PRE THESIS PROJECT 2018 PROJECT TITLE Buddy Blues STUDENT:
NISHI BANKA
PROJECT:
Deconstruction
SPONSOR:
Self initiated
PROGRAM:
Undergraduate Professional Programme
AWARD:
Visual Communication and Strategic Branding
GUIDES:
Riddhesh Adarkar
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2 Copyrights 2017-2018 Student Document Publication (for private circulation only) All Rights Reserved Final Thesis Project (Undergraduate Professional Programme) Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology Bangalore - 560064 Karnataka No part of this document will be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, scanning, photography and video recording without written permission from the publishers namely Roshan Shakeel and Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore. Written, edited and designed by Nishi Banka Printed at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore
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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND PLAGIARISM STATEMENT I, NISHI BANKA, hereby declare that the content of this student documentation and final design/artwork submission is my own original work and has not been plagiarised in full or part from previously published/designed/manufactured material or does not even contain substantial propositions of content which have been accepted for an award of any other degree or diploma of any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in this pre thesis project. I also declare that the intellectual content of this Pre Thesis Project is my own original work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception or in style and presentation is acknowledged and that this thesis project (or part of it) will not be submitted as assessed work in any other academic course.
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT I, NISHI BANKA, hereby grant Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology the right to archive and to make available my Pre Thesis Project in whole or in part in the institute’s databank and website, and for non-commercial use in all forms of media, now and hereafter known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act.
Name: Signature: Date:
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Contents
Class exercises Contexts Understanding Depression Experiment Statistics by Live Laugh Love Foundation Movies Deconstructing Helen Existing Campaigns Case Studies Insights from research Initial Target Audience Personas Mind map on depression Proposal submitted back then Feedback and decisions Final Idea Content Development Colour Palette Evolvement Visual Board
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Illustrations Development Layout Development Statistics Final layouts with visual choices Work flow of website Challenges faced Final Screens with final links Branding Project extended Collaboration with White Swan Foundation Workshop toolkit Workshop collaterals Workshop pictures and link Social Media Campaigns Failed Campaign Ideas Handout Iterations Final Handout Further Plans for project Reflective Statement Acknowledgements References
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Cuttlefish Exercise Deconstruction was a relatively difficult topic to understand. This was one of the first few exercises we did to understand deconstruction in depth. In this exercise, my group was told to research cuttlefish in such a way that we find that one property it shares with the humans. After a lot of research, we realized how cuttlefish changes its shape and color as soon as it senses trouble. We related it to a human’s nature of changing his/her behaviour according to the situations.
The first graph deals with the rigidity and adaptability of the five people in our group in different places. The innermost circle shows most rigidity and the outermost circle shows most adaptability. The black line signifies the average of the five people. From this particular graph, we can conclude that at an average, we are most adaptable at parties and least adaptable at home.
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Following a similar line of plotting and reading, this graph is about where we are most approachable. On an average, most of us are most approachable with friends and family and least approachable in college.
This graph looks at the language of people. It shows how a person’s language changes between formal and casual according to the social circles around them. The black line again, signifies the average of five people in our group. Again, when reading this graph, we can conclude that at an average, we prefer to use formal language most in college and parties and our casual language is reserved for home.
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Topic Chosen:
Depression
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Social Context Social life plays a very vital role in a young adult’s life. With new social media platforms developing, one might think that today’s generation is more connected than any other generation the world has seen till date, but surprisingly, social media has become a major reason for depression in the youth. There is a constant battle between the real and the virtual and people seem to have forgotten the lines that separate the two. Due to social media, there is a lot more comparison happening which is invariably causing jealousy which leads to sadness and ultimately depression. People with thousands of followers are depressed in real life because they feel lonely. In fact, many successful people prefer to stay off social media to avoid getting distracted, in order to keep moving ahead in their life.
When facebook was at the prime of its launch, professionals saw a huge increase in the number of youth coming up with mental issues like depression. Social media did not just isolate the youth behind their screens but also caused a huge decrease in real human interactions. Social media also serves as an addiction to the youth that is constantly searching for something to hold on to. When speaking of addiction, I must also mention the substance abuse and alcoholism that people get into during these ages. They might go down that path due to various reasons, one of them being a reason to fit in. There are many more reasons and factors that bring depression in the lives of these young adults and they all vary from person to person. Given above are just some of the common examples which can also include body shaming, low self-esteem and peer pressure. Depression can also be due to one’s genes or due to some childhood trauma they went through. Loss of important things and people also pushes young adults towards that illness. These reasons are so common and yet they push these young minds in a dark phase that is not understood by the society as well as by them. Due to the vast possibilities behind this illness, in India, people usually try to shake it off as something insignificant. The primary aim of my project is to spread awareness about depression in the Indian society and try to remove the stigma around it.
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Cultural Context The Indian culture has a very important role to play in the depression of the young adults. As mentioned above, depression can be a result of a number of things and one of them is a person’s upbringing. In Erickson’s stages of psychological development, he explains how different age groups are affected by the surroundings around them. He talks about how we start developing certain feelings and fears right from birth and how each of those stages add up to what we become in the future. We come from a country that has a very linear set of beliefs and understandings, and though this notion is changing at the moment, we can argue that we still have a long way to go. When young adults try talking to their parents about their depression, they are usually shut down by saying that it’s all in their head or sometimes because they don’t want their child to be looked down upon by the society. This causes more distress among the sufferers because they do not feel supported. It is important for the Indian society to know that depression, or any other mental illness for that matter, is not a choice. It is very much an illness that does not just have emotional connotations to it but also has physical effects on the people who are going through it. Though it’s easy to understand from where their ideologies come from, I feel that it’s very significant to educate them about the recent developments in the front of mental illness. Being ignorant about the disease to meet up to the standards of the society is only going to cause more and more distress to the ones suffering.
