the menopause project URBAN MIDLIFE WOMEN MENOPAUSE RELATED ISSUES
PROJECT
STUDIO 02 SEMESTER 03 EIGHT WEEKS //
GUIDE
DR. TRIDHA GAJJAR
STUDENT AYUSHI MEDATWAL M. DES ‘14 GRAPHIC DESIGN
INDEX Proposal - Starting Out Phase One Information Collection Phase Two Analysis + Synthesis Phase Three Design Development Phase Four Execution of Solution Conclusion
STARTING OUT BACKGROUND Women may expect to spend more than a third of their lives after menopause. Women of all ages have approached menopause without knowing specifically what it would mean for them. Beginning in the sixth decade, many chronic diseases will begin to emerge, which will affect both the quality and quantity of a woman’s life. Thus, the onset of menopause heralds an opportunity for prevention strategies to improve the quality of life and enhance longevity. They are either expected to, or believe they are supposed to bear the pain and suffering as part of their experience of being a woman. Many chronic diseases emerge, which affects both the quality and quantity of a woman’s life. Comman knowledge still dominated by myth and misinformation.
TARGET AUDIENCE Midlife Women 45-60 years (socio-economic middle)
DESIGN BRIEF To identify where graphic design can help these women and design material so that: Awareness is generated amongst women that these health issues exist and can affect them. They feel empowered to take action and control of their health. They are given the basic know-how to deal with the health issues that commanly affects them. Prevention strategies to improve the quality of life and enhance longevity.
INFORMATION COLLECTION Scope of Problem: Understanding the Context (secondary research) Menopause is an unspoken, unattended, reality of life, the cause of which is still undeciphered completely by man. Menopause is one such midlife stage which might be overcome easily or make a lady miserable depending on her luck. This phase of life is shrouded with lots of myths and taboos. Early recognition of symptoms can help in reduction of discomfort and fears among the women. World Health Organization (WHO) has defined post-menopausal women as those women who have stopped menstrual bleeding one year ago or stopped having periods as a resuÂŹlt of medical or surgical intervention (Hysterectomy) or both. The Scope of the Problem of Menopause in India is widespread. India has a large population, which has already crossed the 1 billion mark with 71 million people over 60 years of age and the number of menopausal women about 43 million. Projected figures in 2026 have estimated the population in India will be 1.4 billion, people over 60 years 173 million, and the menopausal population 103 million. Average age of menopause is 47.5 years in Indian women with an average life expectancy of 71 years. Menopausal symptoms, though well tolerated by some women, may be particularly troublesome in others. Severe symptoms compromise overall quality of life for those experiencing them. There is under-reporting of symptoms among Indian women due to socio cultural factors.
phase 1
Prevalence of four most common menopausal symptoms of various studies done in India
Relationship between the variables and cause of menopause correctly known
Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articlesPMC3952411/
Zeroing In On Rajasthan After a much detailed research with available secondary resources and a detailed discussion with my guide, I decided to concentrate on a single place since there were a lot of regional differences. Since I belong to Jaipur and have seen a lot of women in my family and surroundings of the same age. In Rajasthan, things like menstruation and menopause is still surrounded by a lot of myths and taboo. No proper support and discussion exists since there is very less communication between both genders and similar genders as a whole. Concentrating the target audience to a single made the research much easy and relevant.
Talking to Experts - Gynaecologists (primary research) I had the good fortune of being able to spend a good half hour to forty five minutes with two Gynaecologist viz. Dr. O. B Nagar (Gynaecologist and Obstetrician) and Dr. Gyan Agarwal (Gynaecologist and Obstetrician). They spoke to me at length about the nature of women going through perimenopause. I collected a lot of information about the women here. They told me that most of the women coming to them are housewives. They are educated to graduate high school level. They are aware about their symptoms but don’t pay much attention to take proper medications. They skip doctor appointments and medications. I figured out one important thing that the very first question the doctor asks a women is “when was your last period?”, “what do you suffer any stress or depression related issues. The doctors need very specific details about the number of days their periods came the last time. Women mostly forget that specific time period which further affects the treatment decisions for them.
