Solutions for Mental Health

The Challenge

Even though mental illnesses are highly prevalent in the society, they are still not accepted, which creates stigma and prevents people from talking about it. Silence about the issue worsens it as people remain unaware and patients never open up about their problems even though talking about mental health issues is the first step towards mental health. The main objective of this project thus was to bridge the emotional gap between the people suffering and the general public.

The existing awareness campaigns are usually very seriously approached, and are often neglected by the public; dark and serious imagery might spread awareness but usually is not successful at attracting the audience or providing a sense of comfort about the condition. The real challenge, hence, was to show lesser known mental conditions in a new light to engage a larger audience and spread awareness in a more effective manner

The Solution

Illustration and publication design were both applied together to tell the story of socially anxious people so that people resonated with the characters and found comfort in knowing they are not alone in this. The stories will be accompanied by clever, humorous visual puns, comics, metaphors; typographical expression of the feelings of the socially anxious and cues for the public about how to empathise with them.

Most mental health campaigns are portrayed in an intense manner but showing the same in a better light with a slightly playful approach would encourage and involve more audience.

Result

The book is, on the whole, an anthology of experiences told through short stories and illustrated visuals – each episode resonates with commonly faced problems by young adults. Starting with a mug shot of the character, followed by a short story highlighting his/her socially anxious feelings and responses, the episode ends with a statement given by the protagonist. The outcome will be youth-centric since the majority of mental health issues are concerning this age group.

Effective targeting towards both groups of people, the public at large and not just the people suffering will help create a broader understanding of the issue. Hope this book will open up healthy dialogue and encourage more people to talk about their problems