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Philosophical Context Depression has a very philosophical view to it as well. Our depression arises from ignorance. We tend to like or dislike people or things without ever wondering about the deeper reasons. We exaggerate our likes and dislikes until we either want something very closely or detest something very badly. From these notions, comes the concept of “I”. When we start thinking in terms of “I”, we only think of attachments and aversions and we develop a fear of either losing the attachment or embracing the resentment. This fear gives birth to anxiety and that turns to depression over time. In short, it would not be wrong to claim that depression is born from greed that has travelled a long way.
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What is depression? Everyone has highs and lows in their lives. But usually, these emotions are short lived. However, when you feel sad for a prolonged period of time (over 2 weeks) you usually have depression. According to WHO, “Depression is a common mental disorder, characterized by sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low selfworth, disturbed sleep or appetite, feelings of tiredness and poor concentration.�
Mania
High Life Low
Depression
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Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development “Erikson’s stage theory characterizes an individual advancing through the eight life stages as a function of negotiating his or her biological and sociocultural forces.
Each stage is characterized by a psychosocial crisis of these two conflicting forces. If an individual does indeed successfully reconcile these forces (favoring the first mentioned attribute in the crisis), he or she emerges from the stage with the corresponding virtue. For example, if an infant enters into the toddler stage (autonomy vs. shame and doubt) with more trust than mistrust, he or she carries the virtue of hope into the remaining life stages. The challenges of stages not successfully completed may be expected to return as problems in the future.” One of the said problems can be depression.
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Seligman’s learned helplessness experiment Seligman’s learned helplessness has been derived from a series of experiments he did using dogs. To see and understand the whole experiment properly, you can visit the link: https://study.com/ academy/lesson/how-seligmanslearned-helplessness-theory-applies-tohuman-depression-and-stress.html Through this experiment and theory, Seligman proves how humans as well as animals learn helplessness and after a point give up without trying. This experiment helps depression in a much deeper way because it points out why depressed people usually tend to not want to get out of it.
Picture taken from Google Search Engine.
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Statistics These statistics are by the Live Laugh Foundation, Bangalore. 2018 report. It shows the lack of awareness about mental health thoughout India.
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Movies Since the topic of depression was so intangible, I watched a number of movies to get a better understanding of the topic. Having chosen a topic so close to home, it was important that I moved a little away from it by watching the journey of other people who suffered from depression. I watched it’s kind of a funny story, Virgin Suicides, Veronika decides to die, Ordinary people, Perks of being a wallflower and Helen. Each of these movies dealt with completely different characters and it helped me pick out the common traits in them. It’s Kind of a Funny Story highlighted a 16 year old boy that kept dodging between the idea of being depressed and being sad. The movie shows the factors and parameters in the boy’s life that make him stop from taking any wrong steps. He admits himself in a psych ward on a whim and starts wondering if it was a wrong choice. This movie also highlights the importance of therapy and how it helps people get out of situations they did not even consciously know they were in. Virgin Suicides was another interesting movie where they show the power of isolation and trauma. This movie beautifully highlights the problems of some teenage girls who have been sheltered and protected by their parents throughout their life. Things start going south when one sister takes her life and still the parents want to put up a good show for the people around.
Veronika Decides to Die is a beautiful movie that shows how some intelligent psychiatrists decide to tell a suicidal girl that she might not have long to live. Though one might think that it should be a relief for her, we see how she starts realizing the importance of each minute and tries very hard to make most of the little time she has left. Perks of Being a Wallflower shows a teenager’s dilemma with the use of more than one mental health problem. This movie again shows the importance of therapy and deals with the idea of repressed memories. Ordinary people focused on the effect of a big trauma on a teenage boy. It shows how big a part love and attachment plays in humans. This movie does not just show what happens when a family loses a son, it also magnifies how family is supposed to be the biggest support system in case something bad happens. Helen is a breath taking movie that captures depression at its best and worst. This movie shows a depressed person with utmost truth and maps her journey through the plot. The movie also focuses on how a depressed person’s family if affected by this illness and how difficult it is to see a loved on go through an illness they barely understand. In the later pages, I have done a thorough deconstruction of this movie.
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Deconstructing Helen To understand deconstruction and depression better, I decided to deconstruct Helen. In order to deconstruct it, my first step was to divide the whole movie into separate scenes. I managed to divide the movie into 65 scenes and then, I started picking colour from each of those 65 scenes to see the colour palette of the movie.
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Colour Palette and Graphs Below is the colour palette of the whole movie. This palette gives us an idea about the mood and ambiance of the film. Following that, I graphed the protagonist’s intensity of depression and her husband’s emotionality with respect to the same.
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Existing Campaigns Mental Health is not exactly an untouched topic. There have been many national and international campaigns over the years.
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Posters from a campaign ran by the World Health Organization
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Case Studies
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Name: Rajesh Agarwal Occupation: Business Man F/o : 21 and 25 year old daughters
Parent’s take on depression Name: Santanu Pramanik Occupation: Drawing Teacher F/o : One 19 year old daughter and 22 year old son • When we focus too much on our problem, it is depression. We don’t see other people’s problems. Talk to someone who you think has more problems. Look at the other people’s problem. • Will hug them. Will tell them that they are free to not talk about it. I will try and share my own life’s problems and tell them how I moved over depression. Everyone has had depression. Try and make them talk. Will tell them that I will support them. “People who are strong do not get depressed.” • Psychologically we think that now we are taking meds and therefore, we will get better. Work like sedatives. • Free to talk to therapists and counsellors. Name: Poonam Agarwal Occupation: Home maker M/o: 22 year old son and 19 year old daughter • • • •
Feeling of sadness or loneliness Probably talk to them Not giving the medicines a shot Okay with counsellors and therapists.
Is going through depression • Depression is a state of mind. We think negative and give up to the circumstances of life. • If my child comes and claims to have depression, I will like to talk to her and her friends and then take her for professional counselling and medication. • Psychiatric medicine depends from case to case. Don’t believe in them much. • Will definitely encourage counselling. Name: Anju Occupation: Home maker M/o: 21 year old daughter and 19 year old son • “There is nothing called depression.” Everyone has problems in life. People who cannot face it and want to gain sympathy claim to be in depression. • I will try and talk to them and maybe figure out who is feeding their mind with these things. I will tell them to not think about these things and it will pass. • Psychiatric medicines are nothing but sleeping pills. • No counselling because the counsellors also motivate these things.
