In this post I will look into some already existing campaigns on mental health and topics related to my project to get some more inspiration and ideas for it.
Firstly, I am going to look at an animation created by Children's Hospital Colorado about breaking the stigma around mental health.
This is a very simple animation, but it is not storytelling. There is a little story behind it but there is not much conflict or generally a strong storyline. The purpose of this video was strictly informative and also to raise awareness. I think it is a good animation for the purpose it has because the visuals are not too complex. It is simple which makes it all easier to understand and to take in the message of the video. This animation is also using very simple shapes for the characters and because of that there is not much behind them. There are no backstories of the characters and they all look very flat. I think it works well for the given purpose, but I personally like simple-looking characters with complex backstories. I think that makes the characters generally interesting.
When thinking about the night and how people overthink at night, made me think whether overthinking is indeed as common of a problem as I think it is. It turned out that it actually also has a more scientific name, it is called Rumination. 'Rumination is as stressful as it is common, in that it takes a situation that has already caused stress and magnifies the stress and the importance of the situation in our minds (Scott, 2021). I have never heard before of rumination, I just thought it was generally considered overthinking.
Here are posters created for the Mental Health Awareness month, that I found online.
I really like how simple these posters are and especially I like the one on the left. It has the title 'It's okay to not be okay' which is mostly what I want to normalize through my project. I like how in that poster there is a dark mess covering the brain which shows the unwanted thoughts, the darkness that is the scary part of the human's mind. It is like a cloud covering up a brain and that cloud is bringing a person down. I also like the colors of the posters, meaning I like that they are colorful. Even though my project is based on a theme 'Ultimate Black' I am not planning in developing it only in black and white. I am planning on adding color to make it more lively and show the big issue 'lightly' to show it as normal. I think it is important to show it as a colorful thing to make people aware that people live with mental illnesses. Not every person who has depression commits a suicide. I just find it important to show that if a person is brave enough to reach out for help, they can make it easier on themselves and make their lives more colorful.
This poster brought my attention for a various of reasons. Firstly, the color choice. I think using red, white and black makes something look very important. It brings the eye and concentrates the attention. In this poster, red is the dominating color and because of that I, personally get a feeling that it is surrounding me. This poster also brought my attention because it represents perfectly what I want to present in my project. It is the stigma that people are scared to break the silence because they are scared of the judgement. I like how in this poster the man is sitting in the shadow and that is colored black. He is sitting in the dark for two reasons, one being - he is hiding from the light - the people surrounding him and the other one being, he is in a dark place in his head which he cannot escape. I also like the thoughts escaping his brain. I like that they are presented as a big mess where nothing probably makes sense. It may be because he feels like he is being ridiculous having the feelings he does or he has a lot to say but no one to listen or his thoughts are a big mess at the moment and he does not know how to deal with it and the comments like 'It's not really a big deal' are not helping him get in a better mindset. Those comments make the struggling person feel ridiculous and even more alone than they already are.
I think doing this research made me more aware of the existing campaigns and how the problem is approached. I especially like this last poster I shared and I think this is a good inspiration and a jumping point for me.
Excellent research Daria. The video you include here is really affecting. This research also ties in well with your earlier posts on drawing styles and developing a wider visual language from where you were last term. Well done.
Excellent research Daria. The video you include here is really affecting. This research also ties in well with your earlier posts on drawing styles and developing a wider visual language from where you were last term. Well done.
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