Mental Health Post COVID-19
Programs Used:
Adobe Illustrator
Project Origin:
Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design Project
Purpose:
Create an infographic, choosing a media-related topic.
The overall goal of this project was to design an infographic poster that visually depicted a current topic. I researched the effect COVID-19 had on mental health after the pandemic.
Process Work
Research
The pandemic has significantly impacted mental health, with 4 in 10 U.S. adults experiencing depression or anxiety by the end of 2020. Common symptoms include changes in sleep and eating habits, social withdrawal, hopelessness, anger, prolonged sadness, suicidal thoughts, and substance abuse.
My goal is to provide a snapshot of the increase in mental health issues post COVID-19. I hope to increase the dialog of mental health awareness and to help viewers lead mentally healthier lives.
I began my process by researching infographics that inspired me. I also created a wireframe of the facts that I found to help visually sort the data in an organized way.
Sketches
I began experimenting with different ways to visually depict the statistics that I found about mental health post-COVID-19. I didn’t want to overwhelm the viewer with too many numbers and wanted to find a way to keep the viewer engaged with the information.
Typography
The typography was designed to be modern and clean, free from visual clutter, ensuring easy readability for statistics and a credible, professional appearance.
Color Palette
I chose yellow because it is often associated with anxiety, which I discovered is higher post-pandemic than it was before. I used purple because it is associated with mental health, and green because it represents renewal and hope.
Digital Iterations
Here are the initial iterations. They were faceless, which made them harder to identify with, and the colors used did not have enough contrast to pass accessibility. Also, the text boxes used around the face made the image busy and took the focal point away from the main character.
Final Infographic
After studying the digital iterations, I made several changes to improve the final infographic I created. I adjusted the character's size to enhance the focal point, simplified the piece by removing the text bubbles, and added a face to the character to evoke more empathy within the piece. I also changed the color scheme to be less monochromatic to improve contrast and readability.
Environmental Contact