Name: Erena Occupation: Home maker M/o: Two 21 year old daughters
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• Depression is all about choice. You can choose to be depressed about something and “expect people to sympathise with you” or you can choose to handle the same situation optimistically. • I would sit down and discuss the issue. I will try and lighter her mood, distracting her from what’s bothering her. • No medicines. They have side effects as they are strong doses. You might come up with a new problem in trying to solve the old one. • Counsellors help build confidence in people. Name: Sunita Occupation: Home maker M/o: 22 year old daughter and 19 year old son • Need to understand if someone is actually depressed. It can be due to anything. Anyone can have it or something. It is a prolonged low in life and you lose interest in everything. • If they have it, I would like to talk to them. Talk to them about it even if they are not willing to talk about it. Let them know that someone is there for you. Have faith that it will get better. There is always hope. Always believe that we are there for you. Talk about it. Talking helps. • If depression is in the later stage, it’s okay to take medicines. • More than medicines go for therapy. If therapy can help get better then of course, go for it! There is no harm in taking medicines or seeking therapy.
Name: Sarita Occupation: Home maker M/o: 23 year old daughter • Prolonged sadness. It’s a disease. • Talk to them, try to understand what they need • No • Can be helpful Name: Annapurna Occupation: Home maker M/o: 25 year old son • Depression a state of mind where everything around you becomes useless and unnecessary. • I shall try to understand their issue and sit beside him and analyse the issue according to my experience. • I will consult someone who is educated in this field but ultimately, I will decide if it seems genuine or not. • Counsellor and therapy depends upon their practical knowledge and ability.
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Insights from the research I already knew that there was a stigma around depression, but all this research made me the see the reasons behind them and the ideology behind them in a much clear way. I realized that • • • • • • • • • •
People are ashamed to admit that they have depression. Unwillingness to move on. Hopeless about the future. Accused of wanting attention. Feeling of loneliness in spite of having people around. Various triggers or reasons. Not getting positive reaction about it when spoken to anyone. Negative reactions of people around. The importance of love and support. Emotions of someone going through depression.
After this research, I decided to do something to make the life of a depressed person a little better by educating their social circle about depression.
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Initial Target Audience My first instinct was to keep a 19-25 year depressed person as my research group and his/her social circle as my target audience.
After making this, I decided to make a proper graph that shows which part of a person’s social group has the most incluence on them. To get that data, I conducted a survey.
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This survey helped me see who has the most influence on a person between the age of 19 - 25.
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Co - Workers
Peers
Close Friends
Immediate Family
Individual between the age of 19-25
Extended Family
Romantic Partner Neighbours/ Acquaintences Teachers The over lapping circles signify the amount of influence that particular group has on the depressed individual.
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Personas of research group
SHREY
PRACHI Age Occupation Status Location Aim Economic Background
20 Undergrad Student In a relationship Kolkata, India To be a professor
“I don’t even want to get out of it. Over time, it has become my comfort zone.”
Middle Class
Age Occupation Status Location Aim Economic Background
“If I go to a
25 Working at an IT Co. Single Hydrabad, India To be an entrepreneur
therapist, people might judge me as crazy or retard. I have a lot to achieve in life with no time to waste on all
Middle Class
this.”
Bio
Bio Prachi is an undergrad student who had to leave her home town and go to Bangalore for further studies. With the huge change in the environment, she found herself feeling low and lost all the time. Having not been able to mingle with her peers, she started isolating herself from everyone around. Her grades started dropping and she lost interest in everyday activities. Soon she was diagnosed with clinical depression. When she tried to seek her parent’s support, they dismissed her and having no social life made it more difficult for her. Her romantic partner tried to understand her but in vain. After a while, she started seeing a therapist who is helping her through this situation.
Personality
Motivations Love
Introvert
Extrovert
Achievement Confident
Shy
Hope Determination
Thinking
Feeling
Incentives
Shrey graduated from IIT two years ago. He has been away from home for the last six years. He aims to be a business entrepreneur and therefore wishes to get into one of India’s leading business schools. His family stays in Hyderabad whereas he is situated in Mumbai. He was living a happy, healthy and social life until he had a spat with his childhood best friend. Ever since, he became aloof of his environment and stopped doing anything except work. His professional life is moving towards its peak but he barely has a personal life. In his free time, he sleeps or contemplates over his past. He also turned to self-harm for a while. After some time, he decided to confide about his situation with one of his flatmates who tried his best to understand and recommended him to consult a professional. Shrey dismissed that idea and decided to throw himself in work so much that he does not even get the time to think about harming himself.
Personality
Motivations Love
Introvert
Extrovert
Achievement Confident
Shy
Hope Determination
Thinking
Feeling
Incentives
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Personas of target group
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Aspects I wanted to focus on
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Posposal submitted back then Design Abstract In a developing country like India, mental health is still such a taboo. As per statistics by the Live Laugh Love Foundation, in the year 2015, 322 million people were suffering from depression. We have so many subjects in schools and yet, none of them even brush upon the topic of mental health. Our only idea about mental health leads us to words like “crazy” and “retard”. While there are a number of reasons why we still haven’t developed in this field, the lack of awareness tops the list. This project aims to break the stigma around depression and educate our society about the clinical part of this illness. It wants to make people realize that depression is not a choice that people make and neither is it a character certificate that states that a person is weak to handle problems, instead, it is, very much an illness that has actual physical implications. Context Social life plays a very vital role in a young adult’s life. With new social media platforms developing, one might think that today’s generation is more connected than any other generation the world has seen till date, but surprisingly, social media has become a major reason for depression in the youth. There is a constant battle between the real and the virtual and people seem to have forgotten the lines that separate the two. Due to social media, there is a lot more comparison happening which is invariably causing jealousy which leads to sadness and ultimately depression. When facebook was at the prime of its launch, professionals saw a huge increase in the number of youth coming up with mental issues like depression. Social media did not just isolate the youth behind their screens but also caused a huge decrease in real human interactions. Social media also serves as an addiction to the youth that is constantly searching for something to hold on to. When speaking of addiction, I must also mention the substance abuse and alcoholism that people get into during these ages. They might go down that path due to various reasons, one of them being a reason to fit in. There are many more reasons and factors that bring depression in the lives of these young adults and they all vary from person to person. Given above are just some of the common examples which can also include body shaming, low selfesteem and peer pressure. Depression can also be due to one’s genes or due to some childhood trauma they went through. Loss of important things and people also pushes young adults towards that illness.