Interviewing Women Going Through Perimenopause And Postmenopause To independently evaluate personal interviews and responses I decided to prepare a set of questions (only for my use). The questions sought the following information. • how is their daily life • how often they visit dcotor • Factors that could possibly affect the menopausal symptoms • Factors affecting choice of doctor they like to visit • How openly their health is discussed in their family • What is their basic source of information • Attitudes and beliefs regarding menopause (postmenopausal women only) • Prevalence of symptoms such as vasomotor, psychiatric, urinary and other somatic symptoms usually attributed to menopause I started talking personally with women going through perimenopause or post menopause. It helped me a lot to understand the problem on a user oriented level. The women I interviewed were between the ages of 45-60 years. Most of them consulted doctors for their problems related menopause. But they did not continue their visits. It was also found out that they do not continue their medicines for calcium and hormones. Most of them prefer to go see a female doctor only. Elevating shyness and a imparting a sense of control of their life and health is necessary. They love reading women related magazines like Grihshobha, Merisaheli, Vinita, etc. In newspapers their popular choice is newspaper supplements of Dainik Bhaskar, Madhurima (comes every Sunday) and Parivar from Rajasthan Patrika (comes every Wednesday) they watch TV mostly in free time. An ideal doctor they mentioned is one who listens to them patiently. Menopause Symptoms: Hot flashes Mood changes Fatigue
Stress Tiredness Vaginal dryness and itching
ANALYSES AND SYNTHESIS Analayis: Sorting the Data
phase 2
Content: Menopause
Analysis: Case Studies The Indian Menopause Society It is a multidisciplinary national society launched in 1995 which is committed to fostering the comprehensive well-being of the mature & elderly Indian women. It is open to doctors and also to non-medical people. Also to anyone interested in helping with the various aspects & problems of menopause.
Poise Magazine by Indian Menopause Society. The last issue on website is from March-April 2011. It is a 24 page publication for Rs. 10.
Analysis: Inferences I read a lot and talked to a doctors and women itself about the current health scenario surrounding menopause in context of Indian society. There is no proper strategy to eliminate the sense of shyness away from the subject. For men it is just another topic in biology books and we are shocked towards outlook of society to this essential body process. There is a culture of silence. It is still seen as a subject of myth and taboo. It is confused and compared with Menstruation which is a process that is the beginning and menopause is the end of that biological process that each and every woman goes through. There are a lot of physical, social, psychological burdens a woman carry. On top of that the there is ignorance from family members about their health concerns.
Scenario Building • Missing Visual Media at Doctor Clinics There was almost nothing found as a motivating visual media in terms of posters or leaflets at clinics’ waiting rooms. As compared to media’s related to pregnancy, menstruation, etc. I saw a possible design intervention as these are basic ways to catch a patient’s attention. • Self Record Keeping The very first question that a doctor asks is when their last period/flow was, or how often their periods come (Menopause is the end of a woman’s menstrual cycle and fertility. It happens when the ovaries no longer make estrogen and progesterone, two hormones needed for a woman’s fertility, and periods have stopped for 1 year) Additionally questions about their stress level or depression phases has to be understood by a doctor to give proper treatment. Usually they are not being able to share such precise information. So I concentrated on providing them a medium at an entry level that they can keep with themselves without having to share it with anyone. Motive here is to make them more active towards their health problems. It is important for them to take their wellbeing seriously and become more self indulged. After all that is what their midlife is all about. Taking actions in their own hands will make them more independent, less shy and more aware about their conditions. I decided to give them their own period track system which they can keep with them for a long time. It should be such that other person should not make out what exactly is it to keep them away from shyness.
Exixting Material For Period Record Keeping I found different methods of period tracker methods only on internet. There were mobile applications, funny calendar prints on e-commerce websites and websites where you can choose a desired layout and mark your periods online. All these options were only available easily through Internet. The target woman I have is very inactive on internet. So I decided to give them a calendar system where they can record their flow.
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT APPROACH ONE: CONCEPT ONE Visual media such as a poster was what I initially decided to go with as a starting. There was almost nothing relate to the healthcare of midlife woman. A patient might spend a lot of time waiting for their appointment. And that time is usually spend in a waiting room. This place is usually a source of lot of information. At gynaecologist’s clinics; posters, flyers and magazines related to women’s heath are kept and displayed. Mostly there is a lot of visual material for pregnancy, female foeticide, cervical cancer and other female related health topics. I am of the opinion that while waiting for their turn to come, patients usually et bored and to pass their time they look at the posters there, magazines and flyers kept nearby. I decided to make a layout of an A3 size poster for the same. The information it includes is a positive message keeping in respect the health concerns a female goes through the different phases of menopause. A snapshot of the first concept as a dummy
phase 3
A snapshot of the first concept as a dummy
Important Meeting With My Guide And Tarun Deep Girdher I received following comments on my initial approach and which helped me work out the next one better: • • • •
Provide more motivation for the end user to mark their periods and other symptoms from time to time. Take into account the objects and habits of their day to day lives as media for interventions. What are things or incidences will make them embarrass if such marking calendar someone else sees What do they do to remember important dates like festivals, marriages, parent teacher meetings, etc?
