602 EP - The Mighty Live - Final Evaluation

These brief inspired a more in-depth outcome than originally set, that fit a different purpose. It highlights the issue of people's struggle to express concern about mental health correctly and instead focuses on creating an outcome fit for this than for the brief itself. The strength of the brief focuses on the final production, type design and language. This is as they were all informed by the audience and their preferences, feedback throughout was vital to creating a socially aware outcome. Another strength of this brief was the ability to link it to other hashtag and trends. Based on the concept and idea, a new range of outcome could be added showing it’s versatility

This set brief was very open and also required a personal outcome. This was a mistake to try to express this, as it made me very aware of other student seeing my blog and self-conscious of the issue. Due to this a more brief outcome was created, that fit the brief but also was more general. Another weakness of this brief was the issue with the production of one of the posters, as the screen was broken. In end, it was felt the outcomes worked better as a set of 3, following the rule of 3 theory and due to the 3 layers screen prints.

For the designs, Illustrator was used to focus on the manipulation of type. This gave greater creative control to the design and soother edges to the outcomes, illustrator also works with vectors rather than pixels so the final outcome could be made larger or smaller for any need without pixelation. The production of the needed outcome was online and digital, so this was created for the submission. Feedback then express the want for the physical outcome too, as the brief developed this seemed suitable. Screen Print was used add a personal touch to the outcomes, whilst allowing a mass of outcome to be created quickly. Screenprint also meant that specialist stock and a range of stocks could be used, each of the final outcomes is unique due to this which allows a bespoke finish I personally preferred and so did the target audience.

Overall I’m really happy with both set of final outcome made. This is mostly due to their suitability for the audience and understanding of colloquial language. The outcome is something I’ve given to friends, used myself and also have had feedback expressing they could be sold.  This shows the success of the design, as the audience does enjoy the final outcome. A lot of mental health based outcomes focus on the problem, whereas this aim to not trigger with is fulfilled via the positive tones. I don’t think the outcome fit with the brief set due to the open nature but uses Mighty as a distribution channel to uplift the audience and focuses on a bigger issue found.

602 EP - The Mighty Live - Hand Drawn Scans

Hand Drawn Scans 

After feedback on the last idea was that as it was created digitally it last the feel of personality experiments into a more hand drawn/created style will be expressed. This due to the brief being very personal based as reflecting my journey there needs the style and content to relate to me personally. Also hand drawn has a more free, less imperfect style which fit the theme ideas. The style of the outcome for this brief is as important as the content.

digital developments -

FINAL OUTCOMES-

 

 FFEDACK-
don't like the you've got this one,
get you shit together is insenative, trying to avoid this issue.

USE THE OTHER 4

602 EP - The Mighty Live - She Mock Ups

She Believed She Could Mock Ups

One of the common phrases highlight in research as negative reflecting into mental health was ‘she believed she could, so she did’. This implies that anyone can do anything if they believe, whereas mental health issue cannot always be fixed this way. This idea would be to take the phrase and to relate it to a more realistic idea. Validating how hard is it to do selected task/things due to mental health, but also saying this is ok.

Eg –

‘She believed she could, but it involved making phone calls and that made her nervous’

FEEDBACK
-make it less computerised/digital
-try writing it out, seems unipersonal like this
-content is good but the style is too perfect
-like the idea
-the idea is strong, but maybe made more?
-strong concept
-it's fine being she as it's about a you, a girl

602 EP - The Mighty Live - Final Idea

For the final outcome for this brief the idea is to create a set of typographically based piece, these will be realistic slogan/type based around supporting mental health issue via encouraging the allowing the audience/suffer to take days/time off when they need to focus on their mental health. This is based of the principle of taking 'mental health days',  days to focus on recovery with mental illness as someone would with physical illness.

Often when someone has issues with mental health they feel ashamed due to a social stigma around the issues, effectively this can then make them feel worse when they have bad days.  People should be supported to embrace these days, rather than forced to ignore or hide them as this can make issues worse. Mental health days should be taken when going to work/school/college would make the situation worse, the person wouldn't be able to do their job effectively or when they feel like they cannot cope (due to stressers). This project outcome aims to support these days via allowing the audience to realise it's ok not to have bad days and it's important to take time out to deal with these .