These reasons are so common and yet they push these young minds in a dark phase that is not understood by the society as well as by them. Due to the vast possibilities behind this illness, in India, people usually try to shake it off as something insignificant. The primary aim of this project is to spread awareness about depression in the Indian society and try to remove the stigma around it. The Indian culture has a very important role to play in the depression of the young adults. As mentioned above, depression can be a result of a number of things and one of them is a person’s upbringing. In Erickson’s stages of psychological development, he explains how different age groups are affected by the surroundings around them. He talks about how we start developing certain feelings and fears right from birth and how each of those stages add up to what we become in the future. We come from a country that has a very linear set of beliefs and understandings, and though this notion is changing at the moment, we can argue that we still have a long way to go. When young adults try talking to their parents about their depression, they are usually shut down by saying that it’s all in their head or sometimes because they don’t want their child to be looked down upon by the society. This causes more distress among the sufferers because they do not feel supported. It is important for the Indian society to know that depression, or any other mental illness for that matter, is not a choice. It is very much an illness that does not just have emotional connotations to it but also has physical effects on the people who are going through it. Though it’s easy to understand from where their ideologies come from, it is important to educate them about the recent developments in the front of mental illness. Being ignorant about the disease to meet up to the standards of the society is only going to cause more and more distress to the ones suffering. “Depression is not a rare disease. It affects 4-5% people across the globe. In India, it is everywhere. Depression affects not only the patient, but also those close to them,” says Dr Henk Bekedam, WHO representative to India. “The number of people living with depression in India has increased by 18.4% between 2005 and 2015. Urbanisation is definitely a cause, as is minimal interpersonal interactions and the modern way of living (inactivity).” Thinking Tools We did a number of exercises in class to understand the concept of deconstruction clearly. Some of them are mentioned below: • During the first day of class, we did a very interesting exercise. My hands were tied behind my back and I was shown a geometric diagram. I was supposed to explain the diagram to my classmates without using my hands. It looked fairly simple but only when I began, I realized how tedious a task it was. After about 5 minutes of trying, he had my hands freed and asked me to try again. This time, I managed to explain the diagram with a little ease. Through this simple yet playful exercise, he showed us the importance and requirement of every detail/aspect. For me, this exercise showed how we tend to take things for granted and end up not paying enough attention to them. This exercise showed the importance of researching thoroughly. • The second exercise that I found very useful was the deconstruction
a mechanical toy. This exercise showed me how something so simple and so mundane has so much thought, history and design behind it! I was appalled at the amount of information each of us managed to gather on different small aspects of the same toy. • The most recent exercise we did was the lotus bloom exercise. In this exercise, we made association and connections around our topic to get a clearer, bigger and better understanding of our subject. This exercise was meant to help us build our contexts properly. Statement of Purpose India is a developing country but no country can reach its prime without healthy citizens. So far, we only associate health with our physical self and hardly ever address the emotional side of it. One cannot be physically healthy without having a proper emotional balance. Due to the changing times, the social media era and the disconnect between people, more and more young adults are suffering from depression. While half of them are not even aware of it, most of the other half is afraid to be vocal about it from the fear of being judged. We live in the 21st century and people still shy away from discussing matters of the heart without fearing judgement by the society. How will there ever be a healthy environment when every 1 person in 4 people is having serious existential crisis that lead to a lot more serious implications? The aim of this project is to break the stigma around mental health and encourage people to talk about it just like any other disease. The larger goal is to educate the masses that depression can happen to anyone at any time and no one can stop it from happening. Depression might start with strong emotions but it has serious physical symptoms that have been identified by every medical field in the world. This project is a dire need for today’s progressing society because we need to start speaking up, without fearing judgement from the people who barely know anything about the subject. Fundamental Areas of Research • In spite of hearing the word “depression” so many times, why do we still tend to ignore its seriousness? Is it because of the ignorance of familiarity or is it because it clashes with our cultural beliefs? Why is it still a taboo here? • How are depressed people lured in by various evils of the society to go further down the dark path? • Since depression is such a clinical subject, how can I make it more interactive through visual communication? • Being a very introverted person, this project is a huge leap outside my comfort zone. Through this project, my first aim is to accept myself completely and stand in crowds with confidence. • During this project, I want to pick up on a number of researching tools and use them for all my future projects. Research is a very important part of a designer’s work and I want to get used to doing research in depth. • Apart from leaving the personal comfort zone, I also plan on stepping out of my professional comfort zone of visual communication and give interaction
34 design a hand. Through this project, I want to understand and learn interaction design while improving and perfecting my visual communication skills. • I also feel that this project will get me in the very good habit of documenting every step of my work. I always feel that more the documentation, easier the understanding for any layman. Possible Tangible Outcomes This project is particularly looking at young adults suffering from depression. The age group it focuses on is from 19 to 25. In the end, it shall be built for the social group of a person between this age group. The project is at a very basic stage at the moment. The aim is to gather enough data and see which form would do justice to the same. Nevertheless, given below are four possible outcomes for the project. • An awareness campaign about depression – This campaign will have interactive posters hung in public spaces. People will be able to interact with these posters to make a difference in the lives of the people they think are depressed. • An illustrated story book – The book will depict the story of a depressed young adult and the hardships he/she faces in his/her day to day life. This book will be an insight into the life of a depressed person and will make one see how everything we take for granted makes such a huge difference in the lives of these sufferers. • A short play – Since theatre is such a powerful tool to reach the audience, through this play I will shed light on the life of a depressed person. • An interactive quiz – Since depression is already an ignored topic, making it through one way communication might not help my purpose much. Having an interactive element will make the audience engage with the topic more. This quiz will draw comparisons between depression and one other wellknown and accepted disease by the society by asking same questions with respect to both. In the end, the user will get to see the comparison and read facts about depression that prove it to be a clinical illness.
