For their 10th anniversary NGO "Youth against AIDS" wanted a modern educational book they could use in their school workshops. There students are encouraged to ask the young activists all their questions about sex and love. The book FAQ YOU, "frequently asked questions about sex and love", answers the 50 most frequently asked questions.

Youth against AIDS’ main goal is ending AIDS, for which it is imperative to educate people about Safer Sex from a young age on. Relating thereto, YAA has extended their objective to promoting sexual empowerment, which is supposed to give young people the self-confidence to demand safety from their sexual partners.

FAQ YOU answers the most frequently asked questions of teenagers collected by YAA during the workshops they hold in schools. The conceptual basis of a FAQ was chosen because research on the topic shows that young people have very similar questions about sex, which mostly revolve around whether their bodies and preferences are “normal”. The decision to use print was motivated by the fact that it is the most discreet way to give away information.

Youth against AIDS e.V. is an organization for young people. The target audience are teenagers and young adults between 13 and 26 years. To ensure that young people take FAQ YOU seriously, answers are given by influencers and young public figures. The reach of those influencers was also a convenient way to steer teens away from of social media and towards a book.

For questions whose answers require scientific or professional expertise, relevant experts wrote articles: doctors, (sexual) therapists or a porn director. But, why a book? Because books are the most discreet. In order to increase engagement, make young people more aware of the new offer and emphasize the brand promise once again, influencers and guest authors were asked to promote their contributions on their social media channels, where they would then pick up questions from the book, discuss topics or answer questions from viewers.

Textbook education is usually not attractive to teenagers, neither in presentation nor in tone. FAQ YOU is colorful, loud and modern. The design takes young readers seriously, without lapsing into a “wanna-be young and hip” or even supposedly bright childish look. The photo look is authentic, the illustrations as diverse and explicit as possible. A Japan fold is used to “hide” a photo series and there, an altar fold shows an thematic overview. Meaningful elements from textbooks can be found, such as underlining and highlighted information boxes. The chosen set text font Tiempos is an update of older fonts that were frequently used in encyclopedias. It has been modified for a modern reading behaviour adapted to digital media and allows for a lot of information to be absorbed quickly. The existing CI of the client dictates headline design, use of color and the abstract typographic elements used throughout.

In the first weeks after the start of sales, more than 700 bookstores were convinced to put the book on the shelf and some even advertised it with posters and condoms in the shop window, ensuring the first 5,000 copies sold quickly. Each of these copies will now finance paperback copies to be distributed to schools in 2020. Due to the high demand, larger runs of the book as well as merch items such as sweaters and socks are now planned. The book also created significant engagement online, with countless influencers and prominent personalities sharing their support. Last time we checked, FAQ was featured in nearly 700 unique Instagram Stories.