Let’s Talk about it
Layout | Exhibit Design | Illustration | Web Design
This project is an exploration on the potential graphic design can contribute to clinical psychology.
Graphic design has the opportunity to transform awareness, perception, and support through well thought-out resources and representation. When designing resources, it’s important to think from the perspective of people experiencing mental health to make resources the most accessible and effective for them. I evaluated design elements and how certain colors, imagery, and typefaces communicate to the viewer as well as looking at various accessible resource options. Visual representation plays a big part in how people perceive mental health. When thinking about representation, I wanted to stay away from cliché or overused imagery/graphics that are usually based on stereotypes. Showing diversity, basing representation on real experiences, and avoiding triggering imagery is important to depict when designing for mental health. Every person’s experience with mental health is different, and it’s important to highlight inclusivity when considering this topic.
The aim of this project is to encourage conversations about mental health and re-evaluate how resources can be designed to better suit the needs of individuals.
END THE STIGMA
For these posters, I collected responses from anonymous participants and displayed my findings in a poster series. My survey had one question: Share any experience you want about your mental health journey. I took some of the responses from the eight individuals and created custom typography to emphasize the importance of the quotes for the posters.
For part of my project, I applied my research to rethinking the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Counseling and Psychological Services online safe space. I interviewed one of the Licensed Mental Health Practitioner from CAPS to get a professional's insight on my project. From this interview, I was able to make content suggestions and start rethinking their website. The main aspects I focused on in the website redesign were easy navigation, accessible resources, and representation. Currently, the only way to schedule an appointment with CAPS is by calling the office. I created an online scheduling option for students who prefer alternatives to phone calls. Talking on the phone causes anxiety in individuals and may discourage people from reaching out for help. Easy navigation is critical to consider in mental health-conscious design. Having important information displayed forefront will allow people to access resources easily. The information I wanted to highlight on CAPS main page were their phone number, services, appointment scheduling, resources, mental health screenings, and location. I selected these as the main topics people going to the website would go to.
Disclaimer: all the written content provided for this safe space prototype is the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Counseling and Psychological Services property. This website is an experiment, not a functional website. Some of the attributes on this website are not accurate to the services CAPS offers. If you would like to check out CAPS, go to caps.unl.edu.