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New Defined aims for the project Feedback after 1st seminar Narrow down the Target audience. Think and work around one output.
My stand after 1st seminar • • India • •
No specific age group An output catering to any general middle class person in , under the broad categories of parents, peers and partners. Interactive approach Spreading knowledge in a fun and quirky way
Educate people that -
depression is an actual clinical illness. there is a lot more to depression than sadness depression is not a character certificate depression is more common than they think. it’s okay to not be okay.
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Confusions After taking the stand, I had a lot of confusion and questions that I needed to address. Is it even possible to cater to such a large audience group? I have so much to tell, how will I incorporate it all in one output?! How will I make such a serious topic fun?
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Myths and Facts
Solution To solve all the confusion I was having before, the idea of incorporating everything under the umbrella of myths vs facts hit me. Being such a broad area, this sums up everything that I have been standing for. Most of our beliefs regarding depression come from the myths that we have heard or grown up with. On the other hand, my whole attempt is to bring forward the facts of depression.
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For Parents Drawing parallels between physical illnesses with depression. Parents are usually very concerned when their child comes down with some physical illness. The quiz for them will be designed in a way such that they see how mental illnesses also need an equal amount of love and attention as physical illness.
Final Idea and characteristics
For Peers
The final decision was to make a website with a number of interactive quizes that carter to three sets of audiences, parents, peers and partners.
Targeting general ideas people have about depression and highlighting the absurdity in them.
For Partners It is usually seen that some couples might have a lot of problems but they fail to understand or realize that their other half might actually be suffering from some mental health problems. The quiz designed for them will help them understand if their partner is going through some such problems.
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Initial content of the quizzes
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Final round of content modification (Parents) 3. If I notice unusual scars on my ward’s body and on asking they tell me that they did it because they were hurting, I will… 1. If my ward looks low since the last couple of weeks and barely (If my ward has fever, I will…) takes interest in anything, I will… o Lose my calm and be very disappointed. (If my ward looks physically weak, I will…) o Say that I don’t understand what issues can be so big in their life o Be upset because he/she is being lazy. that they had to take such a step. o Try talking to them. o Take them to a professional for check-up. o Take them to a professional for check-up. Modified Question: Monti is a very enthusiastic boy who lives his life with a lot of passion. However, over the last 2 weeks, he seems to have lost interest in everything and he looks down. If Monti was my child, o I will not think much about it because it could just be a phase. o I will shake it off as him being lazy and will be a little upset with him. o I will consult a professional. Switch Statement: If my son is looking physically weak since the past couple of weeks:
Modified Question: Nikita is scared of blood and has always cried before blood tests. But recently, due to some reason, she tried to cut herself. Her parent noticed the cuts and asked her about them. She honestly told them that she did it because she was upset about something. In this situation, what would your reaction be? o I will lose my calm and be very disappointed. o I will say that I don’t understand what could possibly be so wrong in her life that she took such a step. o I will take her to a professional for help. Switch Statement: If my daughter’s leg got fractured while playing:
2. If my ward suddenly starts performing unusually bad academically/ professionally, I will… (If my ward starts performing unusually bad academically/professionally, I will…) o Be disappointed and would ask them the reason. o Push them to study/work. o Consult a professional to understand the reason.
4. If I hear that my neighbour’s ward has depression, I will… (If I hear that my neighbour’s ward has typhoid, I will…)
Modified Question: Priya has always been an average yet hardworking student. Somehow, her last semester grades were way below average in spite of her claiming to have worked twice as much. As her parent, what would you do? o I will be disappointed with her for performing so badly. o I will decide to be stricter with her regarding her studies. o I will take her to a professional for help. Switch Statement: If my daughter performs badly in one semester due to severe headaches:
Modified Question: Shivam is your neighbour’s son. You have always found him very rebellious and naughty. You recently heard that he has depression. What is your reaction most likely to be? o I will assume that he must have done something wrong for it to happen. o I will make sure that my children do not remain friends with him. o I will show empathy towards him. Switch Statement: If my neighbour’s son has chicken pox:
o Think that the child must have done something wrong for it to happen. o Stay away from the child. o Show empathy towards the child.
5. If my ward tells me they have depression, I will… (If my ward tells me I have typhoid, I will…) o o o
Tell them that there is nothing like that and it’s all in their head. Think that they are doing it for attention. Take them to a professional for check-up.
Modified Question: Shrey has been disconnecting himself from everyone recently. You asked him about it and he told you how all his friends have gone for a two week long trip and he decided to stay back because he did not feel like going. He said that he has been feeling depressed lately. How are you going to react? o I will tell him it’s all in his head. o I will shake it off as something that teenagers do for attention. o I will take him for a professional check-up. Switch Statement: If my son comes and tells me that he thinks he has jaundice: 6. If I find my ward taking anti-depressants, I will… (If I find my ward taking medicines for typhoid, I will…) o o o
Ask them to stop because I think they are mere sleeping pills. Get worried because I think those medicines are harmful. Take them to a professional.
Modified Question: You were going through your daughter’s things and amongst the regular accessories you found a pack of anti-depressants. How will you react to that? o I will get worried because I know anti-depressants are harmful. o I will think that she in wrong company and will try to tell her that these medicines are nothing but sleeping pills. o I will take her to a professional immediately. Switch Statement: If my daughter is taking medicines for migraine: 7. If my ward is barely eating since two weeks in spite of forcing them, I will… (If my ward is not eating because of fever in spite of forcing them, I will…)
o o o
Scold them until they eat. Wonder if they are dieting. Take professional opinion.