Considerations 
-make sure it's not fake postive (take from research 'chose to be happy)
-supports rather than forcefull
-is personal/relates to me
-includes no triggers
-related to issues personal experienced (due to brief being about my journey)
-make sure it works digital/for social media
-not overly serious, due to tone of site
-relatable for the audience


aims-
validate mental health issue
relatable piece
encourage mental health days/self care
express it's ok not to have bad days
allow audience to give themselves days to recover
lighthearted/kind style
soft style

inspirations -

first ideas for type-

-'sometimes swearing helps'

-'mental health days are important'

-'it's ok give your self a day off to recover'

-'you wouldn't go to work with a damaged leg, so don't with a damaged mind'

-'take it easy on your self'

-'bad days will get better'

-'everyone needs days to recover'

-'just because you can't see a illness doesn't mean it's not valid'

-'healing is not liner'

-'even if it feels bad now, it will get better'

-'take care of yourself first'

-'you've made it though all your worse days so far'

-'self care comes first'

-'self care is a form of recovery'

-'give your self a break, you need it'

-'resting is recovering, not giving up'

-self care is vital

-plays on 'she believed she could so she did', mental health is a choice, you can just chose to be ok and then be fine as this saying implies, change it so it's more relaistic

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS 
-is using a female pronoun (due toe personal) relevant or will it exclude the male audience?
-will using female pronoun imply mental health issue are just female? (relates to issues found in first research)
-should the outcome be very very causal or should it have serious undertones?
-is swearing violent/negative? or will it make it more relatable?
-do they saying encourage mental health day too much? worried about encouraging days off too much, should only be used when needed
-should the colour scheme be non gendered?/should the style be non gendered? as to relate enforce that mental health is a genderless issue
-should it been hand drawn or digital? hand drawn in more personal but digital fits with the style of the brand more/more suitable for social media
-should the final piece be formal or informal? formal as to be informative/seem factual or informal to see more personal, more causal

FEEDBACK
-remove any quotes with negatives, eg DONT/NOT
-maybe focus on less gender outcome
-make it feminine to reflect your journey, fit the brief
-make it a print then scan it in
- design it as a patch

make it something people can use in real life

-take it further than the brief

-make it personal/hand drawn as it adds personality 

-it can be really feminine as this reflect my personality

-make it formal style as seems more factual/informative

-make it serious, if you want/what tone do you want

-make it dramatic/use swearing cause this is realistic 

602 EP - The Mighty Live - Mental Health Days

Mental Health Days

One of the key aspects of my recovery identified was 'Mental Health Days', these were days i took off college or school as to work on my mental health at home. These were suggests to me of my therapist at the time, due to the nature that if a suffer was physically ill they'd take time off to recover therefor mental needs this recovery too.

Mental Health Days

'In many workplaces throughout the First World, such as the United States and New Zealand, a "mental health day" is where an employee does not come to work and takes a sick day for reasons other than physical illness. Some people may consider a mental health day to be when someone simply does not feel like coming in to work, but the most accurate use of this term is related to true mental illness rather than a desire to skip work.'

These are not just days when a person doesn't want to come to work but where someone with a mental health issue has a day of to recover for a bad day. These are common practise is some jobs.

'Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and other mental illnesses can cause severe impairment on one's ability to function in the workplace or other roles. In addition, workplace and other stressors can exacerbate episodes of depression, mania, anxiety, or other illnesses. Left unchecked, mental health may continue to decline and can lead to serious morbidity. However, due to the lack of objective criteria and cultural perceptions that one can easily change mental health status, there may not be a perceived need for time off of work for mental health reasons. Since most places have no law requiring employees to produce a medical certificate for only one day of absence, many people take a day off of work for such mental health reasons without usually stating that it is related to mental health. However, this is not universal. In 2010, the National government of New Zealand proposed a law that will allow employers to require a medical certificate for even one day of absence, however the employer must cover the cost of obtaining the certificate if the duration of absence is less than three consecutive days.'


http://metro.co.uk/2017/07/21/when-should-you-take-a-mental-health-sick-day-6796161/

'When you feel rubbish mentally, it feels impossible. There’s no easy way for you to point to evidence of how you’re feeling, no sniffly nose or cough your boss can hear over the phone, no nipping to the loos to vomit to prompt your deskmate to tell you to bloody well go home, no dodgy takeaway you can blame for the gurgling in your stomach. Add to that the awkwardness of admitting that you’re struggling, and this struggle can feel insurmountable. 

Hence why we end up forcing ourselves to go work and stare at a screen while we’re mentally in a pit. It’s hard because there are no clear, defined guidelines to say when you’re mentally unwell ‘enough’ to take a day off.  

When it comes to physical illness, I’ve always said that if I’m throwing up, I’m definitely not going into work. There’s no easy marker like that for mental illness. But that doesn’t mean we should be forcing ourselves to work, day in, day out, when our mental health isn’t great. 