After this conversation I realized I had gotten confused with what approaches and concepts were. I had just come up with concepts and forgot to fill in the missing blanks with a relevant approach. My next stage is to take a look at the daily life of my target user, her schedule, routine, and objects in her home and what she carries with her. From these a system is to be devised of how to target her with graphic design. Focus On Home Since home is the most important especially since, as opposed to men, women are generally more participative in domestic and household activities, I decided to focus on this area. The required media will all fit in with the same concepts. Record Keeping And Take-Home Media As detailed before, I had Issues with my initial media which came up in my discussion with my guide. I decided to solve them with picking a fresh approach keeping some things: The idea is to prepare a take-home a record keeping booklet for monthly periods and depression or stressful days.
I initially started out by taking inspirations from different calendar formats in terms of format, number marking, month marking, grid followed, etc. I found a lot of them a little confusing to follow dates from one month to another. I started with drawing out inspirations and possible design solution from the existing calendars. I did not keep in the mind how a woman will keep such calendar here is has to cut off or mark certain dates. This will obviously raise curiosity among as what exactly these marks are for. Another approach I found more favourable was the Bindi and their packaging women generally use. After discussion with faculty and guide, I thought about a lot of possible idea and objects women fancy with or use on a daily basis. Bindi is the most suitable one. The packaging in which they come is very small and handy. If giving them some record keeping system using Bindi’s as a medium or even packaging would attract women. It would avoid eyeing of people on that media.
7.5 cms
DIMENSIONS
5.5 cms
Take Home Media Relief tips (to be followed when menopause symptoms occur) Quotes (to keep a positive attitude towards use of media and self motivation) Reminder to see Doctor (take this record to doctor for a better treatment) Bindi (ready-made bindi packs in two basic colours. Maroon – period flow, Black – Depression/anxiety) The above pertain to motivate and engage women to keep track of their periods and symptoms of depression which can be further taken to the doctor so that they can access patterns and symptoms for better knowledge of patient case and the right treatment.
VISUAL LANGUAGE AND STYLE Images & Pictures For imagery I need simple visuals, which communicate nothing more than their primary meaning. Line drawings can be drawn by hand or vectored with clean line work. The only idea of dimension should come worth varying thickness of lines, rather than shading, gradients or other techniques to employ illusions. I will incorporate a sketch of woman to make it more relevant and appealing to target user. Typeface The type or font I use cannot be decorative, in the least and must be easy to follow and understand basically because the booklet will be a smaller size. As of now I am using Avenir designed by Adrian Frutiger in 1988, a geometric san-serif. I am designing in English and will later have it translated into Hindi. Images & Pictures For imagery I need simple visuals, which communicate nothing more than their primary meaning. Line drawings can be drawn by hand or vectored with clean line work. The only idea of dimension should come worth varying thickness of lines, rather than shading, gradients or other techniques to employ illusions. I will incorporate a sketch of woman to make it more relevant and appealing to target user. Typeface The type or font I use cannot be decorative, in the least and must be easy to follow and understand basically because the booklet will be a smaller size. As of now I am using Avenir
designed by Adrian Frutiger in 1988, a geometric san-serif. I am designing in English and will later have it translated into Hindi. Colour Palette The colour palette I decided is Blue which is the colour of trust, responsibility, reliability, responsibility. It exhibits inner security and confidence. You can rely on it to take control and do the right thing in difficult times. It reduces stress, creating a sense of calmness, relaxation and order - we certainly feel a sense of calm if we lie on our backs and look into a bright blue cloudless sky. It slows the metabolism. The paler the blue the more freedom we feel. My target user needs these qualities. R=2 G=116 B=176 Layout And Information Hierarchy The visuals MUST be supplemented with words, though words are to be used as sparingly as possible. A set pattern of reading up to down or left and right is not required in the above, the eye can wander across the page an no specific direction or pattern is followed.
APPROACH TWO: CONCEPT ONE Some concepts for the Take Home Media The concepts have to take into account the portability of this record keeping system. It must be small and compact so that women should be able to carry it around in their pockets or wallets. Also, some sort of small barrier is required while opening. Keeping the recordof periods away from anyone else is required. 1. Bindi Packet Booklet I was inspired by the packing of Bindi’s that I had seen in the market. A simple piece of paper folded from the middle. It is like a small booklet which has bindi’s inside. I propose to use a bindi packet has the cover of booklet and adding folded pages inside and making it look like a small booklet. From outside it looks like a bindi packet and no one would bother to open it deliberately. The inside pages can be made with a grid to be used as marking dates of individual month. 3 spread pages inside with 12 sides of each month. Additional pages for more information like Relief Tips, etc.