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Modified Question: Neha is a big foodie but for the last two weeks, she barely eats anything. If you were Neha’s parent, what are you most likely to do? o I will scold her into eating. o I will think that she is on a diet. o I will take her to a professional. Switch Statement: If my daughter is not eating due to fever and nausea:
(Peers) 1. People with mental health problems cannot work. Modified Question: Our office gives a 6 month maternity leave and should give 3 weeks off for people suffering from depression. 2. People with depression are different from normal people. Modified Question: Ever heard “more money, more problems”? That’s what’s wrong with all the “depressed” people. 3. It is better to leave people alone if they develop depression. Modified Question: People who stopped socializing suddenly have switched over to team introverts. It’s best to leave them alone. 4. Depression is a choice. Modified Question: If you wear black clothes, drink lots coffee and still look dull all the time, you will be in depression. 5. Anti-depressants are nothing but sedatives. Modified Question: If you cannot sleep at night, simply take an anti-depressant! 6.
Psychiatrists are not real doctors.
43 Modified Question: Who needs a psychiatrist when we have facebook asking us “what’s on your mind” all the time? 7. Emotionally strong people do not get depression. Modified Question: He is very popular and good looking. He has a great job and an amazing social life. He can never be depressed.
(Partners) 1.
My partner doesn’t seem approachable since the last 2 weeks.
o Yes o No 2.
My other half has become very pessimistic.
o Yes o No 3.
My lover keeps blaming me for everything that goes wrong.
o Yes o No 4.
My loved one has shut down emotionally.
o Yes o No 5. I have begun to feel distressed and low about our relationship because of my partner’s attitude. o Yes o No
6. Ordinary life has become more of a struggle with him/her these days. o Yes o No 7.
Our sex life has become almost non-existent.
o Yes o No
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Colour Palette Evolvement Initial Colour Palette
Peers Calmness, knowledge Why it didn’t work
Parents
Hope, optimism
Partners
The colours are completely different from each other and do not seem to belong to one single website. The colour palette for parents was looking quite dull and the ones for partners was looking a bit to cliche.
Romantic, tender Final Colour Palette
I decided to keep my final colour palette in shades of blue. Using different combinations of the colours given above, all the quizzes would be made.
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Visual Board Illustration has never been a very strong suite of mine. However, with the kind of approach I wanted to take, illustrating was mandatory. Therefore, I looked at some artists who had relatively simpler forms. I studied artists like Mark Colon, Oliver Jeffers, Jean Jullien and Neha Sharma.
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Hand made iterations
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Digital iterations
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Final iteration style This illustration style was highly inspired from Oliver Jeffers. It features round heads, well defined facial features, no nose and strokey limbs. There is a use of gradients throughout.
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Iterations for final illustrations
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Final rough sketches of illustrations
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Layout and type iterations for Peers
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Layout and type iterations for Parents
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Layout and type iterations for Partners
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Statistics for peers’ quiz
Statistics collected through surveys filled by 84 people
People with mental health problems cannot work. 41.05%
False True 58.95%
It is better to leave people alone if they develop depression.
People with depression are different from “normal” people.
28.45%
39.75%
71.55%
60.25%
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Depression is a choice.
Anti-depressants are nothing but sedatives. 30.8%
69.2%
Psychiatrists are not real doctors.
29.95%
70.05%
Emotionally strong people do not get depression. 32.25%
75.45%
67.75%
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Final Layout for peers
Aa
Dk Lemon (Regular)
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Aa
Grape demo (Regular)
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
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Final Layout for parents
Aa
Rockwell (Regular)
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Aa
Rockwell (Italics)
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Aa
Rockwell (Bold)
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
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Priya has always been an a verage yet hardworking student. Somehow, her last semester
grades were way
below average in spite of her claiming to ha ve worked twice as m uch. As her parent, w hat would you do? I will be disappointed with her f or perf orming so bad ly. I will decide to be mor e strict with her regarding her studies. I will tak e her to a p rofessional f or help.
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Final Layout for partners
Aa
Dk Lemon (Regular)
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Aa
Grape demo (Regular)
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
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Workflow of the website
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Challenges As the innumerable iterations might suggest, it was a very challenging part of the project for me. I would like to break down the challenges I faced and talk about them: Illustration style: I have never been an illustration person. Deciding to do such an illustration heavy project was quite a risk. I struggled a lot with the illustration style and just could not understand which one would work best. I studied the forms and structures used by a number of artists and finally decided to go for the simplest ones. However, little did I know that the simplest ones also have so many complications! Bringing the consistency in my Illustrations was a big challenge I faced. Animation: I tried my hand at proper animation for the first time! Again, the whole project depended upon animations and learning it was a lot of fun after it stopped being scary.
Layout and Type: The whole website is targeted at adults but I wanted the look and feel of the website to be very friendly, approachable and quirky so that people get the feeling that depression is not all about dark shades of blue and black. I did over 100 iterations before I reached the final ones. Finding the perfect balance between childish and classy was a big headache. After trying out a number of fonts, I finally found the ones that I thought worked best. Website: I had no idea about what a “work flow� means. That should be enough hint to show how new I was to the whole website area. However, it was a lot of fun learning it because it made me step my foot into the world of ux ui design. Overall, this was a very challenging task but I learnt a lot of new things in the process.
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Final screens for peers Link of animated screen flow for peers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiMrEY34hYo
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Final screens for parents Link of animated screen flow for parents: https://youtu.be/iE_UeWExTQI
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Final screens for partners Link of animated screen flow for parents: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esq6oKZdcEc
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Branding
To move ahead with my project, I had to finish the branding of the website. I came up with a number of names: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Heart to heart Helping hands Chaotic minds Dulling stars Invisible enemy Cold hearts Broken things Tornado survivors Dull struggles Silent battles Real struggles Blue bud Buddy blues Right fight
I decided to keep Buddy Blues.