Mental health is just as important as physical health, and mental health sick days are just as valid as any day you’d take off for the flu. So, because I know that sometimes, we need an official checklist so we feel alright taking the day off, here are some signs that it’s completely okay to take a mental health sick day.'

-You’re dreading going into work 
-You can tell your mental health would stop you from working to your best ability 
-You have an appointment 
-You need a day to be proactive, Sick days shouldn’t be taken whenever you feel anxious or low, as this can set you up for a pattern of avoidance, telling your brain that it’s right, things are too scary to overcome
-If you can tell going into work will prevent you from doing that essential stuff and end up sending you towards burnout
-it’s also brilliant to openly say that you’re taking time off for mental health reasons

-Is going into work going to make me feel better or worse? 
-Will you do a good job at work today? 
-Do you really need to be at work today? 

If you have longterm mental health issues, talk to your boss face-to-face It’s important that your boss has an understanding of what you’re going through, and will be prepared if you need to take the occasional day off to deal with things. 

It’s okay to lie if it’s a one-off… Don’t feel guilty if you’re more comfortable telling your boss you have food poisoning than having a chat about mental illness. It’s a shame that there’s still so much awkwardness around talking about mental health, but if you’re not up for chatting about it, it’s not your responsibility to change things when you’re feeling rubbish. Give yourself permission to blame the flu if you’re not quite ready to be honest to your boss. That’s totally fine as long as it’s a one-off sick day. If they’re a more regular occurrence, it’s probably time to open up'


https://www.forbes.com/sites/amymorin/2017/07/27/if-the-reason-you-want-to-take-a-mental-health-day-falls-into-any-of-these-3-categories-go-to-work/#6a0b91244c51

'The subject of “mental health days” has been a hot topic ever since Madalyn Parker’s story went viral. When Parker told her co-workers she needed to take a few days off to care for her mental health, her supervisor commended her for helping break down the stigma associated with mental illness. Since many supervisors wouldn’t have had such a positive reaction to an employee taking a mental health day, the story has gone viral. And it’s led to a lot of discussions in the media about when, why, and how to take a mental health day. 

As a psychotherapist, it’s a subject I’ve addressed regularly with patients over the years. Some of them feel guilty about taking a day off even when they aren’t able to function on the job. Others want to take time off any time they feel stressed out or stretched too thin. There are plenty of ways a mental health day can be good for you. 

But if you take them for the wrong reasons they could backfire — and actually make your mental health worse. If the reason for wanting a mental health day falls into these three categories, you’d be better off going to work:

1. You plan to stay in bed all day. 
2. You are anxious about a workplace issue.
3. You don’t feel like socializing. 

Take Care of Your Mental Health If you’re going to take a mental health day, use your time wisely. See your therapist, schedule an appointment with a doctor, do some yoga, or reconnect with nature. But make sure you’re doing something that will improve your mental health over the long-haul. Just like you should be exercising to take care of your physical health, you should also do mental strength exercises to care for your mental health. A proactive approach to self-care will help you stay in better shape physically and mentally. 

And if you need a day off once in a while to care for your mental health, don’t be afraid to take it. Sometimes slowing down and caring for yourself can go a long way to helping you become mentally stronger.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4692222/Should-mental-health-days-work.html

'But should we take time out of our busy, daily lives like this? Psychotherapist says yes – because allowing ourselves time out to feel miserable now and again is the key to happiness.'

'The Pixar movie is set in the mind of a young girl named Riley Andersen, where five personified emotions – Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust – try to lead her through life as her parents move towns and she has to adjust to her new surroundings. University of Melbourne researchers said that society's downright shunning of being sad could be harmful for sufferers of the blues.

 For the study published in the journal Depression and Anxiety, the researchers assessed 112 depressed patients. Each volunteer was asked to rate their symptoms of the blues and how much pressure they faced to be happy. They were tracked over a period of one month. The study showed that patients under pressure to fit in with society's pressure to be happy had worse symptoms. Dr Brock Bastian, a psychologist behind the study, said: 'Depression rates are higher in countries that place a premium on happiness. 'Rather than being the by-product of a life well-lived, feeling happy has become a goal in itself. 'Smiling faces beam at us from social media and happiness gurus flog their latest emotional quick fixes.' This reinforces the message that 'we should aim to maximise our positive emotions and avoid our negative ones', he told Futurity. 

The moral of the story is an unusual one in the upbeat world of movies for youngsters: it’s ok to be sad.'


'as much as one third of British workers say they are suffering from anxiety, depression or stress, according to a recent survey.'

