources, empowering informed decisions and proactive steps toward prevention.
The site does more than inform—it honors the lives of Veterans lost to suicide by providing a path forward for those seeking clarity, connection, and hope. In doing so, it reinforces the VA’s ongoing commitment to transparency, compassion, and evidence-based suicide prevention.