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Logo Iterations
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Colour and Type Iterations
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Final Logo After all the iterations, this was the logo I decided upon. I decided to keep one person in blue and another in orange because having them both in different shades of blue was making me say “too much blue!�. The animation of this logo can be seen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWKUPB4naE&feature=youtu.be
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How the project got extended The initial aim of my project was just to make a website. However, the project got extended once I realized that I need to do something to make sure that people reach my website. That’s when it decided to create a campaign out of it. My campaign idea included: • Collaboration with an NGO • Holding workshops • Social media campaign
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Collaboration with the White Swan Foundation White Swan Foundation is an NGO that works in Bangalore around the area of mental health problems. This NGO is running a campaign right now, called “The 10k mission” where they pick 200 people from different walks of like and talk to them about mental health problems. These 200 people in turn, have to engage 50 other people in mental health conversations over a period of 2 months, thereby, having spread awareness to 10,000 people in Bangalore by the end of 2018. I decided to collaborate with this campaign and host workshops that are very depression centric. I attended their workshop which was very insightful for me. They spoke about a number of tools and exercises that we could use in our workshops.
Workshop Tool Kit The White Swan Foundation provided us all with some simple activities to engage the audience during the workshop. I modified some of them and designed some of my own games to hold the workshop. I conducted the workshop using the following activites: • Taboo • Debate • Roleplay
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Taboo Taboo is a word game where a players take turns as the “giver,” who attempts to prompt his or her teammates to guess as many keywords as possible in the allotted time. However, each card also has “taboo” (forbidden) words listed which may not be spoken. The aim of this exercise was to increase the sensitivity of people when they are using words like “sad” and “depressed” synonymously.
ANGER
sad
Psychotic
ocd
suicide
explosive burst out emotion destructive red
down low blue cry depressed
crazy mad unstable retard maniac
clea n mess perfect monica dirt
deat h kill self harm depressed commit
mental
nuts
bad day
crying
Mentally ill
mad retard crazy psycho insane
brainles s mad dry fruits crazy out of mind
depressed kill die crazy gloomy
weak upset depressed water eyes
crazy wackjo b nuts retard psycho
Happy
Disappointment
frustrated
joy smile laug h mood flowing
hopeful worthles s (let) down thoughtles s pass ive
bitter uneasy resent problems mad
empathy caregiver pity sympathy concern condolence concern
parents family care sympathy concern
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Debate The next exercise is a debate where one team is asked to defend that depression is an actual clinical illness while the other team argued that it’s not. Some points will be given to get them started.
For
Against
Just like any other body part, our brain can also get sick.
There is nothing called depression. It’s a choice.
People from anywhere, of any age, caste, sex or breed can have depression. It has nothing to do with the emotional strength of a person. Depression can happen due to any of the following factors: Social, Genetics, Biological, Environmental and Psychological. Most people with mental health problems do not need to be hospitalized. People with mental health problems are capable of taking up jobs. Sometimes, it even helps them recover faster.
Depression cannot be treated. Depression is just a word used to gain sympathy. People will depression or any other mental health problems should be in asylums or hospitals. People with depression cannot work. We cannot do anything to help someone who is supposedly suffering from “depression”.
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Roleplay In this exercise, two people will be given a script where they have to follow the lines. The lines portray one person as ignorant about depression, while the other person is suffering from depression. In the end, the audience is asked to re act the scene and see how the conversation could go better.
Play 2 (Self Written) Student (Priya/Rahul) has not been doing any work suddenly. He/ she was a very enthusiastic student but recently, he/she looks very down and hardly interacts in class.
Play 1 (Provided by White Swan Foundation)
Teacher: Priya/Rahul! What is wrong with you? I am very disappointed with your performance lately.
Person 1- Hey, how are you doing?
Student: I am sorry. I just have not been able to concentrate.
Person 2 - Not so good, I’m really tired and feeling very low. I lost my job.
Teacher (Scolding): That’s not an excuse! You should not be wasting your time like this. High time you buckle up and start concentrating on work.
Person 1 - Oh, hey better you’re getting out of something that was bad for you.
Student: *Starts crying*
Person 2 - Um.. but I thought I was settled for sure, I don’t know what to do with my life.
Teacher: C’mon! Don’t cry now. You are a big boy/girl. It’s okay. I am sure you will perform better now that you know.
Person 1 - Yea, but it happens I guess… Look at my friend she’s started something on her own, she’s doing pretty good.
Student: I want to…but I just can’t. *still sobbing*
Person 2 - Yea… but I don’t know I can’t even get out of my bed. It’s so hard, I just stare at the wall.
Teacher: What does it even mean? Stop crying now and get to work. I assure you, if you put in enough hard work, nothing can stop you from performing better.
Person 1 - Oh don’t worry just take the weekend off and we’ll just chill, you’ll be fine.
Student: Okay. I will try.
Person 2 - Uh ok I have to leave. Person 1 - Alright see ya!
Teacher: Good. Student: Yeah, I guess.
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Giveaways after workshop The purpose of these post cards was to give to someone they think/know is suffering from depression or any other mental health problems.
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Workshop poster iterations
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Final Poster
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The Workshop The whole video can be seen at: https://youtu.be/t8L6SeJBk1E
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Social Media Campaign This part of the project was done after the physcial submission of the doc book because my deadline was extended unexpectedly. The idea: The idea of this campaign was to give out vague messages about depression and build a curiosity about the subject. I wanted to keep the content of the posts so ambigous that a person would wonder what exactly is being spoken about, so that they end up opening the link attached to the post copy. Given here are 3 instagram posts.
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Activation Campaign Ideas that didn’t work Setting: A hall/a departmental Store/a mall Things Required: A crew, post its, sketch pens Idea: Step 1. Stick post its on random people’s backs that say “Depressed”. Step 2. As they move around the hall/store/mall, our crew starts moving away from them. Step 3. Our crew avoids talking to them, or ignores them completely. Step 4. As our target starts to get angry, one member of the crew goes up to them, removes their post it and hands a hand out that informs them about depression.