''A poll of 2,000 people by management consultancy firm PwC in junior and senior jobs found 34 per cent of employees in the UK are facing health and well-being problems. And two in five workers said they have taken time off because of mental health issues. '

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40593256

'In the UK, there is no legal difference between taking a mental health sick day and a day off for a physical problem like a back problem.'

'Last year, Britons took 137 million sick days. Of these, 15.8 million days were for a stated mental health issue - whether that is stress, depression, anxiety or a more serious condition such as manic depression and schizophrenia - according to Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey statistics.'

'Large companies are keen to say they are supporting staff and tackling stigma around mental health. Some 500 companies - including Tesco, Unilever and M&S - have made a pledge known as "Time to Change", where they commit to tackling problems like anxiety and depression in the workplace.'

'"When you look at the reality of the situation, mental health isn't being addressed properly," says Sam Gurney, head of equality and strategy at the Trades Union Congress (TUC).'


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/mind/do-need-mental-health-sick-day-do-ask-one/

''A study by Happiness Works in March 2017 showed that nearly two-thirds of UK employees suffered from stress at work.'

'We all have mental health just as we all have physical health," says Madeleine McGivern, Head of Workplace Wellbeing Programmes at Mind, "and it can fluctuate. Things like long working hours, excessive workload, and poor relationships with colleagues can all lead to unmanageable stress, which in turn can worsen or cause a mental health problem."

'As with the flu, it can be a battle to get to work when you're struggling with your mental health, so treat it exactly the same. If you cannot get to work then you have to take time off. Employers also need to understand that without strong mental health among the workforce, productivity declines.'

http://www.salary.com/calling-in-sick-7-good-reasons-7-lame-reasons/slide/4/

Madalyn Parker -

Madalyn story was discussed in many of the articles researched. Madalyn emailed in sick to work due to mental health issues, this was then meet with a supportive message from her boss, supporting her decision to take the day of and remove the stigma.

Madalyn story was used as a platform to show others that bosses, workplace and others will be more supportive of the issue as a valid cause for a day off. This demonstrates the need for these days but also that it's not seen as a negative quality, rather as a good aspect to improve.


IDEAS- 
MAKE A CAMPAIGN TO RAISE AWARENESS FOR MENTAL HEALTH DAYS
MAKE A CAMPAIGN SUPPORTING JOBS TO ALLOW MENTAL HEALTH DAYS
SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH DAYS
EXPLAIN MENTAL HEALTH DAYS
GIVE MENTAL HEALTH DAYS AS A COMPING METHOD

602 EP - The Mighty Live - Dazed Article

http://www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/37020/1/all-in-the-mind-london-artists-come-together-to-break-stigma-of-mental-health

Dazed Article 

One of the aim of this brief is to create a outcome that visually aids to remove the social stigma around mental health. Research has highlight that there are a range of artist that already aim to do this, and based their work around this subject matter.

After researching this is more detail this article became apparent, the subject is round an exhibition created with 'aim to use art to gather people together, spark consequential discussions and act as a catalyst for social change in regards to mental health.' This is exactly the aim of the outcome idea for this brief, the exhibition shows the strong social need for this issue to be resolved. The idea that work by artists around these has already been created and collected as to removes the social stigma could be used to inform the final brief outcome.

how can this brief outcome be different?
what can this brief do different to have the same concept?
why is this not more popular?

This article also so a range of different medium used to create work for the some concept, this brief is very open therefor any of these medium could be used for the final idea. This shows how the subject can be applied to different work across the artistic spectrum.

602 EP - The Mighty Live - Developed Ideas

Developed Ideas

After feedback from the last idea for this brief output it has been made clear that the outcome need to be a non personal, relatable, lighthearted, positive campaign based around support. Focusing on issues i faced as to represent my journey. Due to this some of the idea have been removed to fit, the outcome has ben narrowed down into 4 main ideas based around these themes.

BRIEF AIMS
-reflect personal journey visually
-positivity     

-MENTAL HELATH DAYS CAMPAIGN

Mental health days have already been research slightly for this brief, this is due to their relation to my personal experience/support/recovery. This brief would aim to express via this outcome that these are valid and useful way to deal with mental issues. One of the main themes in this brief is to show support for the bad days, as to normalize these. due to the nature that during a bad day a suffer may feel lost, disappointed with themselves, and like it won't get better. This outcome aims to support during these times, as to express that having days to focus on work on mental health is vital, an focusing on mental health is valid.

