Vision Australia has launched 'The Pupil Project', a series of videos aimed at providing insight into living with low vision and correcting common misconceptions, created by The Open Arms.

According to research commissioned by Vision Australia, two in three Australians are unsure how to assist people with low vision. 'The Pupil Project' seeks to address this knowledge gap, particularly as Australia's low vision population is projected to increase by 25% by 2030.

"Low vision is a clinical term for permanent vision loss that can’t be corrected by glasses. However, unlike someone who is blind, people with low vision won’t typically carry a white cane or have a Seeing Eye Dog. They appear to be just like you and I,” said Vision Australia National Brand and Marketing Manager, Kristy Richards.

The research also revealed that over half of Australians believe they’ve never interacted with someone who has low vision, despite nearly half a million people living with this vision disability in the country. "Our research highlighted that more than half of Aussies believe they’ve never interacted with someone who has low vision, despite there being almost half a million people living with this vision disability in the country,” Richards added.

The campaign is designed to be educational, adopting a witty, fun, and upbeat tone. It feature three Australians with lived experience of low vision, showcasing their everyday situations.

"Knowing that there is an appetite from people to learn how they can help is fantastic. It assured us that this is something that people wanted to hear about and wouldn’t be easily ignored,” Richards said.

The campaign was developed by people with lived experience at every stage, including research, focus groups, actors, scriptwriters, and film crew. Array Productions was employed for end-to-end production, led by producer Raylene O’Hare and director Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore.

"With the help of ethical advertising agency, The Open Arms, we were careful in the way we delivered our advocacy messaging. Like other brands, we’re aware that consumers are increasingly compassion fatigued, so we wanted the tone of our videos to be witty, fun and upbeat, while inviting viewers to educate themselves on the topic,” Richards said.

The campaign includes audio descriptions and uses a unique lens to simulate the experience of someone living with low vision. It has been rolled out across socials, digital and earned media, with out-of-home (OOH) advertising set to launch later in the year. Inclusivity resources related to the project are available on the Vision Australia website.