For this idea I want to do is something very very similar to a campaign Dove ran: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DdM-4siaQw Through this campaign, dove made women realize how they’re all beautiful in their own way. Through my campaign, I am thinking of making people realize how mental health issues are very common and people should not be ashamed to talk about it or seek help. Maybe I can have two banners, one that says something like – I have never had any mental health problems (It will be framed VERY differently and subtly) and the other one can say – Yes, I am going through a mental health issue. People will have to walk in through either of them. And eventually, I am hoping, it will give more and more people the courage to walk through the second door. #BreakTheSilence
The campaign will be in couples. (Parent/child, husband/wife, friend/ friend etc.) Important: One of the two people is suffering from depression. For this particular campaign, the couple will be called in a room, one at a time (preferably the not depressed person first). They will be asked to describe one regular day in their lives, from beginning to end. They have to talk about their feelings about everything and things they wish they could change at the end. After the 1st person, the 2nd person comes in and answers the same questions. In the end, both the people are called in the room and the answers are disclosed. Obviously, the depressed person’s “regular” day will be very different from that of the person not depressed. Seeing such a clear comparison of a regular day might help understand the nondepressed person the struggles of a depressed person.
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Handout - Iterations
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Final Handout These hand outs will be given outside malls, offices, schools and colleges so that people can scan the QR code to reach the website.
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Further plans for the project I feel very passionate about this project. I would really want to take it forward. In the future, I would like to finish all the extra screens of the website and actually get it coded and published to be available to the general public. I would also like to run a couple of print and digital campaigns to make more and more people aware of the importance of mental health.
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Reflective Statement In spite of working on the same project for over 5 months, I do not feel tired of it. I feel very passionate about the topic and would love to take it further sometime in the future. When I started this project, I had a lot of doubts about its outcome. I was not sure what I could possibly do that is different from what people have already tried. Being a topic so close to home, I was affected by it a number of times personally. Sometimes, it got too over whelming for me and I really wanted to stop but something within me kept me going. I tried a number of new things for this project. Right from illustrating to making a website. It was a very bumpy journey but I am happy with the destination that I have reached. This project did not just teach me a number of VC skills, but also taught me so much about depression. It also made me realize how interested I am in human Volunteering to be a part of an Ngo was also very new and exciting. psychology and how one day I would love to work in the direction of I never knew that I was capable of doing such things but the project helping people suffering from mental health problems. helped me realize that too. If not anything, I am only a little sad that this project is ending because I feel that I have grown too attached to it over the months. It is so difficult to believe that I took such a huge leap from the day I started until now. In short, this was not just a mere VC project for me. This project showed me all my passions and interests and now, I know which direction I would like to move in life.
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Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my college, Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, for giving me the opportunity to work on such an interesting subject. Sincere thanks to my project guide Mr. Riddhesh Adarkar for the constant valuable feedback, support, understanding and motivation, Mr. Govind Ganesh for helping me understand depression at a much deeper level and fact checking my project at every point and Mr. Biswamit Dwibedy for the help with the content. I am also grateful to all my friends who helped me with the workshop, Abbas Poonawalla, Suvansh Bohra, Sujat Roy, Denise D’souza and Jaya Iyer. A special thanks to Stuti Bajaj who kept giving me feedback and motivation in spite of leading a very busy life in a different city.
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References Sonavane, Aishwaria, Jagruti Verma, Nishtha Singh, Sarmistha Neogy, Saloni Surti, Nirali Hingwala, Mohammad Kanchwala, Harshdeep Singh, Sneha Yadav, and Social Samosa. “Anti Depression Campaigns That Gave the Socialverse a Will to Live!” Social Samosa. April 29, 2017. Accessed August 10, 2018. https://www.socialsamosa. com/2017/04/anti-depression-campaigns/.
“Depression: Psychology and Subsequent Vascular Dementia Essay.” Essay Us Airways and Airline Industry - 3393 Words | Major Tests. Accessed August 18, 2018. https://www.majortests. com/essay/Depression-Psychology-And-Subsequent-VascularDementia-549452.html.
Patwardhan, Aditi. “Trying to Fight Depression? Don’t Give Up, YouTube. October 10, 2016. Accessed August 15, 2018. https:// Here Are 10 Organisations You Can Turn to for Help.” The Better India. October 26, 2016. Accessed August 19, 2018. https:// www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=217&v=7Ko6MaXjq6U. www.thebetterindia.com/72879/10-organisations-to-find-help-for“Handouts on Depression.” World Health Organization. August 28, depression/. 2017. Accessed August 12, 2018. http://www.who.int/campaigns/ “Depression - What Is It Really? Can It Be Treated?” Psych Central. world-health-day/2017/handouts-depression/en/. May 18, 2018. Accessed August 16, 2018. https://psychcentral. “Time To Change Wales.” Time To Change Wales :: Schizophrenia. com/disorders/depression/. Accessed August 16, 2018. http://www.timetochangewales.org.uk/ “Depression.” National Institute of Mental Health. Accessed August en/talk-about-mental-health/wecanwewill/. 22, 2018. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/ Who. YouTube. October 02, 2012. Accessed August 20, 2018. index.shtml. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiCrniLQGYc. “Other Programs.” The Live Love Laugh Foundation. Accessed August “What’s New.” WhiteSwanFoundation. October 16, 2018. Accessed 16, 2018. http://thelivelovelaughfoundation.org/other_programs. September 16, 2018. https://www.whiteswanfoundation.org/. html. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5. Arlington, VA: YouTube. September 08, 2017. Accessed August 14, 2018. https:// American Psychiatric Association, 2013. www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=53&v=5br57zunMEk. Patel, Arti. “Robin Williams’ Death Reminds Us Of The Impact Of Words Like ‘Sadness’ “Royal College of Psychiatrists.” Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. And ‘Depressed’.” HuffPost Canada. August 12, 2014. Accessed September 11, 2018. https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/08/12/robin-williams-depressed_n_5672221. Accessed August 16, 2018. http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/. html.
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PRE THESIS PROJECT 2018
Examiner 1 (name and signature):
PROJECT TITLE
Examiner 2 (name and signature):
Buddy Blues
Examiner 3 (name and signature):
STUDENT: NISHI BANKA PROJECT:
Deconstruction
SPONSOR: Self initiated PROGRAM: Undergraduate Professional Programme AWARD:
Visual Communication and Strategic Branding
Final Examination Panel COMMENTS:
Date: Academic Dean:
100 NISHI BANKA Pre Thesis Project 2018 (Undergraduate Professional Programme) Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology Bangalore - 560064 Karnataka