A snapshot of the concept as a dummy
APPROACH TWO: CONCEPT TWO Some concepts for the Take Home Media The concepts have to take into account the portability of this record keeping system. It must be small and compact so that women should be able to carry it around in their pockets or wallets. Also, some sort of small barrier is required while opening. Keeping the recordof periods away from anyone else is required. 2. Purse & Bindi Booklet This small purse can be made out of canvas or some other cheaper cloth material; pr can be bought in large stock. Inside a booklet can be made with bindi packets attached inside so that they remain with the monthly record. The Bindi’s can be used to mark periods monthly on particular days (Maroon-period flow, Black-depression/anxiety). Bindi can be an incentive in the booklet which one can use or daily use or marking dates in booklet. Bindi can be taken as a symbol of womanhood then just being a way or mark dates or wearing them. Bindi can be a graphic representation of the campaign to support better healthcare awareness for menopause. A snapshot of the concept as a dummy
EXECUTION Material For Outer Packaging Purse I went to old city to look for cheap purses that would accommodate it. I found a beautiful, simple purse made with combination of light a fabric in different colours, with printed fabric, exactly what I had in mind. This purse is charming enough for a woman to carry. It is small, very handy and can be taken along with easily. The purse has three sections, two zippers and one main pocket. These purses come in two sizes and different designs. The cost was Rs. 10/- so if bought in bulk it can be procured for much less price. Preparing Imagery As outlined before, the images are plain line drawings, using varying thickness to create depth. It is simple, easy to understand and not shaded, flat, so that the viewer does not perceive them as dirty or irrelevant. The woman I tried to draw was as generic as possible being used as an Indian woman like theme with a bindi and tied hair in juda. Some of the illustration: Cover The idea was to keep it only for the use of women since it is her personal matter and she is recording her periods and other symptoms. She might not want others to see this. To keep this anonymous, the cover had to be kept neutral and seem to look like a bindi packet. In the first fold we are giving two bindi sheets, one in maroon and other in black. So even if someone opens it takes more effort to know exactly what is it.
phase 4
eat healthy
exercise
cover illustration like bindi packets
positive attitude
doctor
take rest
FOLD
SIZE: 6 cm X 8 cm (closed), 12 cm X 8 cm (open)
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SIZE: 6 cm X 8 cm (closed), 12cm X 8 cm (open)
6 cm
FOLD FOLD
6 cm
PRINT READY ARTWORK – BOOKLET 8 cm
8 cm
FOLD
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SIZE: 6 cm X 8 cm (closed), 18 cm X 8 cm (open) INNER FACE
FOLD
6 cm
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8 cm
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FOLD
SIZE: 6 cm X 8 cm (closed), 18 cm X 8 cm (open) OUTER FACE
8 cm
FOLD
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6 cm
FINAL PRODUCT (WITH SACLE)
CONCLUSION Learnings • Understanding the scope of a subject and its suitability for undertaking it as a graphic design project. • Planning a mode of action to complement the chosen topic. • The value of perceptive differences in different kinds of people who come from different backgrounds. • Understanding how meanings change when geographical boundaries are considered. There is change in perception and lifestyle. • Different ways an image can be interpreted and how a certain kind of audience would view them. • Understanding how important research is to find the right problem to address when designing. • Understanding the benefits of talking to people face to face and probing, leading and learning how to frame questions to get the right answers. • How to prepare an artwork for print and set sizes. • Taking initiative and being your own boss. • How to take criticism, and when and how to listen to it and turn it down.
phase 5
Bibliography / Reference
Change of Life (Facts and Fallacies of Middle Age) - Joan Malleson http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3952411/ Indian Menopause Society. http://www.indianmenopausesociety.org/ Menopause Health Center. http://www.webmd.com/menopause/default.htm Medicine Net. http://www.medicinenet.com/menopause/focus.htm Woman to Woman. https://www.womentowomen.com/category/menopause-perimenopause/ Tickers and Trackers. http://www.whenmybaby.com/peri_menopause_tickers.php Monthly Cycles. http://www.mymonthlycycles.com/perimenopause_tracking_tools.jsp Journal of mid life health. http://www.jmidlifehealth.org/article.asp?issn=0976-7800;year=2010;volume=1;i ssue=1;spage=43;epage=47;aulast=Unni Menstrupedia. http://www.menstrupedia.com/ Times of India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/20-revealing-factsabout-menopause/articleshow/22455386.cms
Acknowledgments First off, I would like to thank my guide Dr. Tridha Gajjar for being the driving force behind this project and for helping me refine my topic, which is close to my heart: women’s issues. Her help and support and insightful suggestions and motivation kept me going. I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Tarun Deep Girdher for being the driving force behind this project and for helping me how to select the right direction. His insightful advice, motivating suggestions and invaluable guidance helped me refine my process in design decisions. I would also like to thank my friend Vikas who helped me at several stages of this project. His sensitivity, concern and expertise in handling a subject like this are extraordinary. I am very lucky to have a supportive family and friends. My mother who was my when I decided to take this project. Her inspiration, support and suggestions were the backbone for this project. Thanks so much Papa, Yash and Stuti. All the lovely aunts for their intriguing interviews I took. Lastly but certainly not the least a big thank you to Dr O. B. Nagar for her suggestions and perspective. This project would not have been possible without your support.