The aim is also to express that during these days the suffer is not alone and that it's ok to not always be ok. Create a relatable piece that shows support for these days whilst showing the importance of dealing with the bad days.

research -

issues -
will this encourage the misuse of 'mental health days'
needs to support but also make the audience aim for recovery, get the balance right

-COMMON SUPPORTIVE QUOTES

This idea would a be a collection of supportive quotes that express the ideas that the suffers is not alone, their illness is valid, they're are not defined by their illness. This is created as the balance out the range of research with highlighted that many of these quotes ect imply that happiness is a choice, or something that happens why the audience decides. Personally i experience that this isn't true, it's more about dealing with the issue, chemicals and being supported. This outcome will create a campaign which will give realistic help/support, as to aid the audience to feel less alone, more understood and relate to. Create visually pleasing and positive pieces that aim to remove the stigma around talking about the issues whilst aiding the audience.

research - 

issues-
has this been done to much?
is there to much stuff like this?
is this to obvious as an outcome?

-DEROMANTICIZE MENTAL ILLNESS 

One of the issue faced by people with mental illness or people in general is the social idea that being depressed is romantic or poetic.  This is an idea produced by shows like skins, 13 reasons why, ect create the idea that having a mental illness can be beautiful or make the suffer unique or different.  This is damaging to the people as it can cause a misconception of the illness. It's not glamours .

This was a factor to my experience when suffering as most media implies that mental illness is caused by a external factor, like a break up ect therefor the idea that if this was fixed the mental illness would be solved where as this isn't correct. Mental illness is caused by chemicals, it can be worsen by a stresser but it isn't always the cause.

research-
http://novellamag.com/10-tv-shows-that-deal-with-mental-illness-well/
https://www.buzzfeed.com/jamiejones/tv-shows-that-helped-people-cope-during-their-depression?utm_term=.ht0R6b8Vy#.ur8q8XRD5
https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/07/6-great-films-that-address-mental-illness-on-netfl.html
http://www.smosh.com/smosh-pit/articles/current-tv-shows-accurately-depict-depression
https://www.much.com/5-tv-shows-that-got-mental-health-right/
http://www.refinery29.com/2017/07/163291/mental-health-tv-shows-emmy-nominations

issues-
is this to big for this brief?
doesn't link to my journey? doesn't fit with brief
too big for this brief? (two week project)
not suitable for the medium of facebook/social media

-IT'S VAILD/OK NOT TO BE OK CAMPAIGN
This idea would be based that when someone suffers for a mental health issue them sometimes feel ashamed, this is due to the nature that mental health issues is seen as a negative. There is currently a large social stigma around mental health, people are told not to include it on their medical records as people will hire them less or suffers are seen as irrational/less employable. This outcomes aim would be to remove the stigma via creating social campaign based around the common phrase. The phrase is direct and easy understandable, therefor suitable for social media use.    get people talking about mental health issues as well as to inform more about how to deal with/support these issues.

The campaign would allow the audience to know that what they feel is valid and not something they should be ashamed of, it's not a character flaw just a chemical imbalance. This relate to my personal journey as set by the brief via this was a strong aspect that effected me when suffering, i was told not to tell friends about therapy and to lie about where i was going as to appear less 'crazy', this made this issue worse as i made feel like something was wrong with me. 

research -

issues-
copyright with the saying
has it been overused
could a full campaign be the outcome they are aiming for
is this outcome more suitable for a bigger brief, rather than for this media
too personal?

-RELATABLE/LIGHTHEARTED ILLUSTRATION OF COMMON WORRIES/IDEAS

This idea would be based of the research into artist that create illustrational piece based of their personal anxiety/depression, this outcome would be to create my own personal versions of this in my own style. The outcome would express my journey therefor fulfilling the brief whilst using colour, form and tone to allow it to fit within the own set brief guidelines and aims. This would be a more obvious outcome for this brief. As to achieve the lighthearted nature would fit with common worries or issues rather than the deeper ones.
-burning the house down via leaving hair straighter pulled in
-social gathering issues
-thinking everyone hates me
-overthinking


research -

issues -
too personal
illustration isn't a strong point
too simple/obvious for the outcome
does it support people or just give them a relatable outcome?
been done too much


FEEDBACK
-illustration idea might be the most fitting for the brief
-make sure it's positive, don't want to trigger anything in illustrations
-the campaign ideas could be there own briefs? there bigger than this brief outcome
-do one of the ideas as a brief on it's own
-again make sure it's not too personal, as people will be viewing blog posts/final work
-it's ok not to be ok has been overused massively, this was seen a lot
- mental health day campaign would be good, these can be very useful
-make it relatable, this need to be a focus because some of these briefs don't
-mental health days have a bad stigma, this should be changed